Education as Right or Privilege: The Question of Federal Policy and Student Access

Abstract

Public education in the United States has a long history of deeply flawed policies and practices that were greatly exacerbated by the introduction of the "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB) in 2001. This legislation has directly tied student success and achievement to funding on the basis of high stakes testing and unavoidable socio-economic circumstances. Further, NCLB has resulted in enormous pressures on schools and teachers to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Although the 2015 passage of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA) (2015) attempts to alleviate many of the issues shaped by NCLB, the literature shows clear inequalities and significant disadvantages on the basis of race of socioeconomic status continue to persist in the public education system. With the new discretion given to individual states to provide their own educational policy and 2

implementation, a closer look must be taken at the state and local level to assess equitability and achievement. In what follow, I delve into the publicly available data New York State is mandated to publish about student success. As I will establish, access to an equitable education must be available without prejudice – and we are a far way off. To this end, I conclude with a set of policy proposals informed by my research into education equity.