DISCRETIONARY EQUALITY: EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FROM 1954 TO 1981.

摘要

This dissertation traces the history of the school desegregation enforcement efforts of the Education Department, Office for Civil Rights (ED-OCR). These enforcement efforts in ED are investigated and assessed. The study begins with a background discussion of the historical factors leading to the inconsistent application of equal educational policy.;The controversial issue of affirmative action is reviewed to highlight the additional problems which impaired policy enforcement. The development and status of current affirmative action procedures are discussed and reviewed. The legislation in the Congress which has developed since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is discussed.;The politics of federal policy is also discussed. The chapters cite presidential leadership, congressional initiative, and the effects of political interest groups as factors which influence the lack of uniformity of policy and enforcement due to politics.;Lastly, the study identifies the consequences of the Department's inconsistency, addresses the concept of discretionary equality, and argues that the implementation of equal educational opportunity warrants the uniformity of equal educational policy and enforcement. The last chapter provides a summary, and the current status of compliance is assessed. Due to many complex political issues, activities, and social forces, the enforcement of equal access in education continues to be wrought with controversy, indecision, and slow progress.;Very shortly after the old Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was established in 1953, a significant court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, ordered the desegregation of the nation's schools. From the Brown decision in 1954 to 1981, equal education policy was inconsistently enforced at the national level. The causal factors of inconsistent educational policy and enforcement are rooted in many complex social and political forces. As the Education Department's enforcement effort is reviewed, social and political forces are identified and documented.;The dissertation identifies those unique factors and argues for coordination of efforts to effectively implement equal educational opportunity. This coordination of effort involves the branches of government and agencies collaborating with and assisting one another in developing simultaneous policies and compliance practices which will eliminate other social problems while effectively promoting equal opportunity in education.