By: Robert J. Martin
Fifty years after the landmark decision of Brown v. Board of
Education, the issue of whether state educational systems are
providing equal educational opportunities for historically
disadvantaged students remains unsettled. The issue has
recently received additional attention as states have moved toward
offering increased opportunities for school choice, including the
establishment of charter schools. The emergence and expansion
of the charter school movement in the United States has been one of
the most significant components of public school choice during the
last decade. Seymour Sarason has classified the charter
school movement as “the most radical educational reform effort in
the post World War II era.” By the beginning of the 2003–04
academic year, more than 2,500 charter schools were operating in
thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia.
Despite the apparent success of the charter school movement,
representatives of historically disadvantaged students have voiced
concern that charter schools may not be providing equal access to
disadvantaged students. These advocates have maintained that
equal educational opportunity must remain one of the public
education system’s most important objectives, insisting that the
institutions of public school systems must be vigilant in
eradicating patterns of inequality, discrimination, and
segregation. In the aftermath of Brown, advocates
have especially sought to advance opportunities for
African-American and other minority students in their efforts to
secure greater access to programs and achieve more integrated
settings. Similar efforts have since been extended on behalf
of female students, students with disabilities, immigrant students,
and other students with limited English proficiency.
Martha Minow, one of the most distinguished of these advocates,
observed that the demands of “the law-driven equity movement” need
to be carefully evaluated with respect to charter school programs
to determine whether these fledgling schools are complying with the
requirements and achieving the goals of applicable civil rights
law. Minow and other commentators also voiced alarm that
state policymakers have implemented charter school programs that
may result primarily in enhancing opportunities for well-to-do and
well-informed families while reducing opportunities for the poor
and less informed, especially minority families residing in
low-income, urban districts.
In this Article I study the extent to which at least one
state—New Jersey—may be jeopardizing the long-standing goal of
equal opportunity in its eagerness to establish a statewide charter
school program. In January 1996, New Jersey became the
twentieth state to enact charter school enabling legislation.
Pursuant to the Act’s provisions, New Jersey permits local parents,
teachers, and community organizations to establish individual
charter schools. Commencing with the 1997–98 academic year,
the New Jersey State Board of Education has been authorized to
approve the opening of charter schools. In 2003–04, more than
fifty charter schools existed in New Jersey, serving approximately
13,000 students.
I begin the study by discussing the concerns that previous
commentators have raised regarding charter school accessibility to
historically disadvantaged students. Next, I identify and
explain those federal and state laws intended to facilitate equal
educational opportunity for historically disadvantaged students in
public educational institutions such as charter schools. I
then proceed to disclose potential problem areas that historically
disadvantaged students have experienced with regard to charter
school accessibility, indicated by empirical research data, the
outcomes of state and federal case law, and the complaints filed
with state and federal regulatory agencies. Finally, I
propose several ways in which New Jersey’s charter school program
might be modified to achieve the goals of equal educational
opportunity more successfully.
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