In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States decided the landmark case San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973), in which the Court denied the existence of a fundamental right to education. Fifty years later, courts continue to explore the question of whether there should be a fundamental right to education. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently vacated and then mooted a panel decision upholding the right to an education in Gary B. v. Whitmer, 958 F.3d 1216 (6th Cir. 2020). This one-day symposium will analyze the concept of a fundamental right to education as well as the lasting impacts of the Court’s decision in Rodriguez. Notable areas to be discussed include whether a fundamental right to education should exist under the United States Constitution and how such a right could be established, the relationship between Rodriguez and societal issues such as injustice, undereducation, and polarization, and the intersection of school funding, school assignment systems, and inequality. The symposium panels will be organized to discuss these issues, among others, from a variety of perspectives. The Law Journal has assembled a group of leading scholars who will engage in meaningful dialogue to reignite scholarly debate and push this critical field of study forward.
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