The concept of equality plays a central role in contentious educationand social debates. In many countries like South Korea, its usehas become more prevalent with the increasing number of ethnicallydiverse populations. These debates and public discourses,however, do not lead to a resolution but entrenchment of oppositionalpositions. In addresing the ideological impasse, this essaytraces a history of equality discourse in the U.S. context by examiningseveral landmark legal cases, affirmative action court decisions,and contrasting state curricula in California and Florida. As analternative, the essay reframes the equality discourse by introducingthe concept of relational equality, drawing from the works ofMartha Minow, Elizabeth Anderson, and Iris Marion Young. Thisframework offers a lens through which more just educational practicesmay be achieved.