In the 1960s, the struggle for civil rights focused on political enfranchisement. Today, one of the most important civil rights struggles concerns educational enfranchisement. A 1940's high-school dropout who took a union manufacturing job could be expected to earn more over the course of his career than a college professor. But with the Information Age clearly upon us, economic opportunity now equals educational opportunity. Sadly, the current state of educational enfranchisement depends on your family's income.
Rich parents can consider both public and private schools for their children.
In contrast, poor parents must send their children to the public school nearest them, whether or not it is educationally effective or even safe. The state of New Jersey took control of Jersey City's public schools in 1989. It did so because of its belief that the rights of Jersey City's schoolchildren to an effective education were being abridged. It noted that fewer than half of Jersey City's public school students were finishing their senior year and passing the basic skills tests necessary to receive a diploma. Edicational enfranchisement depends on your family's income.