Public Reciprocity in Education for Postsecondary Success (PREPS) for Students of Color: The Legal Justification and A Call for Action (Editor's Commentary)

According to the Department of Education's (2012) report, "Revealing New Truths about Our Nation's Schools," 40 percent of the public schools with the highest Black/Latino enrollment in Prince George's County Public Schools do not offer Algebra II; however, the University of Maryland-College Park requires not only Algebra II, but also at least one year of math beyond Algebra II. Therefore, some public institutions in Maryland, through omission and negligence, collude to deny thousands of Black, Latino, and some White students the right to attend the state's flagship university. There are many U.S. states that systematically disqualify students of color from their best public colleges by omitting required courses from select public schools' curricula, but is this legal? Using our personal journeys, professional expertise, and consultation with an educational attorney, we explored the legal and ethical bases for Public Reciprocity in Education for Postsecondary Success (PREPS). We hope this analysis will spark a national discussion and subsequent action to remove one of the most pervasive and elusive barriers to postsecondary success for Black and Latino students. DR. TOLDSON'S JOURNEY I graduated from Istrouma Senior High School, a public high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of 750 students, 98 percent Black and 90 percent eligible for free or reduced lunch (GreatSchools, 2012). As a student at Istrouma, one of my friends informed me that Louisiana State University (LSU) required Physics for admission. Physics was not required for me to graduate high school, and I had only marginal interests in attending LSU; however, I decided to enroll in Physics during my senior year because I did not want to limit my options. My school only offered a half year of Physics (.5 credits), so I was not certain that I met LSU's admissions criteria, but my application was accepted. I enrolled in LSU the summer after I graduated, through a minority bridge program, and graduated four years later. During my sophomore year of college, I returned to Istrouma to visit my high school Physics teacher; one of my favorite teachers named Mr. Jacob. "Toldson man!" Mr. Jacob, who is White, exclaimed, "I think our principal forgot what color he is." At the time, the principal was Black. Mr. Jacob was upset because the principal had recently succeeded in eliminating Physics from the curriculum at Istrouma High School. Admittedly, I had the utmost respect for our principal. He oversaw the transformation of the school after we had two shootings and one stabbing resulting in a student's death during my sophomore year of high school. Upon his hiring, he restored order and discipline, but perhaps his myopic view of his responsibilities was not conducive to students like me. IfI were bom two years earlier, the man who created a safer learning environment for me might have also denied me the opportunity to attend my state's flagship university. Over the past 5 years, I have spoken frequently to colleagues, teachers, counselors, and school administrators about students who are being systematically denied access to colleges and universities because the curricula of their assigned public school are not compatible with public institutions of higher education. I have conducted trainings with groups of principals and principal trainees who talk candidly about the challenges of providing academic enrichment to students, while meeting social and political pressures to enforce strict disciplinary policies and procedures. The Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC: 2012) report reveals that problems associated with public high schools under preparing Black students for college is far more pervasive than I imagined. DR. LEWIS' JOURNEY My secondary education took place at Capitol High School, a predominately Black, low socioeconomic status (SES), urban public high school in Baton Rouge. As class president of 264 graduating seniors, I knew that many of my friends had been motivated by our teachers to attend various colleges/universities in the state. …