Journal of Education & Social Policy

Legal Implications of Race-Based School Funding Policies to Close Racial Achievement Gaps in Education
Kendall D. Deas, Ph.D.

Abstract
Within the field of school finance litigation, some scholars contend that a policy shaped around the idea of having school funding targeted to minority student populations could narrow the achievement gap in education between Black and White students. This research highlights the legal implications of such a policy and assesses current literature in the field which reveals as late as 2006, the absence of such strategies as a policy approaches. An assessment of current research also reveals that there is some correlation between school funding and educational outcomes for minority students educated within school districts across the country facing financial challenges. This research also examines what could be some of the underlying factors for why states have racial funding gaps. Further, many of the adequacy studies in the field often omit race variables and this work seeks to determine why this has characterized these previous studies. Finally, this work examines the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) which was reauthorized in 2015 as Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) under the Obama Administration and whether race-based funding strategies would conflict with the Equal Protection Clause.

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