Alabama Constitution Section 256 Duty of legislature to establish and maintain public school system apportionment of public school fund separate schools for white and colored children
Section 256 – Public School System; Fund Apportionment; Racial Segregation (Historical Context)
Short Heading:
Section 256 – Public School System and Fund Apportionment
Detailed Explanation:
1. Duty to Maintain Public Schools:
Section 256 places a constitutional obligation on the Alabama Legislature to:
Establish, organize, and maintain a system of public schools throughout the state.
Ensure the system is adequate and equitable to serve all children.
2. Apportionment of Public School Funds:
The section requires that public school funds be fairly distributed across school districts.
The goal is to promote uniformity in educational opportunity, though practical inequalities have existed.
3. Racial Segregation Clause (Historical Language):
The original 1901 version of this section explicitly mandated separate schools for white and Black children.
This language reflected the segregationist policies of the Jim Crow era.
Current Legal Status:
Racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional under federal law (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).
The segregation clause in Section 256 is now unenforceable, though it remained in the Constitution’s text until recently.
Efforts to Remove Segregation Language:
Amendment 111 (2004) failed to remove this language.
However, Amendment 4 (approved in 2020) finally succeeded in removing racist language from the state constitution, including in Section 256.
Summary:
Section 256 mandates a public school system and fund apportionment.
It originally included segregationist language, now removed and unenforceable.
It reflects both Alabama’s historical challenges and its modern efforts to reform public education laws.
RELATED Blog
0 comments