Singh, Kumar (1993). Employment Equity: Breaking the Cycle of Discrimination. TESL Talk, v21 n1 p236-42. Discusses employment equity as a systemic solution of the Ontario government that focuses on the elimination of policies and practices within the system and institutions that perpetuate discrimination. The article argues that successful completion of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) training has not guaranteed fair access to employment. (eight references) (Author/CK)…

Butler, John Sibley (1996). The Return of Open Debate. Society, v33 n3 p11-18 Mar-Apr. Discusses the Brown versus Board of Education decision, evaluates the influence of social science data on court decisions, and reconstructs race and educational achievement in the United States. Special emphasis is placed on comments of Supreme Court Justice Thomas and the future of the relationship between blacks and education into the new century. (GR)…

Books, Sue (1999). School Funding: Justice v. Equity. Equity & Excellence in Education, v32 n3 p53-58 Dec. Examines the problem of equity in school funding, noting the relationship between poverty, racial composition, spending, and student achievement. Discusses how equity is measured; the influence of the social context (i.e., ghettoization, corporate deals, and political spins); the impact of the legal context; and the issue of equity versus justice. (SM)…

Maher, Rebecca (2004). "Workin' on the Railroad": African American Labor History. Social Education, v68 n5 pS4 Sep. In the spring of 2003, the author worked with a team of eighth grade teachers at Asheville Middle School in North Carolina on a project that combined fine art, music, the history of the railroads, and the African American experience in the state and nation. In her classroom, students interviewed a retired train conductor, who was African American, to learn about his work environment before and after desegregation. They watched and discussed a video made by older students at nearby Owen High School about the role of African Americans in laying the railroad tracks in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Finally, they learned about the life and works of three African American artists who depicted their society during the first half of the twentieth century and created a work of art (in the style of the times) that drew upon the many things that they had learned in this unit of study. The unit of study is described in this article. (Contains 6 notes.)…

Smith, Tom E. C. (2005). IDEA 2004: Another Round in the Reauthorization Process. Remedial & Special Education, v26 n6 p314-319 Nov-Dec. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was recently reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Several significant changes were made in the most recent reauthorization. These included requirements for "highly qualified" special education teachers; a track that will result in full funding; changes in the composition of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and committee involvement in the IEP process; transition from school to postschool; identification procedures for students with learning disabilities (LD); due process hearings; expulsion and suspension of students with disabilities; and a host of other, less significant changes. Although on the surface some of these changes appear to be major, the primary purpose of IDEA–providing a free, appropriate public education for children with disabilities–remains intact…. [Direct]

Lapayese, Yvette V. (2004). National Initiatives within the UN Decade for Human Rights Education: The Implementation of Human Rights Education Policy Reforms in Schools. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, v3 n2 p167-182 Jan. As the ubiquitous force of globalization further erodes the nation-state and political activity increasingly focuses on global issues, there is renewed attention to models of global education. Within this global context, human rights education emerges as a response to the demands of global education. One of the main objectives of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) is the building and strengthening of programs and capacities for human rights education at the national and local levels. In this essay, an overview of human rights education and the policy guidelines for national plans of action for human rights education developed by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) are presented. Further, the essay focuses on comprehensive national initiatives within the Decade that are being undertaken in Japan, Austria, and the United States, with particular attention to the implementation of human rights education in formal secondary school… [Direct]

Grace, Andre P.; Wells, Kristopher (2005). The Marc Hall Prom Predicament: Queer Individual Rights v. Institutional Church Rights in Canadian Public Education. Canadian Journal of Education, v28 n3 p237-270. In 2002, Marc Hall's principal denied him permission to take his boyfriend to his Catholic high-school prom. In examining the politicization of the ensuing prom predicament, we critique Catholicized education and what we perceive to be the Catholic Church's efforts to privatize queerness as it segregates being religious from being sexual. We situate this privatization as the failure of the Catholic Church to treat vulnerable queer Catholic youth with dignity and integrity as the church sets untenable limits to queer. Examining Canadian case law regarding individual rights, we argue for the importance of upholding the "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" in the name of democratic principles…. [PDF] [Direct]

