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In the pivotal decision of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court of the United States noted that “education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments” and that “it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education . . . [which] is a right [that] must be made available to all on equal terms.” Yet nearly seventy years later, our nation’s education system is far from equal, with a number of reports across the country finding dismal conditions in many public schools. These underachieving schools are disproportionately found in low-income areas and are a major contributor to rising inequality, a wrong that the law-and-political-economy (“LPE”) movement is trying to right.
This Comment will argue that the United States’ current education system is hyperfocused on producing future laborers—it only invests the bare minimum needed to give everyone nominal literacy and math skills in K–12 schools, and then puts the onus on the individual to seek the appropriate amount of higher education needed for their chosen profession. For example, in our current system it is of little importance to society that the head chef of a restaurant understands complex, multi-variable calculus, so long as they can manage an effective kitchen. The time and resources needed to teach the chef anything beyond the skills needed for their job are seen as waste in our current view, forcing the chef to invest in more training on their own if they think the skills gained are worth the time and money and will result in higher returns (i.e., a
higher salary).
This Comment advocates for a different standard: the “well-educated voter and juror” standard that wants each citizen educated to a sufficient level at which they can vote intelligently and understand potentially complex concepts that might
arise if they sit on a jury. This will require a much larger investment in public education.
Jonathan Brooks *
* J.D., 2025, University of Richmond School of Law; M.A. Ed., 2011, The College of William and Mary School of Education; B.A., 2010, University of Virginia.