The Center
      The Education Rights Center was started in the Fall of 2008 in response to continuing inequities in our public schools and the belief that, by engaging law students in the research of these inequities, the Center could be instrumental in improving educational opportunities for all students.  This commitment among Howard University School of Law's faculty, staff and students is not new.  Dean Charles Hamilton Houston, alongside professors and students, lead a strategy to end segregation in our nation's school, which culminated in the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.  The Center's purpose today is to continue the mission of securing equality in education.  However, today's inequalities are not limited to race, but include poverty, geography, and the basic structure of schools.  Moreover, social science has demonstrated the existence of inequality in a myriad of areas within schools.

          The Education Rights Center provides opportunities for law students to apply their legal training to solve real world problems.  Students participate through law school courses, pro bono volunteer efforts, and as research assistants of the Center.  The Center also collaborates with schools of education, their faculty and their students to bridge the gap between the respective expertise of each discipline.  By collecting the efforts of students, faculty members, and institutions beyond Howard University School of Law, the Center creates unique opportunites for its students, but also creates a research power greater than the sum of its parts.


Contact Information

             Education Rights Center
             Howard University School of Law
             2900 Van Ness St., NW
             Washington, DC 20008
             202-806-8163
             dblack@law.howard.edu