Recently, many federal orders to racially integrate public schools have been lifted, including here in Chicago. Many of these orders have been in place for years and were meant to ensure that racial minorities had access to the same quality of education as Caucasian students.
Chicago Public Schools must now figure out how to make sure that schools are racially integrated and that racial minorities have equal educational opportunities without considering race in admissions to magnet and other selective schools. The Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago’s new policy will be to consider socioeconomic factors rather than race in school admissions. School officials will evaluate this method of integration after one year.
While similar admissions systems have already failed in other large cities across the country, Chicago Public School officials are confident that this plan will work in our city.
What do you think? Will socioeconomic diversity result in racial diversity? Will racial minority students have the same access to educational opportunities as the racial majority?
Equal access to education is an important civil rights issue. If you believe that your child has been denied an educational opportunity on the basis of race, we encourage you to contact experienced Chicago civil rights attorney for a free consultation.