Heugh, Kathleen (2003). Can Authoritarian Separatism Give Way to Linguistic Rights? A South African Case Study. Current Issues in Language Planning, v4 n2 p126-145 Apr. This paper provides a background to recent developments in language planning in South Africa. Following a historical review, it focuses on a Bill of Rights in the new constitution which has, since 1993, demanded a shift towards rights-based language policy within a liberal framework. Debates within the Pan South African Language Board (PANSALB) swiftly gravitated towards aspects of corpus planning, particularly lexicography, and practices resorted to a multiplication of structures. It is through these debates, under the mantle of language rights and their institutionalisation, that it is possible to assess whether or not there has been a shift from segregationist planning to rights-based multilingualism/linguistic pluralism. Government's participation in the debates and its response to these also provide an opportunity to weigh the concepts of language planning from below (Alexander, 1992a) and "governmentality" in relation to language planning (Pennycook, 2002) during a… [Direct]

Nieto, Sonia (2005). Social Justice in Hard Times: Celebrating the Vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Multicultural Perspectives, v7 n1 p3-7 Jan. It is important to remember that one's presence \can\ create a clamor, a person's action \does\ make a difference. The author is reminded of this fact whenever he thinks about a poem by Angel Nieto. Similarly, individuals need to be reminded of this fact more than ever before because these are hard times for social justice. As individuals commemorate the words and deeds and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they need to acknowledge that in the past half century America has made great strides in promoting the agenda of social justice. In this article, the author suggests three ways in which a person can both struggle against the hard times and at the same time honor Dr. King's memory…. [Direct]

Davies, Mark (2004). Challenges to "Academic Immunity"–The Beginning of a New Era?. Education and the Law, v16 n2-3 p75-96. While the term "academic immunity" is not one usually used, in practice academics in higher education institutions (HEIs) have been immune from legal challenges to their key professional activities. The historical position in the UK has seen both university visitors and the courts consistently refusing to interfere with decisions described as having the nature of academic judgment. HEIs may have contractual obligations to students for the provision of the agreed syllabus with sufficient numbers of skilled staff, but they and the academics who work for them retain very significant freedom in terms of the detailed provision of the academic "product". In this article the author considers the prospect of "academic immunity" surviving recent changes in other areas of law, notably the introductions of the Human Rights Act 1998, the abolition of the immunity advocates enjoyed against claims in negligence and the coming into force of key aspects of the Special… [Direct]

Beck, George (2004). The Fourteenth Amendment as Related to Tribal Indians: Section I, "Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof" and Section II, "Excluding Indians Not Taxed". American Indian Culture and Research Journal, v28 n4 p37-68. The phrase "excluding Indians not taxed" appears in both Article I and the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. This essay examines the phrases "excluding Indians not taxed" and "subject to the jurisdiction" of sections 1 and 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment as they apply to Indians. This essay, through analysis of constitutional and legislative history, will demonstrate that "tribal" Indians were purposefully excluded from citizenship. The drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment clearly defined "tribal" Indians as "Indians not taxed," as not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. This essay delineates the jurisdictional links between taxation and citizenship and discusses how the courts have repeatedly misconstrued the pertinent phrases. Solid arguments will verify that acts which imposed citizenship on all Indians, contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment prohibition against tribal Indian citizenship,… [Direct]

Gibbs, Annette (1992). Reconciling Rights and Responsibilities of Colleges and Students: Offensive Speech, Assembly, Drug Testing, and Safety. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 5. This monograph suggests solutions for the conflicts, especially prominent in recent years, between students and higher education institutions concerning their respective rights and responsibilities. The discussion focuses particularly on regulating offensive speech, rights of association and assembly, drug testing for athletes, and student safety on campus. Separate sections address each of these issues in turn. The discussion of offensive speech focuses on interpretations of First Amendment rights and advises that colleges should consider policies that are neither overbroad nor too vague, but that restrictions on time, place and manner of speech appropriate for the educational environment and for maintaining law and order on campus are constitutional. The review of rights of assembly and association suggests that once the institution recognizes some groups, other groups should not be denied such treatment simply because the college or university does not agree with their views. On… [PDF]

