Author

Sarah Rizk

Abstract

In the United States, public schools are primarily financed by local tax on property. This property-tax-based system of finance is advantageous for people living in wealthy districts, as they benefit from greater educational funding resources. Residents of poorer districts, however, have the disadvantage of higher taxation that is needed to balance the deficit created by the lower value of property in these areas in order to finance local services. Through the use of local exclusionary planning and zoning powers, local governments can ensure that residents contribute a minimum amount of taxation to fund local services and to zone out â expensive studentsâ who need more funds than their wealthier peers while their families contribute less to the local tax pool. In a society with a history of racial discrimination, this system has led to the creation of structural segregation in education that follows a pattern of residential segregation. Society's adoption of equal opportunity rhetoric since the successful challenge of legal segregation in Brown has masked this reality and made it more difficult for depressed minorities to explain their condition. The injustice is produced by the interplay between historical subordination and a vague suspicion that equality has been achieved when formal barriers were removed. The potential for change was both created and limited by engaging the rights discourse because the emphasis on formalism and colorblindness since Brown has rendered the achievement of formal equality an end in itself. This makes it very difficult to redress the lasting material disadvantage that resulted from a discriminatory past because the dominant theory of equal protection that is infused with an â anti-differentiationâ understanding of the law often rules out remedial policies that use race-based classifications.

Department

Law Department

Degree Name

MA in International Human Rights Law

Graduation Date

6-1-2012

Submission Date

May 2012

First Advisor

Sayed, Hani

Second Advisor

Skouteris, Thomas

Extent

NA

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Library of Congress Subject Heading 1

United States -- Education.

Library of Congress Subject Heading 2

Educatiol equalization -- United States.

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Not necessary for this item

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