(2005). Living History. Education Week, v24 n34 p34-37 May. John Tinker and Mary Beth Tinker are back in a classroom in their hometown, once again wearing black armbands and drawing attention to a war. Now in their 50s, the siblings are living symbols of constitutional rights for secondary school students. In 1965, they and a handful of others were suspended for wearing black armbands to their public schools to protest the Vietnam War. The Tinkers and another student, Christopher Eckhardt, took their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in 1969 they won the landmark ruling in "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District" that wearing such an armband in school was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment as long as school was not substantially disrupted. Today, nearly 40 years after the armband controversy unfolded, the Tinkers tend carefully to their legacy as advocates for student expression. They often crisscross the country to speak at schools…. [Direct]
(2004). School Desegregation under Brown: The Role of Court Master Guidelines and Experiences. Journal of Negro Education, v73 n3 p209-217 Sum. The 50th anniversary celebration of "Brown", issues of transportation facilities in many districts like Kansas City, extra-curricular activities and teacher assignment all the major successes of "Brown" are discussed. It is believed that the culture of schooling, that inhibits real life changes for minority youth, remains in place….
(2004). Equal Protection, the ADA, and Driving with Low Vision: A Legal Analysis. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, v98 n10 p654-667 Oct. This article describes federal and state laws that affect the opportunity of people with low vision to drive and to obtain driver's licenses. Discrimination against individuals with low vision is discussed in the context of equal protection and the Americans with Disabilities Act. A review of relevant case law and implications for drivers with low vision are presented…. [PDF]
(2005). The Human Right to Water–Market Allocations and Subsistence in a World of Scarcity. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, v12 p59-85 Nov. More than one billion people do not have access to an adequate water supply. In Gambia and Haiti, people live on less than 4 liters of water per day. By contrast, most toilets in the West use several times that amount of water for a single flush. The global distribution of water is making it increasingly difficult for poor people to access it, and movements to commodify water and privatize the industries that provide it exacerbate this situation, trapping the poorest in a cycle of water poverty. Much research has been done on the problem of water scarcity. However, the link between scarcity and water as a human right is rarely articulated, even the current index of the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has no entry for water. This paper proposes a human right to water. It then considers the consequent obligations the right to water imposes on those who control water resources, such as governments, water corporations, and international lending… [PDF] [PDF]
(2004). We Are Our Mothers' Daughters?. Journal of Women in Educational Leadership, v2 n2 p71-72 Apr. Writing that makes one think, writing that enriches one's understanding of the past and present, that's what Cokie Roberts' book, \We Are Our Mothers' Daughters\ provides, and that, too, is what the authors of this issue of the \Journal of Women in Educational Leadership\ provide. Roberts' background as a news analyst covering politics, Congress and public policy, as well as her heritage as the daughter of Lindy Boggs, Congresswoman and Ambassador to the Vatican, inform her perspectives on women of the past and present. A number of the observations and vignettes from Roberts' book offers perspective to the topics addressed by those who write for and read the \Journal of Women in Educational Leadership.\ In her book, Roberts noted that \women have always played many roles at the same time\ (p. 6). The word \multitasking\ may be kitschy but hardly an original concept for women!… [Direct]
(2004). Ignoring Free, Appropriate, Public Education, a Costly Mistake: The Case of F. M. and L. G. versus Barbour County. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, v9 n2 p219-227 Spr. In 2000, the 11th Circuit Court provided the largest single award in special education history to date, approximately $2.5 million, to two teenage students who were deaf. The students were judged to have been denied a free, appropriate public education (FAPE), having spent their academic careers in generic special education classes for students with multiple disabilities without the benefit of access to a communication system; the services of a certified, qualified teacher of the deaf; or related services. This article describes the case from the perspective of FAPE, least restrictive environment, and due process in the presence of guardians who did not understand the implications of the Individual Education Program (IEP) teams' decisions; presents a chronology of the case; explores the implications for various stakeholders; and discusses the catastrophic impact on the social, emotional, communication, and academic development and earning potential of the students….
(2005). Public Money for Private Schools? Revisiting an Old Debate. Education Canada, v45 n1 p17-19 Win. Current debates on the extent, if any, to which private or independent schools should be supported by public funding, focus on the appropriate role of the state in the governance and regulation of schooling, with proponents on the ideological right and left reaching very different conclusions. Advocates of public funding for private schools deplore the state monopoly over education. Competition on a level playing field between the public and private sectors would, from this perspective, improve the quality and accountability of public schooling, which allegedly fails to meet the diverse and legitimate educational aspirations of many families and communities. Opponents of state aid to independent schools believe that equity, integration and social cohesion can only be achieved through public education and that private schooling generally serves the interests of the privileged or of those with overly narrow, sectarian educational agendas. But these arguments become murkier and less… [Direct]
(2005). Expanding the Definition of Privilege: The Concept of Social Privilege. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, v33 n4 p243 Oct. Examinations of privilege have historically focused on gender and race. By placing privilege within the context of oppression, the authors offer an expanded view of the domains of privilege that include sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, differing degrees of ableness, and religious affiliation….
