Student Classification, Public Policy, and the Courts

Abstract

During the past two decades, courts have sought to define with particularity the meaning or, better, meanings of equal educational opportunity. Only recently,however, have courts examined within-school practices—ability grouping, special education placement, exclusion of "ineducable" children—which classify students on the basis of academic performance or potential. In this article, the author examines classification practices in constitutional terms; he assesses both the plausibility of treating student classification issues in equal protection and due process terms, and the policy consequences of such treatment.