Abstract
School districts today remain racially segregated due to vestiges of past discrimination and there is an expanded resegregation of our public schools. While the resegregation today remains mostly de facto, it still presents great dangers to race relations in our country if, from their impressionable years, students are not exposed to the benefits of diversity as part of an overall educational experience, further embedding subalternity in American society. This dialogue is even more important given the political climate today if we are to give voice to students; we need this dialogue to give voice to the desegregation and equal educational opportunity needs of students. This topic is very fitting for this year’s conference focus on frames of justice as it empowers us to give voice to and speak for students who are facing inequitable educational opportunities. This research presents analysis of U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence niceties, revealing that a relationship exists between race-conscious measures and prohibited government speech. This study examines the role of the government speech doctrine in Parents Involved v. Seattle School District. The analysis reveals that Parents Involved targeted districts’ racial messages (a form of government speech) rather than race-conscious policies. Thus, districts design of race-conscious policies must be deliberate in messaging to promote diversity and equal educational opportunity.
Presenters
Joseph OluwoleProfessor, Educational Leadership, Montclair State University, New Jersey, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Community Diversity and Governance
KEYWORDS
LAW, SEGREGATION, EQUITY, INEQUITABLE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, CONSTITUTION, AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