(1990). On Campus with Women: Volume 19: Numbers 1-4; Summer 1989-Spring 1990. On Campus with Women, v19 n1-4 Sum 1989-Spr. Four issues of the newsletter, \On Campus with Women,\ present information on the status and education of women. The newsletters offer brief news items on the following topics: women and the law; discrimination and the law; employment; legal actions; child care; campus issues; sexual harassment and rape; campus crime; sports; women's studies; gender studies; math and science; working in academe; minority women; international issues; and resources. (JDD)…

Eveslage, Thomas (1985). The First Amendment: Free Speech & a Free Press. A Curriculum Guide for High School Teachers. This curriculum guide is intended to encourage students to learn how everyone benefits when young people, other citizens, and the media exercise the constitutional rights of free speech and free press. Background information on free speech issues is provided, along with classroom activities, discussion questions, and student worksheets. There are 11 chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 summarize why the First Amendment should be studied and how that study might be approached. A brief discussion of how constitutional law and courts operate is provided in chapter 3. Other chapters outline and discuss specific free speech topics affecting the media. These include free expression versus government authority; libel; privacy and copyright; confidentiality, contempt, and the courtroom; obscenity, responsibility, and codes of ethics; and broadcast and advertising regulation. A chapter on students' rights and responsibilities reviews the earlier chapters within the context of the high school and… [PDF]

Gehring, Donald D.; Young, D. Parker (1978). Students. A review of 1977 cases that involved students and institutions of higher education indicates that students seem to be more concerned with their rights as educational consumers. The majority of cases concern controversies focusing on classroom and academic evaluation and treatment of students; receipt of various forms of financial aid; use of student fees, fines, and other charges; and generally \getting what I paid for.\ The other issue which seems to be emerging relates to standards for admission. Further, many 1977 educational-consumer cases involved graduate and professional students who invested a great deal of time and money in their educational preparation. Other issues addressed in this chapter include due process, search and seizure, religious matters, publications, organizations, resident housing, athletics, parental support of students, and student voting. (Author/MLF)…

(2005). Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) These guidelines were created by UNESCO to assist countries in making National Plans for Education more inclusive, recognizing that there was a lack of guidelines to assist in this important process. This document thus provides guidelines and concepts for rendering National Education Plans / Education for All (EFA) more inclusive, with the objective of ensuring access and quality education for ALL learners. It is intended to systematize how excluded children are planned for in education. It begins with a brief introduction, which provides a historical perspective on the origins of inclusion and describes the shift from integration towards inclusion. It is then divided into three main parts. The first provides a theoretical framework. It defines inclusion, explains how it is founded in a human rights approach and how it relates to factors such as quality and cost-effectiveness. The second part looks at more practical changes at the school level. It outlines the key elements in the… [PDF]

Turnbull, Ann P.; Turnbull, H. Rutherford, III (1998). Free Appropriate Public Education: The Law and Children with Disabilities. Fifth Edition. This book examines schools' legal responsibility for providing equal educational opportunities for children with disabilities under the 1997 reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). First, an introduction to the American legal system and federal policy on disability is provided. Next, the six principles of special education law are analyzed: (1) zero reject, or the right of every child to be included in a free, appropriate, publicly supported educational system; (2) nondiscriminatory testing, placement, and classification; (3) individualized and appropriate education; (4) least restrictive appropriate educational placement; (5) procedural due process; and (6) parent participation and shared decision making. Methods of enforcing the law, through case law techniques and statutory techniques, are then discussed. The book also presents common objections to the six legal principles and answers those objections. It presents the pre-1997 provision of IDEA so that…

Durand-Prinborgne, Claude (2002). The Legal Aspects of Educational Planning and Administration. Fundamentals of Educational Planning. The purpose of this monograph, which is aimed at educational planners, is to explain the essential aspects of the relationship between planning and law. It is intended to illustrate the role of law in the planning and administration of school systems and thus familiarize education specialists with the tools needed to understand legal administration rules for school systems. It presents its points using the French situation as a model, which is representative of a sociopolitical system where law plays an exceptional role in the field of education, including higher education, reflected both in the sheer amount of legislation and its judicial interpretation and in the influence the legislation exerts. Several topical themes–including decentralization, decision-making procedures, administrative organization, contractual procedures, and conflict resolution–are discussed in detail. Chapter titles reveal the monograph's primary areas of focus: (1) "Preliminary Definitions: Planning,…

