Education Equality, Equity and Fairness

3 units

This three-unit course will be taught by Jeffrey St. Omer, retired partner from Mickes O’Toole, LLC, and former Chief Legal Counsel for the St. Louis and Kansas City Public School Districts. The course will explore equality and equity in K-12 education and reform options to “level the playing field.” We will initially focus on the history of race and the role of desegregation litigation in contemporary K-12 education. We will also examine the role of poverty in education, along with the rights of undocumented students, English language learners, students with disabilities; the evolving recognition and impact of gender rights in K-12 education, and the recent and evolving recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in public schools. Over the course of the semester, we will discuss current efforts to reform underperforming school systems; systems composed mostly of racial/ethnic minorities, and/or poor students, and the potential impact of recent Sup. Ct. decisions and changes to the Department of Education on these efforts. Grades will be based primarily on an in-school final exam.