Beyond the Nation’s Capital: Minority Students’ Stumbling on the Tracks After Hobson

Abstract

The U.S. District of Columbia’s Federal Circuit Court decision in Hobson v. Hanson (1967) case eliminated racial discriminatory tracking practices in the nation’s capitol’s public schools. The court ruled that D.C. Public Schools’ tracking violated African American and low income students’ rights to equal opportunities to education under the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment. While D.C. Public Schools eradicated school tracking, it continued in other urban schools. This article examines the Federal Court’s role in the perpetuation of school tracking practices and challenges minority students’ access to equal educational opportunities in schools with tracked classrooms. It also addresses the need for equitable schools to provide all students with the opportunity to learn.