Judicial Decisions and Organizational Change in Public Schools

Abstract

Since the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education' in 1954 there has been a marked increase in the activity of individuals and groups committed to using the judicial process as an instrument of planned change in public school organizations. Student and teacher rights, curriculum, community involvement, finance, and classification of students by race, geography, and ability are some of the salient educational issues which continue to be tried in the courtroom. Many of these lawsuits against public schools are, in fact, designed to change the defendant school organization, not merely to establish and vindicate an individual plaintiffs rights. Organizations such as the Harvard Center for Law and Education and legal aid offices funded in part through the federal government have been established and operate for the specific purpose of bringing about reform in school organizations through litigation, as well as through research and legislation. Law reform units have been charged to select cases for litigation which, if successful, will have a significant impact on the lives of the poor and the community at large, particularly in the area of the individual's relation to governmental agencies.2 These test cases are designed to challenge and change some school policy, practice, or procedure which the plaintiff and his attorney believe to be wrong.