Civil Rights,Education Research,and the Courts

This commentary was designed to accompany a series of articles in Educational Researcher, vol. 35, no. 1, a theme issue entitled “Moving Beyond Gratz and Grutter—The Next Generation of Research.” The author discusses the role of education research in civil rights litigation, drawing on historical roots established in Brown v. Board of Education 1954 and exploring recent challenges in cases such as Grutter v. Bollinger 2003. He highlights the roles of scientific research in judicial decision making, which have included informing doctrine and bolstering the rhetorical strength of judicial opinions. Because of the courts’ open-ended use of scientific research, the author concludes that education research can play a valuable role in informing civil rights disputes and policy debates