The Condition of Minority Access and Participation in Arizona: 2004

Abstract

This brief reviews the current status of minority students in the public schools of Arizona. For the purposes of this discussion, minority is defined as anyone other than non-Hispanic White native speakers of English. The discussion includes all varieties of minority (i.e., language minority, ethnic minority, racial minority, recent immigrant). This brief attempts to paint a broad-brush picture of how minority students in Arizona achieve in comparison with majority group students. Federal Laws and Court Rulings The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas,1 ruling of 1954 determined that racial segregation limited African American student access to a quality education in public schools, and was therefore illegal. This landmark case set the stage for the legal and regulatory framework that developed subsequently and that grew to include other groups experiencing similar educational inequities. Brown v. Board of Education paved