Student Achievement Obituary

Civil Rights Champion Taylor Dies

By Mary Ann Zehr — July 13, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

William L. Taylor, a lawyer who devoted decades of his life to desegregating U.S. schools, died June 28 of complications from a fall. He was 78 and a resident of Washington.

Mr. Taylor successfully litigated school desegregation lawsuits in St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Fort Wayne, Ind. He was the founder and chairman of the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights, a watchdog organization based in Washington, and a vice chairman of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national groups.

During the 1960s, he served as the general counsel and staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Mr. Taylor is also well known for having been one of the first civil rights activists to embrace standards-based school reform as a remedy for closing achievement gaps between low-income or minority students and their white and better-off peers, said Dianne Piché, the special counsel for the office for civil rights of the U.S. Department of Education, who was a colleague of Mr. Taylor’s for 25 years.

She said he was instrumental in getting the Title I program for disadvantaged students revamped in a reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act during the Clinton administration.

“Whether he was in the courtroom, the halls of government, or in a congressional hearing room, Bill Taylor was a consistent voice for equality and justice—a voice that will be deeply missed,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement after learning of Mr. Taylor’s death.

U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released a statement saying, Bills steadfast commitment to helping all children shaped the way we educate children in this country.

A version of this article appeared in the July 14, 2010 edition of Education Week as Civil Rights Champion Taylor Dies

Events

School Climate & Safety Webinar Engaging Every Student: How to Address Absenteeism and Build Belonging
Gain valuable insights and practical solutions to address absenteeism and build a more welcoming and supportive school environment.
Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Social-Emotional Learning 2025: Examining Priorities and Practices
Join this free virtual event to learn about SEL strategies, skills, and to hear from experts on the use and expansion of SEL programs.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on Addressing Learning Gaps
This Spotlight will help you explore strategies to address gaps, accelerate learning, support students' overall well-being, and more.
Student Achievement Why Are Reading Scores Still Falling on the Nation’s Report Card?
Education Week spoke with experts to dig into the factors that could be shaping the results.
9 min read
Piles of white books decreasing in number showing a downward trend.
Sasin Parasksa/iStock
Student Achievement Reading Scores Fall to New Low on NAEP, Fueled by Declines for Struggling Students
A third of 8th graders and 40 percent of 4th graders did not meet a "basic" reading level.
8 min read
Illustration of a ruler tilted downward with books, a plus symbol and a number 1 starting to slide off. There is an educator pushing the number one in an effort to keep things behind it from sliding off.
Gina Tomko/Education Week + Getty
Student Achievement From Our Research Center Learning Recovery Has Stalled. What Should Schools Do Next?
Students are still not fully caught up, educators said in a new survey.
4 min read
A group of high school girls work together to solve an algebra problem during their precalculus class.
A group of high school girls work together to solve an algebra problem during their precalculus class. Nearly 4 in 10 educators said the level of unfinished learning in secondary math was “severe” or “very severe,” a new survey shows.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed