Article by Wendy Parker
This Article critiques the ever-expanding charter school movement from an Equal Protection standpoint. The author argues that some charter schools that are exclusively geared toward one racial or ethnic group—whether it be African American, Asian, Latino, Native American, or white—are unconstitutional, even if the schools employ a racially neutral student admissions policy. Mild attempts at integration, however, are constitutional. When states require (as twelve states do) that their charter schools seek racial and ethnic balance, the states are not engaged in unconstitutional race conscious decision making. Further, school desegregation principles adequately protect the school desegregation process from encroachment by charter schools. Thus, this analysis reveals a Supreme Court that is, to a limited degree, prointegration, but opposed to any explicit attempt at segregation, even if that segregation is done in the best interests of the child.
About the Author
Wendy Parker. Associate Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law. J.D. 1990, B.A. 1986, University of Texas.
Citation
75 Tul. L. Rev. 563 (2001)