Today’s national Civil Rights dialogue focuses largely on immigration, reproductive issues, and LGBTQ rights. Certainly, each of these issues critically requires our nation’s attention, but they should not be discussed to the exclusion of “old fashioned” racial discrimination. The African-American Civil Rights Movement is the foundation upon which these movements [...]
SAT Scores are down nationwide, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. According to recent data from The College Board, the average SAT score for the class of 2012 was 1055, out of a possible 2400. College readiness is indicated by a minimum score of 1550. Thus, 57% of test takers [...]
Though there may be much to be said for the axiom that creativity can’t be quantified, at least three states have been working to develop something akin to an objective measure of imagination.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held on Wednesday that a “ministerial exception” barred a parochial school teacher from pursuing an employment discrimination claim against the church that runs the school. This opinion dramatically limits the scope of protection provided to religious employees under the “primary duties” test, the standard previously used by several federal circuits. Although lower courts can continue to carve out areas in which exceptional circumstances may compel the conclusion that the ministerial exception need not apply, “ministers” now receive no protection under civil rights or other discrimination statutes.
For the last seventy-five years, Augusta, Georgia has predominantly been known for its connection to the Masters, one of the nation’s most tradition-laden events in all of sports. But less than a mile from Magnolia Lane, Augusta State University (ASU) has become embroiled in a legal controversy with a former [...]
A significant part of the challenge of preventing “at-risk” high school students from dropping out involves providing these students with meaningful reasons to continue their education. The problem is an obvious one: students to whom the notion of an academic college education appears unappealing or unrealistic often doubt whether it [...]
In his article forthcoming in Volume 47:1 of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, “The Right to Comprehensive Educational Opportunity,” Michael A. Rebell, a professor at Columbia University Teachers College, argues for the recognition of a constitutional right to quality education for all children. The author was joined by Dean Martha Minow, Chair of the Institute for Educational Leadership Marty Blank, and Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville for a panel discussion of his article.
Arizona, home of SB 1070, has proven itself to be ground zero in the nation’s immigration debate. At the center of racially charged controversy is Tom Horne, former Superintendent of Public Instruction and current state Attorney General, who has waged a four-year campaign to eradicate the Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican-American/La Raza Studies Program.
On the eve of Title IX’s fortieth anniversary, news of the federal government’s failure to meaningfully enforce the law’s provisions is troubling. The Office for Civil Rights must overhaul its enforcement efforts if the progress that Title IX has made in expanding women’s rights is to continue.
Trial for Lobato v. State started this week in a Colorado district court, a case in which 14 school districts from the relatively low-property tax area of San Luis Valley sued the State of Colorado, the State Board of Education, and the Governor, arguing the state has violated Colorado’s constitution by mandating programs in low-income schools that are already underfunded. The plaintiffs have asked for ongoing injunctions requiring the state to restructure school funding and ensure adequate education for all students via judicial oversight until the overhaul of the funding scheme is complete.
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