Assessing the Role of the Courts in Addressing the Educational Problems Caused by Racial Isolation in School Finance Litigation

Abstract

Since the separate-but-equal era, students attending schools with high concentrations of Black students have attempted to improve the quality of their educations through school finance litigation. Because of the negative effects of racial isolation, Black students might consider mounting school finance litigation to force states to explicitly address the problems experienced by school districts with high concentrations of Black students (Green, Baker, & Oluwole, 2008). This article assesses the role of the courts in remedying the disparities experienced by high-concentration Black school districts through school finance litigation. The first section provides a brief overview of prior attempts to challenge racial funding disparities in the federal courts. The second section discusses the importance of considering race in future school finance litigation. The third section assesses whether plaintiffs from high-concentration Black school districts can obtain equal educational opportunity through state courts.