Equal Protection to Students The Equal Protection Clause belongs to the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and it states that “no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (“The Equal Protection Clause”). Being one of the amendments gained from the civil war, the framers envisioned that its primary purpose would be to protect the newly freed slaves from racial discrimination. However, the wording of the Fourteenth Amendment gives off that equal protection clause protects against any type of discrimination and gives equal protection of law to all persons. Equal protection in schools soon started to expand and develop. The equal protection for students allow for anyone to gain …show more content…
Title VI was a huge break point in giving minorities right to education as it protected “people from discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance” (“Education and Title VI”). The effectiveness of Title VI can be seen when it was challenged in the Gratz v. Bollinger supreme court case. The University of Michigan took into account that race or anyone qualified as a unrepresentative minority to be a factor in their acceptance. Jennifer Gratz, who applied to one of the University’s program in 1995, was denied admission due to her Caucasian descent. Gratz took her case to the supreme court and won since “the Equal Protection Clause prohibits any racial discrimination for the purposes of higher education admission” (“Gratz v. …show more content…
Children with disabilities are also provided with the same protection for their right to education through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).IDEA is a law that makes children with disabilities to have same access to free public education as well as special education related to the child. This law serves well as it was effective in the Endrew F. v. Douglas School County District. Endrew, who is a fifth grader diagnosed with autism, did not have his education needs met and did not get reimbursement for his private school tuition. The supreme court unanimously ruled that the school did not go in accordance with the IDEA and Endrew was not making the appropriate progress for his particular