Friday, June 29, 2007

US Supreme Court Education Bias Cases

Yesterday's cases on educational bias and disrcrimination , as expected simply bar the use of a racial classsification for school assignment where the race use is not to remedy a past or present discrimination. Race, like sex, ethnicity, and age in cases many times,are what constitutional lawyers reference as 'suspect classifications'. As any good constitutional lawyer will tell you -- these cases are specially examined by courts in the United States when plead as causes or wrong doings and public agents activities and decision points. Only when specifically, and balancedly used for corrective, curative actions in our society; or truly incidental and neutral and found non-damaging, may these factors be routinely used in public impact decision making.

In the cases pled parents or concerned parties noted the harm of using race as a school diversity making 'tie breaker' or other presumed immaterial factor in school enrollment [ie to break a tie when the school were over-enrolled]. In actuality, the factor chosen led to likely mis-use of race, creating a clear appearance of discrimination, non-remedially needed by race, and were hence disallowed. Race and other resticted decision factors may not be used, furthermore, when other means of resolution are available (such as accomodating an overenrollment).
Have your lawyer reviewed by the bar, or cross reference him/her to a constitutional lawyer if he/she tells you otherwise.

As lawyers will also tell you, this case is readily distinguished by the facts; does not reverse Brown vs. the Board of Education, and does not harm equal rights.

Understated in yesterday's news and in some of the courts opinions, were the physical impacts on the children-students and parents by reason of an unreasonable attempt to reach an impossible exactitude of social [ie racial] balance. That clearly must be cast with the cost and imposition of a legal, justiciable solution. Children shoild not bear the unresolved cost of idiots in administration or a pinch-penny school district. Opinions of the court are available on line, including the link above at FindLaw.

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