Desegregation and Busing One of the most important rights
Americans have is the right to a free public education. No child
in the United States, whether native- or foreign-born, can be
denied access to a public school for elementary and secondary
education. While in theory this means that everyone is entitled
to the same educational experience, in fact that is not
necessarily the case. Public schools can vary dramatically from
community to community simply because some districts have more
money to spend on education than others. For years, segregation
of black and white students was quite common. In some places, it
was common because local and state laws mandated segregation in
one form or another. In other places it was common because
neighborhoods were segregated (often by choice) and students
went to the closest schools. From the late nineteenth century to
the mid-twentieth century, segregated schools were protected by
the concept of “separate but equal,” upheld by the U.S. Supreme
Court in 1896. Separate