(2007). Fixing Special Education. Peabody Journal of Education, v82 n4 p703-723 Oct. The current system of educating disabled students provides financial incentives to schools to overidentify students as disabled and underserve those that are identified. The incentive to overidentify is caused by providing schools with additional funds as more students are placed in special education categories that are ambiguous to diagnose and require relatively low additional expenditures to address. The incentive to underserve is caused by high information and transaction costs imposed on parents using the legal process to obtain desired services. An efficient alternative to the current system is to offer disabled students vouchers worth the cost of their education in public schools with which they can attend a private school if they wish. This article considers empirical analyses of the relationship between financial incentives and overidentification as well as the potential benefits of vouchers for special education. It concludes that vouchers for special education are a… [Direct]
(2007). The Undereducation and Overcriminalization of U.S. Latinas/os: A Post-Los Angeles Riots LatCrit Analysis. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v42 n3 p247-266 Oct. At 40.4 million strong (14% of the U.S. population; U.S. Bureau of the Census 2005), Latinas/os are the largest and fastest growing U.S. ethnic minority group. In the last 15 years, since the Los Angeles riots of 1992, Anglo perceptions that the Latina/o population is too large, growing too fast, and too illegal have both continued and perpetuated anti-Latina/o educational policy and criminal law that influence Latina/o perceptions of U.S. education, law, society, justice, and equity. The central question of the article is, "What have been the effects of the last 15 years of educational and criminal justice policy on present-day urban Latina/o injustice and inequality?" A Latino Critical Theory framework is used to interpret and understand the nexus of Anglo reaction (through educational policy and criminal law) to a perceived U.S. Latina/o-ization, and Latina/o counterreaction through resistance, agency, and protest. We focus on the ways in which education and criminal… [Direct]
(1994). Double Jeopardy: The Children of Ethnic Minorities. Innocenti Occasional Papers. Child Rights Series, Number 10. This paper examines the state of current research on ethnic minorities and their children and discusses areas in which further study is needed so that effective policy guidelines may be developed within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A number of examples of ethnic minority situations are presented to illustrate the particular problems faced by families, children, and youth of ethnic minorities and indigenous and tribal peoples. It is commonly held that the solutions to the problems of these groups lie in their ability and willingness to adapt rather than in actions by the dominant societies. After a description of the ways ethnic minorities are usually categorized (territorial minorities, ethnic and cultural minorities, immigrants and refugees, and indigenous and tribal peoples), the paper surveys theoretical approaches to the study of ethnicity and examines the issue of cultural values in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the…
(1992). Obtaining Appropriate Educational Services for Three through Five Year Old Children with Disabilities: An Outline of Selected Legal Issues. The legal aspects of four issues concerned with obtaining educational services for children (ages 3 through 5) with disabilities are outlined and analyzed in this paper. Each issue is discussed in terms of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as appropriate. The issues addressed are: (1) eligibility and entitlement; (2) transition from Early Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers (under Part H of IDEA) to Free Appropriate Public Education (under Part B of IDEA); (3) the meaning of the term "appropriateness" for 3-to-5 year olds; and (4) the definition of "least restrictive environment" for 3-to-5 year olds. (Contains extensive footnotes and in-text citations of the pertinent laws.) (DB)… [PDF]
(1989). Legal Problems of Religious and Private Schools. The range of nonpublic schools in the United States is considerable, from home instruction by parents to prestigious private schools, with or without religious affiliation. The continuing growth in nonpublic education can hardly be blamed on a disenchantment with or an apathy toward public schools; the central common denominator is a basic concern that parents should be able to determine the forum for education. While not itself the sole cause for withdrawal of children from a public school, the inability of parents to effect changes in public school programs or curricula because of judicially imposed impediments has probably contributed to parental and student frustration. Within the six sections of this document, select legal problems of religious and private schools are examined including: (1) tort liability regarding such topics as charitable immunity, field trips, and supervision of students; (2) institution, student, and faculty relations and constitutional and contractual…
(1986). The College, the Constitution, and the Consumer Student: Implications for Policy and Practice. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 7, 1986. Recent legal developments concerning college students and their institutions are reviewed, with a focus on constitutional issues related to the rights of students to organize, the collection and allocation of mandatory student activity fees, and the protection of freedom of speech regarding commercial enterprises. In addition to considering the status of educational malpractice, implications for policy and practice are addressed. Four student-institutional relationships are traced historically: in loco parentis, fiduciary, contractual, and constitutional. Issues concerning the evolution of constitutional rights in higher education include individual rights, due process, privacy rights, and First Amendment rights. Attention is also directed to several rights of association and their effect on the recognition of religious and gay organizations and on regulations governing use of facilities. Religious and political objections concerning the use of mandatory student activity fees are… [PDF]
(1986). Your Official U.S. Constitution Sign-On Information and Documents. These learning materials are centered around the idea that each individual should "sign" the U.S. Constitution. A facsimile of the U.S. Constitution is included in each learning packet for students to sign. Section 1 contains five teaching modules on the constitutional process that can be used with any subject. The first two modules, "Students Have the Right To Vote" and "Should There be a Dress Code," are appropriate for use in kindergarten through grade six. First Amendment rights and an elementary school dress code are analyzed in module 2 through a case study. Modules 3 through 5 are appropriate for junior and senior high level. Freedom of expression and student newspapers are examined using a case study. The legal brief method is used to analyze the dilemma posed in a case study involving the cancellation of the senior prom due to an unauthorized senior cut day. A resource document on student rights and responsibilities is included to aid in…