N.O. Schools or No Schools? Absolute Deprivation of Educational Opportunity in Post-Katrina New Orleans as a Violation of a Fundamental Right to a Minimally Adequate Education
by Cheryl S. Bratt, Bradley W. Moore, and Colin W. Reingold
In 1973, the Supreme Court decided in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez that education is not a fundamental right. The Court noted that “education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments,”2 echoing its decision in Brown v. Board of Education. However, it held that San Antonio’s school financing scheme did not trigger strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and was therefore constitutionally permissible, despite major funding discrepancies that left poorer schools with substandard buildings, outdated supplies, and unqualified teachers. This decision contains dicta, however, suggesting that an absolute deprivation of education could violate the Constitution, and thus that children may be entitled to at least some minimum quantum of education under the U.S. Constitution.
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