Title 20 — EducationRelease 119-73
§1701 Congressional declaration of policy
Title 20 › Chapter CHAPTER 39— - EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND TRANSPORTATION OF STUDENTS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES › Part Part 1— - Policy and Purpose › § 1701
Summary
Children in public schools must have equal learning chances regardless of race, color, sex, or national origin; assignments should use neighborhood, and the law lays out steps to end remaining segregation.
Full Legal Text
Title 20, §1701
Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Congress declares it to be the policy of the United States that—
(1)all children enrolled in public schools are entitled to equal educational opportunity without regard to race, color, sex, or national origin; and
(2)the neighborhood is the appropriate basis for determining public school assignments.
(b)In order to carry out this policy, it is the purpose of this subchapter to specify appropriate remedies for the orderly removal of the vestiges of the dual school system.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective on and after sixtieth day after Aug. 21, 1974, see section 2(c) of Pub. L. 93–380, set out as a note under section 1221–1 of this title.
Short Title
Pub. L. 93–380, title II, § 201, Aug. 21, 1974, 88 Stat. 514, provided that: “This title [enacting this chapter and section 1228 of this title and amending section 1608 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974’.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
20 U.S.C. § 1701
Title 20 — Education
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73