The Enduring Legacy of Rodriguez: Creating New Pathways to Equal Educational Opportunity - Softcover

In The Enduring Legacy of Rodriguez, leading legal and educational scholars examine San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973), the landmark US Supreme Court decision that held that the Constitution does not guarantee equality of educational opportunity. This ambitious volume assesses the history of the decision and presents a variety of creative strategies to address the pernicious effects of inequality on student learning and achievement.

“Ogletree, Robinson, and their expert cowriters offer hope that this decision can be reversed or that other ways can be found to counter its ill effects. This book is a thoughtful and overdue contribution to improving schools.”
—Jack Jennings, author, Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools

“There is an enduring tradition in this nation of relentless legal scholars who stand as champions for educational equity. This important volume follows in that tradition, deftly charting the future of educational opportunity.”
—Ronald F. Ferguson, faculty cochair and director, The Achievement Gap Initiative, Harvard University

“Ogletree and Robinson remind us that equalizing educational opportunity in the United States is going to require fundamental changes in law and policy from many directions, from how we allocate our financial resources to rethinking our housing policies. Their book makes a very important contribution toward broadening the conversation we’re having around reforming education.”
—Wendy Kopp, cofounder and CEO, Teach For All

“The Supreme Court’s effective abdication of any role in securing equal educational opportunity requires us to continue to grapple with the past, present, and future effects of the Rodriguez decision, and the essays here make essential contributions to that endeavor.”
—Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., is the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and founding and executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School. Kimberly Jenkins Robinson is a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law and a researcher at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. James E. Ryan is the dean and Charles William Eliot Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.