Trial Magazine

Flunking Democracy: Schools, Courts, and Civic Participation
Michael E. Rebels
University of Chicago Press
press.uchicago.edu
288 pp., $30

Columbia University law and educational policy professor Michael Rebell argues that public schools in the United States are failing to prepare students to be active civic participants. Although courts—including the Supreme Court—have found that “educating the young for citizenship” is a key function of the public school system, the judiciary has not ensured that students receive this instruction despite being “uniquely positioned to induce the schools to adopt these kinds of policies and practices.” Calling on federal and state courts to take a more active role in overseeing education standards and benchmarks, Rebell addresses various complex questions, including whether a federal right to education should exist and what types of judicial action would not violate the separation of powers.