SCOTUS And The Policy Process

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SCOTUS and the Policy Process

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SCOTUS AND THE POLICY PROCESS

SCOTUS and the Policy Process

The Brown vs. Education Board is one of the cases that have had a huge policy implication in the

United States, both at the state and the federal level. The Supreme Court ruled against

segregation in the case of a primary school in Kansas, overturning a previous court decision that

allowed segregation. The court ruled that racial segregation was against the fourteenth

amendment protected by the federal constitution. The fourteenth amendment grants citizens the

right to equal protection of the law under the United States jurisdiction. The court argued that

separate schools for black and white kids are unequal, it, therefore, ruled that segregation cannot

be applied in public schools. The ruling overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling in which the Court

ruled that states can set separate schools for blacks and whites, but the schools should be equal.

Although the Supreme Court ruling was focusing on public schools, it was clear that segregation

cannot be applied to public institutions (Straus & Lemieux, 2016).

In the years leading to the case, segregation had dominated the race relationship between white

and blacks. The segregation policy had previously allowed by the Supreme Court on Plessy vs.

Ferguson case. The court argued in the case that the fourteenth amendment would still be

protected if schools were segregated but equal. A class action suit was filed in 1951 against the

Kansas board of education by thirteen parents who represented their 20 children (Straus &

Lemieux, 2016). The suit was seeking a reversal of school segregation policies by the district

school. During the time the board of education maintained different elementary schools for white

and black kids under the 1879 laws. The case was prompted by an incident where parents tried to

enroll their kids in a neighboring school, they were denied enrollment, and they were also

directed to an alternative segregated school.

SCOTUS AND THE POLICY PROCESS

The Supreme Court made a unanimous decision on the case. The court in its decisions

highlighted three grounds as the basis for their ruling, but first, the court answered the question

of whether Plessy case ruled separate but equal schools was constitutional. The court overruled

the decision. Stating that segregation deprived minority group’s children rights to equal

educational opportunities. The court also ruled that segregation deny black kids the benefits they

would have otherwise received in an integrated school. The court concluded that the earlier

ruling on equal facilities but separate schools had no place in the education system. The Supreme

Court ruled that separate schools were unequal, the court ruled that segregation amounted to a

deprivation of the fourteenth amendments rights of equal protection to the black kids.

The Brown vs. Education Board case was the pacesetter of changes in policies not only in Texas

but throughout the United States. The case was key to education reforms and the introduction of

desegregation policies in Texas. In 1954 after the ruling by the Supreme Court, Mansfield in

Texas was the first one school to undergo desegregation (Dahl, 2017). The school was ordered

by a federal judge to start desegregation process. The school board complied with the order and

approved the integration process amid some resistance. The school was the first public school to

be impacted by the Brown case, however, the school was not the last. It represented a shift in

public policy in as far as education integration is concerned.

The case changed the state education policies completely, the state allowed segregation but after

the ruling desegregation was mandatory, although it was faced with a lot of resistance racial

integration grew to be part of the education system. The Brown case was followed by over 60

other cases concerning racial segregation, the cases were important is reinforcing the

desegregation orders. Every court upheld the desegregation order and pushed school boards

towards racial integration.

SCOTUS AND THE POLICY PROCESS

In 1920s Texas implemented laws that promoted segregation between blacks and white, the law

targeted blacks, nevertheless, American Mexican were also segregated. The laws prohibited

blacks from sharing same restaurants with the whites, sharing hotels, schools, churches and

residential areas. The law created Negro quarters and Mexican quarters, to limit the movement of

blacks and Mexican to one place only. The Texas legislature passed laws that required railroad

companies to provide different waiting rooms for blacks and whites. The Brown case opened a

window for integration and change of policies (Dahl, 2017).

The Law on school segregation was declared illegal, the separate but equal doctrine was

outlawed by Supreme Court, and although it took time to fully integrate the education system in

the US the case forced the states to change its education policies because they were in violation

of the federal constitution. Several district schools were compelled by the courts to desegregate.

The state had to change its policies and start allowing white and black kids to share schools.

The ruling also extended to other areas such as railroad service and other public services that the

state had segregated. The state had enacted laws that prohibited blacks from sharing same

waiting room, sharing same restaurants among other services. The ruling meant that the state had

to abolish the segregation laws, the Supreme Court had declared separate but equal doctrine to be

against the constitution. The supreme court order was not implemented right away it was faced

with a lot of resistance from whites who were opposed to desegregation (Dahl, 2017).

The ruling changed the government policy on segregation, more laws more enacted by the

federal government to ensure the court order on desegregation was fully implemented, the

federal government came up with more regulations that reinforced the Supreme Court order. The

civil rights Act, it was passed by the Congress in 1964, the Act outlawed discrimination of any

form. The civil rights Act authorized the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to

SCOTUS AND THE POLICY PROCESS

formulate guidelines through which desegregation can be realized faster. The guidelines were

established in 1966 and every school was required that 16%-18% of minority kids must attend

predominantly minority school in all district schools (Noblit, 2015). The federal act also allowed

the state department for education to cut budget funds to district schools that were not following

the set integration guidelines.

The Supreme Court plays a huge part in shaping the government policy, Brown's case is an

example of many cases that have had a resounding impact on the US policymaking. The

Supreme Court Ruling against segregation marked the beginning of segregation not only in

educational institutions but also in all public institutions. The Supreme Court decision led to

changes in laws that allowed segregation in the US. Education policies that allowed segregation

in states such as Texas were abolished, and more desegregation policies implemented by the

government.

References

SCOTUS AND THE POLICY PROCESS

Straus, R. M., & Lemieux, S. (2016). The two browns: Policy implementation and the

retrenchment of Brown v. Board of Education. New Political Science, 38(1), 44-60.

Dahl, R. A. (2017). Decision-making in a democracy: The Supreme Court as a national policy-

maker. In Constitutionalism and Democracy (pp. 137-154). Routledge.

Noblit, G. W. (2015). Introduction. In School Desegregation (pp. 1-18). Sense Publishers,

Rotterdam.

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