The educational system in the U.S. exhibits numerous positive characteristics. Participation in formal education is nearly universal among children ages 5-14,⁵ and the U.S. literacy rate is 99%.⁶  Nonetheless, problems persist in providing students with the quality education they deserve. Every day in the U.S. 1,900 students are corporally punished, 2,756 students drop out of high school, and 16,964 public school students are suspended.⁷ Students who are minorities, low-income, or have a disability are the most underserved and are the most likely to experience inferior educational opportunities and outcomes.

Availability of Education in the U.S.

Despite the achievement of nearly universal formal education,⁸ access to pre-kindergarten and postsecondary education remains out of reach for too many Americans. Research shows that the early years of childhood are critical to preparing children for school and for life, but the cost of quality child care places it out of reach for working low-income families.⁹ Head Start, a program for low-income pre-school children only has enough funding to serve half of all eligible children.¹⁰ The result is that children from low-income families are less prepared to begin school. By the time they enter 1^st grade, children from families receiving welfare know only ¼ as many words as children from other families.¹¹

The way public schools are funded also undermines the availability of equitable education. High poverty schools receive an average of $1,348 fewer tax dollars per pupil than more affluent districts.¹² Reliance on local property taxes for school funding puts schools in low-income districts at an even further                  disadvantage.¹³ In addition, the money spent on schools serving students from low-income families is more likely to fund basic repairs, such as new roofs or asbestos removal, while schools in more affluent districts are more likely to receive funds for educational enhancements such as science laboratories or performing arts centers.¹⁴ Many teachers from high-minority, low-income schools report inadequate facilities, less availability of textbooks and supplies, fewer administrative supports, and larger class sizes.¹⁵

Adequate staffing is a critical component to ensuring that a quality education is available to all children. Thus, the lack of competitive teachers’ salaries limits the fulfillment of the right to education.  Over the last decade, teacher salaries have remained nearly flat, averaging $44,367 in 2003, just about 2,598 above what they were in 1972 (after adjusting for inflation).¹⁶ Southern states lag behind the most; for example more than 1 in every 3 of Arkansas’ 311 school districts had an average teacher salary below 67% of the national average.¹⁷ Furthermore, poor districts, with high percentages of students of color, usually have the lowest teacher salaries.¹⁸

Accessibility of Education in the U.S.

Race and income-based achievement gaps underscore the absence of equitable access to education in the U.S. By the end of high school, the average African-American or Latino student scores at approximately the same level as the average white 8^th grader.¹⁹ Minority children are less likely to be in gifted and talented programs and are more likely to be in special education or programs for children with emotional or behavioral needs.²⁰    

College enrollment of students of color lags behind that of white students. 47.3% of white high school graduates ages 18-24 attended college between 2002 and 2004, compared to 41.1% of African Americans and 35.2% of Hispanics.²¹  Students of color are also less likely to complete their college education.  61% of white college freshmen will graduate in 6 years while only 41% of black freshmen will do the same.²² In addition, many low-income students are unable to afford a full-time 4-year college program and instead choose to attend college part-time while working or enroll in a community college with the intention of transferring. Unfortunately, many do not graduate and end up burdened with student loan debt.²³

Undocumented students are also limited in their access to education. Federal law neither prevents admission of undocumented students to college nor does it require proof of citizenship or immigration status for enrollment, however, states are prohibited from giving in-state tuition to undocumented residents if they do not offer the same benefits to out-of-state citizens.²⁴ Additionally, federal law prohibits undocumented students from receiving federal loans and grants, including work-study jobs, and they are ineligible for state assistance in many states.²⁵

Acceptability of Education in the U.S.

Compared to other countries, the U.S. ranks low in national educational achievement. The U.S. graduates only 75% of its students compared to the more than 95% graduation rate common to other industrialized nations.²⁶ While students in the U.S. perform well on internationally administered reading literacy studies, their performance in mathematics and science casts doubt on our ability to adequately educate youth in these disciplines. For example, in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), given to 4^th graders in 24 countries in 2003, the average score of U.S. students ranked below that of their counterparts in 11 countries including Japan, the Netherlands and Latvia.²⁷

Minority and low-income students are still denied a quality education more than 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education.²⁸ They are the least likely to have qualified teachers and administrators.²⁹ Turnover of professionals is high and teachers in high-poverty schools are twice as likely to have only 3 years of teaching experience or less.³⁰ Secondary-level students in high-poverty districts are more likely to be taught by a teacher who has not completed a college major or minor in the subject they teach.³¹ Schools whose students are 70% or more low-income are twice as likely to be overcrowded as schools whose students are less than 20% low-income.³²

Acceptable education also includes disciplinary policies that respect a student's dignity. Unfortunately, discipline policies and practices often utilize reactionary and punitive responses that push students out of the learning environment and criminalize their behavior, particularly in schools that serve low-income and communities of color.³³ Zero-tolerance policies common in U.S. schools are used to suspend and expel children for minor, non-violent offenses.³⁴ Black students are suspended and expelled at higher rates than white students and are more frequently referred for subjective offenses such as “disrespect.”³⁵ Students are also subjected to abusive or humiliating comments by teachers.³⁶ Students who are suspended fall behind academically and are rarely given alternative assignments or allowed to make up missed work.³⁷

Adaptability of Education in the U.S

Providing a quality education for all includes adapting and responding to the special learning needs of all students especially those who are the most vulnerable such as students with disabilities, homeless students and students who do not speak English fluently. In the first year of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), lack of promised federal funding created a $10.6 billion shortfall in the cost of educating special education students.³⁸ Students with disabilities are less likely to graduate from high school³⁹ and only 12.5% of working age people with disabilities have a bachelor’s degree, compared to the national average of 30.3%.⁴⁰ The U.S. education system has also failed to meet the needs of homeless students. 13% of homeless youth are not enrolled in school and 23% do not attend school regularly.⁴¹  84% of homeless children are not enrolled in preschool programs.⁴² Homeless children are also subject to frequent school transfers.⁴³ It is estimated that this disruption causes a child to lose 3-6 months of education with each move.⁴⁴

Limited English proficient (LEP) students are the fastest growing population in U.S. elementary schools. Between 1993 and 2003, the total number of LEP students in U.S. schools increased by more than 50% from 2.8 million to more than 4 million children.⁴⁵ Many of these LEP students are not getting the education they need.  Studies show that it takes students at least 5 years to catch up academically in English and some states limit funding to fewer than five years.⁴⁶ Nearly ¼ of all LEP students ages 16-24 who enroll in U.S. schools drop out.⁴⁷ Linguistically isolated, ½ of LEP students attend schools where more than 1/3 of the students are LEP.⁴⁸  Schools with a large percentage of LEP students have a harder time filling vacancies and rely more on uncertified and substitute teachers.⁴⁹  In fact, only 30% of teachers working with LEP students reported any special training.⁵⁰  LEP secondary students are also less likely than elementary students to be enrolled in ESL or bilingual classes.⁵¹