Black-Branch, Jonathan L. (1993). Judicial Intervention, the Balancing of Interests and Administrative Decision-Making: Using the "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" as a Vehicle for Parental Participation in Settling Disputes Regarding Programme. Canadian Journal of Special Education, v9 n1 p73-90. This paper analyzes the Canadian case of "Elwood v. Halifax County Bedford School District" in the context of special education rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Implications suggest the willingness of the judiciary to intervene in educational decision making and the use of the charter to shape educational policy. (DB)…

(1973). Suing the Schools for Fraud: Issues and Legal Strategies. Transcript of a Conference: Fraud in the Schools. On November 20, 1972, a complaint was filed by Suzanne Martinez of the Youth Law Center against the San Francisco Unified School District and others on behalf of an 18-year-old plaintiff, identified as Peter W. Doe. Peter Doe had graduated with average grades, had never encountered serious disciplinary problems, and had maintained a regular attendance. Reading specialists who examined the plaintiff after his graduation from high school indicated that he was reading at the fifth grade level. The plaintiff later subscribed to reading tutoring and made significant progress. The complaint presented nine legal grounds of school district liability in the four general areas of negligence, misrepresentation, breach of statutory duties, and constitutional deprivation of right to education. At the conference recorded here, Ms. Martinez and a number of educational experts discussed the case and its implications for the future of litigation in this area. (Author/JF)… [PDF]

Artiles, Alfredo J.; Harry, Beth (2006). Addressing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student Overrepresentation in Special Education: Guidelines for Parents. NCCREST Practitioner Brief. Online Submission This brief, also available in Spanish, defines the concept of overrpresentation, identifies possible causes for the problem, and offers a variety of ways that parents and families can help prevent or decrease overrpresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education programs. (Contains 2 tables.) [This brief was produced by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCREST).]… [PDF]

Dautremont-Smith, Julian, Comp. (2006). AASHE Digest. A Review of Campus Sustainability 2005. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education This paper includes almost 250 stories about higher education institutions that are leading the way to a sustainable future. It is organized into 8 chapters covering: Institutional Change; Education & Outreach; Social Responsibility; Green Building; Energy & Climate; Food & Agriculture; Transportation; Waste, Water, Procurement, and Landscaping. [Funding for this paper was provided by Woodard & Curran and Powersmiths.]… [PDF]

Hornsby, Eunice Ellen (2006). Using Policy to Drive Organizational Change. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, n112 p73-83 Win. This chapter addresses recent changes in public policy and organizational practices that affect LGBTQ individuals and the role that organizational policy can play in establishing and maintaining respectful and inclusive workplaces…. [Direct]

Tibbitts, Felisa (2006). Learning from the Past: Supporting Teaching through the "Facing the Past" History Project in South Africa. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education, v36 n3 p295-317 Sep. This article presents an innovative professional development project, "Facing the Past-Transforming Our Future," developed collaboratively by the Western Cape Educational Department, the Cape Town Holocaust Centre (CTHC), and the US-based teacher professional development organization Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO). "Facing the Past" was designed to support teachers in the introduction of the new South African history curriculum and, in particular, the 9th grade history requirement to teach human rights issues during and after the Second World War. Two major components of the 9th grade content framework are Nazi Germany and the Holocaust and apartheid South Africa. The South Africa programme mirrored FHAO's approach by creating teaching resources linked with the history curriculum and by providing sustained trainings, workshops, and ongoing classroom support. While meeting both the content and skill requirements of the new history standards, "Facing the… [Direct]

(2011). 30th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act," 2008. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, US Department of Education This is the 30th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2008. Section 664(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as reauthorized in 2004, requires that the Department of Education report annually on the progress made toward the provision of a free appropriate public education to all children with disabilities and the provision of early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities. The "30th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 2008" describes our nation's progress: (1) in providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities; (2) in assuring that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected; (3) in assisting states and localities in providing for the education of all children with disabilities; and (4) in assessing the effectiveness of efforts… [PDF]

