The Constitution of Opportunity: Democratic Equality, Economic Inequality, and the Right to Compete

Authors

Rachel F. Moran, Texas A&M University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

12-2019

ISBN

9781479893287

DOI

10.18574/nyu/9781479893287.003.0011

Abstract

In this chapter, Rachel F. Moran explains that equal educational opportunity is essential to prepare students for civic duties, but significant inequalities inevitably result from sorting students for jobs. In recent years, efficiency has become a driving force behind school reform, one that subordinates equal citizenship to the demands of a global economy. These tensions are most evident in school finance reform as calls for equal education devolve into demands for adequate education. Despite state court victories, disparities in per-pupil resources remain severe, threatening to deprive disadvantaged children of any meaningful opportunity to approximate the accomplishments of their privileged peers. In Moran’s view, reformers must craft a right to education that guarantees every child a fair opportunity to compete. Only then will disadvantaged students have authentic pathways to civic participation and upward mobility, pathways that can make the American dream feel like a real promise rather than a remote possibility.

First Page

261

Last Page

282

Num Pages

22

Publisher

NYU Press

Editor

Kimberly Jenkins Robinson

Book Title

A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy

Recommended Citation

Rachel F. Moran, The Constitution of Opportunity: Democratic Equality, Economic Inequality, and the Right to Compete, in A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy 261 (Kimberly Jenkins Robinson eds., 2019).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/1905