In 2021, the Ohio State Board of Education effectively banned the use of blind racial classifications when creating school student rankings. The Ohio State Board of Education’s adoption of this policy marks the first time that public schools have used a No Black Student’s Index (NBSI) to rate students. In essence, the Ohio State Board of Education hoped to level the playing field for all students, regardless of their race or ethnicity. The move in Brown vs. Board of Education effectively leveled the playing field, opening opportunities for minority students in Ohio’s public schools for entry into the nation’s most elite institutions of higher learning.
Following the adoption of the NBSI decision, several other states adopted similar plans. Although the decisions of the Ohio State Board of Education to represent the beginning of the end of decades-long racial preferences in the nation’s public schools, the decision in no way heralds the end of racism in American public life or schooling. The decisions of the Ohio State Board of Education and other states’ boards are, rather, the expression of a commitment by local administrators to address the needs of students of color that had been neglected by the previous educational practices. The decision in no way implies that those who are white or who are members of a racial or ethnic group are automatically or inherently better students than students of other backgrounds.
The purpose of a school is to provide its students with the ability to learn and grow. Schools should not discriminate against students because of their heritage, their color, their disability, their poverty, or their sex. A nation without equal opportunity for all would not be a healthy nation, and a healthy nation would not enjoy a high quality of life and an expansive prosperity. And a civilized society needs a wide diversity of our citizens in order to flourish and maintain stability through the process of social interaction. And that is exactly what the Ohio State Board of Education has failed to do.
In the wake of the Ohio State Board of Education’s decision in Brown vs. Board of Education, a national group has called for a boycott of all publicly funded schools that discriminate against students on the basis of race, gender, or religion. However, in the state of Ohio, as in most of the country, the decision concerning school integration is a local decision made by the educators of the schools, not a federal mandate. And in fact, the Ohio State Board of Education has actually recommended that the courts leave the issue of equal protection and equal opportunity to the classroom. As long as the policyholders in the classrooms, whether they are the teachers of various religions or ethnic backgrounds or the parents of different ethnic backgrounds, believe that their children will be integrated into a classroom that includes students of all races and religious backgrounds, the state and local governments should not dictate that policy. If the teachers of tomorrow believe that they can be free to teach their kids whatever they want and that the state or local governments cannot insist that their children receive equal treatment before the law, then we are headed for big trouble.
The decision in Brown vs. Board of Education set a precedent for the future of higher education in the country. And although the court has left the door open to further litigation over the proper definition of equity, there is no doubt that the Court was correct when it ruled that requiring a racial or ethnic imbalance in public schools was not a reasonable regulation. If the court is unwilling to take this approach, the next step may be to file an equal protection lawsuit against the State of Ohio and perhaps other states as well.
The Ohio State Board of Education has yet to define the parameters for determining the level of equality of treatment required.
Will they use the same formula that the Supreme Court has used in deciding that only a racial quota can serve to level the playing field and ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to achieve success in life?
If the answer is yes, then we are once again seeing what happens when the definition of equity and equal opportunity is stretched too far. But, if the answer is no, then we are also seeing how important an educational ideal such as an education level that ensures equal opportunity for all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or economic background can be. With all of the work that is put into educating our children today, it is important to understand that the decision in Brown vs. Board of Education does not change this.