Despite recent gains in public school pupils’ overall performance, huge and persistent performance discrepancies between white and minority students exist in the U.S. education system. In the 1960s, most minority students (African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans) were educated in entirely segregated institutions, received funding at a fraction of what white students received, and were completely barred from many higher education institutions. Since 1970, the termination of legal segregation and subsequent cost-leveling measures have had a substantial influence on student success. Despite this, minority kids’ educational experiences remain highly fragmented and uneven. Many economically disadvantaged minorities and students live in low-income metropolitan regions with the lowest educational investment or in rural areas with financial inequity.
Low-income and minority children are overrepresented in limited and minority schools, which get less learning resources than other schools. Inequalities are exacerbated by monitoring systems, which keep many low-income and minority pupils out of school. These practices, when combined, result in minority children having fewer and lower-quality books, study materials, laboratories, and computers; much bigger class sizes; less trained and experienced instructors; and less access to a high-quality curriculum. Many schools that cater to low-income and minority children don’t even provide the math and science courses that are necessary for college admissions and the ones that do give lower-quality instruction.
Although socioeconomic gaps and other structural reasons outside the authority of schools contribute to the disparity, local district measures can have an influence. Simultaneously, the inclusion of minorities on school boards results in major improvements in local school district management and, as a result, increased academic achievement, particularly among minority students. The California Voting Rights Act, which led to many school districts adopting ward-based elections, boosted Hispanic participation in districts with a significant degree of segregation, as an illustration of how policy changes may alter racial representation.
In general, more racial and ethnic minorities on school boards has a favorable effect on educational policy affecting non-white pupils. Racial minorities that serve on school boards or education committees have made steps to increase their visibility, increase school financing, and improve overall accomplishment for non-white kids. However, on the global scale, despite all of the efforts made at the local level, schools remain separated and unequal in terms of resources, public investment, and the quality of education delivered to pupils.
Another issue is that enhancing education quality for individuals who do not currently have access to it would necessitate more financial expenditure. One of the processes contributing to this impact is higher education expenses, which is consistent with the time lag between changing school board membership and boosting student accomplishment. Greater minority participation on the school board, in particular, enhances the chance of the school board proposing and winning voter approval for the acquisition of school space. Policymakers’ willingness to increase educational possibilities and provide high-quality education can push up expenses.
In general, my view on the issue did not change; moreover, after getting into the issue, as it was made through the course, the depth of the problem only confirms this statement. Indeed, in some cases, the inclusion of the minorities representatives can impact the educational policy or opt for the increase of financial support. However, the minorities’ voting or school boards presence increase only the possibility of it – the system, in general, is not in favor of the global change. The educational policy did not change drastically and still is more supportive to the white students, while the minorities’ political actions have only little influence.