I’m Confused – Thoughts From The Middle of Nowhere

I know, confusion is normal for me but I have to bring it up, I'm confused by this; n n<a href="http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1161775893110520.xml&coll=2" >New U.S. rules allow single-sex education</a> n n<blockquote>For the first time in a generation, public schools have won broad freedom to teach boys and girls separately, stirring a new debate about equality in the classroom. n nThe Education Department on Tuesday announced rules that will make it easier to create single-sex classes or schools, a plan that has been expected for almost three years. </blockquote> n nI thought it was decided many years ago, in Brown vs Board of Education, that a separate but equal education was against our Constitution, specifically the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. Yes I realize this applied to " racial separation" but wasn't it later applied to separation of the sexes in later court verdicts that were based on Brown vs Board of Education? n nI had to look this one up but found what I was looking for, <a href="http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/654/" >United States v. Virginia</a> was the case I was thinking of. In this one it was found that the State of Virginia violated the same equal protection clause by not allowing women into the Virginia Military Academy and that creating an equal, but separate, female academy still violated the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. n nSo how in tarnation with all this information in hand can we now allow separate schools for boys and girls in the nations public school system? My head hurts this confuses me so bad. All this is going to cause is more law suits because some disgruntled parent will claim the schools are not equal and the courts will step in and strike it down. Why go through the bother. n nI guess we will never learn from history in this country, just keep making the same stupid mistakes. n nNo, no, no separate but equal… never the twain shall meet. Mo Rocca