Flanagan, Connie; Gallay, Leslie (2008). Adolescent Development of Trust. CIRCLE Working Paper 61. Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) The purpose of this project was to gain a better understanding of dimensions of trust and inter-relationships between those dimensions during the adolescent years. Drawing from survey data collected at the beginning and end of a semester in eighty middle- and high-school social studies classes, relationships were assessed between: social trust, trust in elected officials, trust in the responsiveness of government to ordinary people, trust in the American promise, and trustworthiness of the media. The study was designed as a randomized evaluation of a civics curriculum called Student Voices in the Campaign, with data gathered from two waves of surveys with 1,670 students ages 12-19 during the fall of 2004. Students from ethnic minority backgrounds were less likely than their ethnic majority peers to trust elected officials or people in general or to believe that the government was interested in ordinary people. However, ethnic minority students were not less likely to believe in the… [PDF]

(1995). Guidelines for Postsecondary Institutions for Implementation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended. Revised Edition. This publication is designed to provide guidance, clarification of intent, and suggested implementation processes and procedures for officials of postsecondary educational institutions concerning the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as Amended in 1988 and 1993. FERPA's purpose is to ensure certain student rights concerning their educational records such as their right to inspection and review, to make amendments, and to some control over the disclosure of information on the record. Chapter 1 provides background and further specifics on FERPA. Chapter 2 defines key terms. Chapter 3 describes compliance requirements. Chapter 4 suggests procedures and strategies for compliance. Chapter 5 discusses particular issues. Chapter 6 provides short answers to the most frequently asked questions about FERPA. Chapter 7 contains cases, mostly taken from actual situations, to test readers' knowledge and strengthen their understanding of FERPA. The resolution to each case…

Flygare, Thomas J. (1994). The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993: Applications in Higher Education. This pamphlet explores how universities must integrate the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) with existing institutional leave policies and how universities can harmonize the requirements of the FMLA with other federal mandates, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). First, basic FMLA concepts are discussed, including eligibility for FMLA leave, notice requirements, medical justification, intermittent leave, relationship of paid to unpaid leave, benefits before and after leave, reinstatement to employment, and enforcement procedures. Next, a series of hypothetical situations is analyzed to highlight practical problems in applying the FMLA to higher education. Finally, several special issues relating to implementation of the FMLA in higher education are raised, including unionized employees, academic year work schedules, "key employee" exceptions, substitutions of paid leave for unpaid FMLA leave, deductions from compensation of salaried employees…

Goodey, Chris; Jordan, Linda (1996). Human Rights and School Change: The Newham Story. This report describes the desegregation of the education service in the London (England) Borough of Newham from 1984 to 1996, involving closure of most of the education authority's special schools and units and plans for all children with disabilities to be in mainstream schools by 1999. The report reviews the early days of local council policy making, the necessary consultations and compromises, how those seeking change responded to concerns, the building of the mainstream support network, staff development, and pupil achievement. Difficulties during the reorganization are noted as are the significant contributions of parents and people with disabilities. The report stresses the following key points: the policy commitment of the Newham Council, the reduction of children in segregated special education from 913 to 206, compromises, the need to change schools rather than fit children into the existing system, the improved academic achievement of Newham's children during this period,…

Lewelling, Vickie W. (1997). Official English and English Plus: An Update. ERIC Digest. This digest provides an overview of the opposing sides in the Official English debate–Official English and English Plus. Proponents of Official English seek to make English the official language of the United States through passage of a constitutional amendment. The movement is spearheaded by two groups, U.S. English and English First. Official English supporters are concerned that bilingual ballots are contradictory to citizenship laws and make non-English speakers prey to bloc voting. They believe that bilingual education advocates preservation of native language and cultures at the expense of learning English. Although the Senate convened hearings on official English in 1984, and the House did in 1988, an English language amendment has never come to a congressional vote. In 1991, proponents took a different approach and launched a statutory form of official English. This Language of Government bill has appeared in several versions, and one of these bills passed the House but not… [PDF]