Under the Law: Do students have a right to “equal extracurricular opportunity”?

Abstract

Robert Kim tackles the question of whether denying students access to extracurricular programs is lawful. Historically, courts have considered the presence or absence of extracurricular activities as a factor in determining whether a district has eliminated vestiges of segregation. Outside the desegregation context, however, courts have been reluctant to recognize a legal right to participate in extracurricular activities. Today, those hoping to define extracurriclar opportutines as a right may find avenues to puruse in case involving school finances and federal enforcement of civil rights statutes.