Still Separate and Unequal? Latina/o and Immigrant Youth and the Quest for

Educational Equality

Lisa M. MartinezDept. of Sociology and Criminology

University of DenverLisa.Martinez@du.edu

Still Separate and Unequal?• Educational gains• Remaining challenges• Implications– Reproduction of inequalities– Limited access and social mobility

Key Court Cases

Plessy

v.

Ferg

uson (1

896)

Salva

tierra

v. D

el

Rio ISD (1

930)

Alvare

z v. L

emon

Grove

Scho

ol

Distric

t (19

31)

Men

dez v

.

Wes

tmins

ter

(194

7)

Brown v.

Board

of Educa

tion

(195

4)

Keye

s v.

Scho

ol Dist

rict

No. 1 (

1973

)

Plyer

v. D

oe

(198

2)

Prop

osition

187 (

1994

)

Prop

osition

227 (

1998

)

Loba

to v.

State

of Colo

rado

(201

1)

Gains in Education

• Increase in high school graduation rates among 18-24 year old Latina/os

Gains in Education

• Increase in college enrollment rates

Gains in Education

• Growing share of college degrees

Gains in Education

• Decline in proportion of high school dropouts

End of De Jure Segregation

• Latina/o and immigrant youth have made significant educational gains – High school graduation rates– College enrollment– Share of college degrees– Decline in dropout rates

Remaining Challenges

• Achievement gap among Latina/o youth

Remaining Challenges

• Achievement gap among immigrant youth

Remaining Challenges

• Gaps in enrollment and access

Remaining Challenges

• Sociological factors: poverty

Remaining Challenges

• Sociological factors: segregation

Beginning of De Facto Segregation

• Segregated neighborhoods, segregated schools

• Reproduction of social inequalities• Access issues for immigrant youth, suppressed

social mobility for Latina/os