Past:
The Fourteenth Amendment (1868): The amendment that defined national citizenship and gave citizenship to former slaves that were freed from the civil war.
Separate and Unequal (1896): Ushered in following the court ruling in the Plessy v. Ferguson, an era that saw an attempt at “separate but equal” facilities and treatments for blacks and whites. But the only result was segregation as schools were created for black students only to attend.
The Garland Fund and Margold Report (1922): A donation of $800,000 by Charles Garland to help establish the The American Fund for Public Service, which is a foundation for radical social reform. The fund awarded a $100,000 grant to the NAACP for the employment of a special counsel for the study of legal status of African Americans and planned a legal campaign. Nathan Margold was hired by the NAACP and he focused a lot of his assessments on discrimination in the school system.
Campaigns against discrimination in education (1933-1934): A legal campaign against discrimination in education and interstate transportation. Charles H. Houston led this attack on state graduate and professional schools. Houston devised a plan that would systematically attack that would “use the courts as a laboratory” to develop a succession of test cases and gradually get rid of the “separate but equal” doctrine.
Present:
Title IX of 1972: Prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs or educational activities that receive federal financial assistance. Ex: sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, equal opportunity in athletics, and sexual assault policies.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Primary education law that protects people from discrimination based on race, national origin, or color in educational programs or activities.
Title II of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA): A federal law that prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires that reasonable accommodation be made to provide individuals with disabilities equal access to services, programs, and opportunities, such as employment and housing.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and ensures certain rights to people with disabilities.
Age Discrimination Act of 1975: Prohibits age discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act (BSAEAA): Passed to prevent State and Federal agencies from reducing their support for the Boy Scouts of America (and other youth organizations) based on their policies.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Requires all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a nationwide standardized test annually to all students. Majority of the provisions were designed to help disadvantaged students so if test scores were low then provisions were made to help make the school better.
Citations:
H., Charles, et al. “Brown v. Board at Fifty: ‘With an Even Hand’ A Century of Racial Segregation, 1849–1950.” A Century of Racial Segregation 1849–1950 – Brown v. Board at Fifty: “With an Even Hand” | Exhibitions – Library of Congress, 13 Nov. 2004, www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-segregation.html.
“Discrimination in Education.” Justia, 20 June 2019, www.justia.com/education/discrimination-in-education/.