2039

25th anniversary of #Ferguson

2005

Jennings v. Wentzville

Students do not have right to counsel in responding to charges at school, as requiring schools to impose “even truncated trial-type procedures” would be too costly and onerous for administrators.

Image Credit: White House photo by Paul Morse.

2002

No Child Left Behind

Increased federal government’s role in guaranteeing quality of public education for all children. Emphasis on increased funding for poor school districts, higher achievement for poor and minority students, new accountability measures for student progress came hand-in-hand with dramatic expansion of standardized testing (i.e., yearly reading and math testing for students grades 3 through 8).

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Frontline: The New Rules – An overview of the testing and accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act

Image Credit: Flickr User – Like_the_grand_canyon

1994

Gun-Free Schools Act

U.S. Congress passes act that removes individual discretion in deciding punishment for students who bring guns to school. Noncompliant schools lose federal education funding; leads to mandatory suspensions for minor infractions such as personal appearance, despite express instruction to punish only the most dangerous student behavior. Ushers in era of “zero tolerance.”

1988

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

Missouri Supreme Court case prompted by articles on teen pregnancy and divorce removed from the school newspaper. Affirms “[t]he rights of students inside public schools are not as strong as the rights of adults,” and permits school officials to censor student speech “inconsistent with its basic educational mission,” even if the government could not censor said speech outside school.

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United States Courts: Facts and Case Summary – Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

 

Image Credit: Sam Leone/Post-Dispatch

1983

Implementation of St. Louis Interdistrict Transfer Program

Prompted by 1972 Liddell ruling, “busing” (officially, interdistrict transfer) begins in St. Louis. Overseen by Voluntary Interdistrict Coordinating Council (VICC), participation peaks at more than 14,000 in 1999.

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Desegregation Timeline

1975

Goss v. Lopez

Supreme Court decision establishes “due process” for students facing 10 or fewer days’ suspension. Students must be “given notice and afforded some kind of hearing,” and misconduct must be documented and reported to student’s guardian. Student can refute an allegation and request a hearing, but school not obligated to comply.

Image Credit: Associated Press

1974

Milliken v. Bradley

NAACP sues State of Michigan to desegregate Detroit’s schools through solution involving both city and suburbs. Supreme Court overturns lower court ruling, deeming no obligation to desegregate schools without proof of racist intent, permitting “de facto” segregation.

1972

Liddell v. Board of Education of St. Louis

Five black families argue financial and physical resources distributed unequally to St. Louis public schools with race as clearly identifiable factor. Court finds State of Missouri responsible for maintaining school segregation and orders implementation of formal desegregation plan.

Image Credit: Library of Congress

1969

Alexander v. Holmes (MS) ordered immediate deseg of schools

Citing inadequacy of “all deliberate speed” in Brown v. Board ruling ordering schools to desegregate, Supreme Court orders immediate termination of segregated school systems.

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Justia: Alexander v. Holmes County Bd. of Ed., 396 U.S. 1218 (1969)

1969

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

Brought about by students’ wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam War, this ruling asserted student First Amendment (free speech) rights in school. School officials have discretion to censor student speech “reasonably expected to cause substantial disruption or material interference with school activities.”

Learn more

Encyclopedia Britannica: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

1954

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Supreme Court rules unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools violates Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment. The following year, SCOTUS orders desegregation be implemented with “all deliberate speed.”

Image Credit: Arthur S. Siegel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1916

Housing Discrimination Referendum

St. Louis realtors’ association prompts referendum, which passed by voters at a 3-to-1 margin, to prevent Blacks from owning property in predominantly White neighborhoods. Supreme Court overturns similar ordinance next year, but industry-sanctioned housing discrimination persists.

Image Credit: John T. McCutcheon. Published in McCutcheon’s book The Mysterious Stranger and other Cartoons (1905). Online, courtesy Google Books.

1896

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court rules 1890 Louisiana law “providing for separate railway carriages for the white and colored races” constitutional, sets stage for Jim Crow (“separate but equal”) laws. Plessy v. Ferguson gives “constitutional nod” to racial segregation in public places until 1950s.

Image Credit: National Archives of the Unites States ([1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1865

13th Amendment is ratified.

A loophole in the amendment began setting the stage for the school-to-prison pipeline.

Formally abolishes slavery, declares “[n]either slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

Image Credit: Abraham Lincoln, digital reproduction by George Chriss (GChriss). With prior publication, the Emancipation Proclamation became effective 1 January 1863. [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

1863

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by President Abraham Lincoln, the proclamation declared “all persons held as slaves” within rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free.” The military (vs. humanitarian) measure changes character of the war; its acceptance of Black men into the Union Army and Navy results in nearly 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors fighting for Union and freedom by war’s end.

 

1857

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Supreme Court rules that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves,” is not an American citizen whether slave or free, and cannot sue in federal court. Decision also protects slave owners’ Fifth Amendment rights, as slaves are categorized as property.

1820

Missouri Compromise

Congress grants Missouri’s request to be admitted to the union as a slave state. Official boundary drawn between free and slave states that persists until 1854. Missouri’s first constitution provides for creation of public schools, for white children.