What major impact did Brown v. Board have on public schools?

• A. Desegregation of all public schools.
• B. Segregation in public schools continued with no changes.
• C. It applied only to private schools.
• D. It required immediate closing of racially separate schools.

Answer: (A)

Public-school desegregation is what this item tests. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) held that state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and White students violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because separate facilities are inherently unequal. This ruling overturned the long-standing “separate but equal” doctrine, at least as it applied to education, and targeted public schools. It did not apply to private schools, nor did it order the immediate closing of racially separate schools. Instead, it called for desegregation to proceed with all deliberate speed, launching a nationwide effort to dismantle public-school segregation and prompting ongoing court actions and local changes as districts moved toward integration.