Sixty Years After Brown v. Board of Education: Legal and Policy Fictions in School Desegregation, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and No Child Left Behind

The Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Supreme Court decision ruled that segregated schools were unequal and unconstitutional. Since Brown's ruling, scholars have questioned whether African American children have benefitted from school desegregation and subsequent school reform initiatives. In spite of several post-Brown school reform movements, the achievement gap persistently impacts African American learners including those with, or likely to be labeled with, disabilities. Thus, this article examines several legal and policy fictions inherent in Brown, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the No Child Left Behind Act (2001). After discussing the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data, strategies are identified to eradicate legal and policy fiction in school reform for African American learners.