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ACLU sues for more equal schools

Thumbs up to the American Civil Liberties Union for taking
sorely needed legal action to correct the dramatic inequality in
California’s public schools. The ACLU filed the class-action
lawsuit Wednesday against state education officials on behalf of
students at 18 substandard schools throughout California. It
alleges that schools throughout the state fail to meet
“minimal educational standards” due to overcrowding,
year-long schedules and inadequate facilities. Furthermore, such
conditions are found disproportionately in urban schools that serve
primarily minority students.

The suit brings to light a situation that has worsened over the
years. The inequalities in K-12 education has far-reaching
consequences, not the least of which is the dwindling number of
underrepresented minority students admitted to UCLA in the wake of
the ban on affirmative action. State officials cannot justify the
disgusting conditions in many of California’s public schools.
This state needs to get to the root of its educational problem and
devote significant resources to improving and equalizing our public
schools. If the courts decide as they should, the ACLU suit may
force officials to do just that.

Tax credit for teachers won’t help

Thumbs down to Gov. Gray Davis for proposing to use $545 million
from the state budget surplus to exempt credentialed teachers from
state income taxes. Even the California Federation of Teachers is
opposed to the plan, arguing that teachers deserve pay raises, not
minor tax breaks.

Teachers are right. A tax break won’t do much to enhance
their incomes, and it’s certainly not enticing enough to lure
new educators into California’s public schools. Though
it’s unlikely that the proposal will pass the state
legislature, if it did, it could set a dangerous precedent as other
honorable professions clamor for such treatment. Teachers
don’t deserve a tax credit; they deserve higher salaries and
better working conditions. This tax break would do nothing to solve
the state’s education problem.

If the governor is really interested in improving education, he
should funnel more of the surplus into improving facilities and
buying books. Without these basic resources, educators will
continue to be frustrated in their teaching efforts, and students
will continue to fail to learn. That’s what the ACLU suit is
all about. No teacher wants to work in a decrepit building with
outdated study tools. Improving the teaching environment will
create a better system for both students and teachers. Davis should
rethink his priorities and use the money to fund what students,
teachers and parents have been demanding for years.

Justices subvert anti-violence law

Thumbs down to the five conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices
whose irresponsible crusade for “states’ rights”
is setting our government back by a century. The latest in a string
of myopic decisions by the court’s narrow majority eradicates
most provisions of the Violence Against Women Act, a statute
created to prevent rape and domestic violence. Further, the
court’s action most likely dooms the Hate Crimes Prevention
Act ““ currently stalled in Congress ““ from being
enacted.

VAWA was passed because many states were not doing an adequate
job in preventing rape and domestic violence. Most liberal and
moderate legal thinkers agree that the act passed the
constitutional test of the interstate commerce clause. But a feeble
majority in the Supreme Court narrowly interpreted these sources of
federal authority, as it has been doing for several years. In this
case, the court opinion held that the VAWA did not regulate
activity directly affecting interstate commerce, despite the fact
that violence against women cost the nation $3 billion in 1990
alone (Los Angeles Times, May 21). The Court also stated the act
wasn’t justified under the 14th Amendment’s doctrine of
equal protection under the law.

The justices’ action is the latest in a bizarre crusade
for “states’ rights,” with the majority asserting
that legislation such as the VAWA must be left up to the states
““ apparently, even if the states are not doing an adequate
job protecting their citizens’ rights. Chief Justice William
Rehnquist and his minions threaten to set us back to the pre-New
Deal era. And the decision has to make you wonder: would this court
strike down the 1964 Civil Rights Act if it had the
opportunity?

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down represents the majority opinion of the
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