Guest Opinion. PART I of 3  It may surprise many to learn that education is not explicitly a direct Constitutional right for most Americans. However, it is protected as an equal protection right under the 14th Amendment—meaning that if any government provides education, it must not be denied to any American citizen. Federal Title funding and the U.S. Department of Education were established to safeguard this equal protection right and to address funding inequities when states or local districts fall short, supplementing the additional costs that districts cannot afford to offset the disadvantages some students face when they enter school.