The decade of the 1960's was marked with events designed to create appropriate conditions for equal educational and occupational opportunities. There was a commitment in the 1960's to look at the urban crisis in terms of its educational, sociological, psychological, health, welfare, and housing dimensions, and researchers launched a variety of studies to describe disadvantaged populations in urban areas in these various contexts. Because the issue of full and equal employment opportunities was seen to be directly tied to educational attainment, the 1960's marked the beginning of educational legislation, judicial decisions, and studies designed to correct the educational gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged populations. The Vocational Education Act of 1963, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 are a few examples of federal legislation to aid in the education of disadvantaged populations. Although the move to create equal educational opportunity began in the 1960's, the commitment of urban schools systems to that goal is seriously questioned today. There are still many areas of criticism surrounding the more common issues of curriculum design, teaching strategies, appropriate instructional materials, valid assessment procedures, and testing and evaluation issues, but also, newer areas are being inspected such as the quality of the teaching and administrative staffs, compulsory attendance laws, the schools' obligation to educate students, and multicultural and bilingual education. The new challenge to urban education and to urban educators is seen to consist of a reaffirmation of the belief that education is important and that urban populations have a right to equal educational opportunities. (Author/AM)