Which case is associated with desegregation of public schools?

Which case is associated with desegregation of public schools?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson
• C. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg
• D. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Answer: (A)

Desegregation in public schools rests on the idea that separating students by race is inherently unequal and unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) directly confronted this, ruling that state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and white students violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. By declaring that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, Brown overturned the earlier Plessy v. Ferguson decision that allowed “separate but equal” to stand, at least in education. This ruling became the catalyst for widespread desegregation efforts across the United States and set the stage for subsequent actions to integrate schools. For context, the other cases relate to desegregation in different ways: Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg addressed how to implement desegregation, including busing as a remedy, while Regents of the University of California v. Bakke dealt with affirmative action in higher education rather than K–12 public schooling.

Desegregation in public schools rests on the idea that separating students by race is inherently unequal and unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) directly confronted this, ruling that state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and white students violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. By declaring that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, Brown overturned the earlier Plessy v. Ferguson decision that allowed “separate but equal” to stand, at least in education. This ruling became the catalyst for widespread desegregation efforts across the United States and set the stage for subsequent actions to integrate schools.

For context, the other cases relate to desegregation in different ways: Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg addressed how to implement desegregation, including busing as a remedy, while Regents of the University of California v. Bakke dealt with affirmative action in higher education rather than K–12 public schooling.