Celebrating Freedom, Opportunity and Choice in Education - 50 Years after Brown

by Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (OH-15)

May 17, 1954 marked a revolution for public education in the United States of America.  The ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education, written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, reasoned that, "In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."  Upon those words and by unanimous vote of the United States Supreme Court, racial segregation was outlawed in public schools and the 'separate but equal doctrine' allowing it was brought to an end. 

As America commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the Brown landmark case, the courage and vision of those nine men and women, led by the Honorable Earl Warren, is important to recognize and remember.  The Justices came to the reasonable and very controversial conclusion that the 'doctrine of separate but equal' was inherently flawed.  They identified the intangible value to the learning environment and overall quality of education which come from diverse group discussion, cross-cultural interaction and social engagement. They surmised that 'separate but equal' impeded the possibility of achieving an equitable distribution of resources and access within the public education system, which produced an inequality of opportunity so long as it existed.  The Justices came to this conclusion based on their observation and analysis of the era of change that was taking place across the landscape of America.  Gradually increasing moves toward integration within mainstream society were showing a change in social thought and activity. The time had come; and equal access to equal opportunity without haste was the mandate of the Brown decision. 

A great responsibility for America today is to protect and ensure the integrity and intent of the Brown decision.  While the ill-conceived segregation policies of the 60's have been defeated by Brown, the inequality in educational opportunity available to students has not progressed as far as we had hoped. For that reason, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act into law in 2002, which passed with bipartisan support in Congress, to address a public education system that still accepted and perpetuated an injustice: that great numbers of poor, minority and non-English-speaking children were not achieving academically and lacked adequate alternative educational choices if they were enrolled in failing schools.

Brown, having since taken on the greater symbolism of the entire civil rights campaign, was still fundamentally aimed at fixing the problem of inequality in our school system.  NCLB is supporting that goal by directly targeting the inequality of educational options available to children in failing schools by providing school choice for poor and minority students.  Through NCLB, Congress and the President established a policy that requires schools to set and meet goals each year, gives parents an academic report card on the performance of their child's school, and allows parents with children in underachieving schools to transfer them to a better one.  These reforms collectively attack a not-so-different inequality of opportunity which brought Brown to the Supreme Court 50 years ago.  

In 1954, the Supreme Court Justices were correct in observing that the present national landscape holds keys to directing the correct course of public policy.  In 2002, Congress was correct to observe that in the present national landscape, the task of Brown was not achieved simply because every child had a seat in the classroom.  Only when the standards and systems of accountability are required and enforced to ensure that every child assigned to a seat receives a quality education will we ensure that the opportunity to learn exists for all.

Commemorating the 50^th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education is a time to celebrate opportunity, freedom and choice and the No Child Left Behind Act reinforces that celebration.  Fifty years from now when the nation reflects on the 100^th anniversary of Brown, I am confident that its effect will be enhanced by the enactment of NCLB, and will therefore show two generations of Americans committed to giving all students access to a quality education regardless of race or wealth.