By: Alexis Franks, Associate Editor Vol. 27 The IDEA and the Emotional Disturbance Category The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), first enacted in 1975, provides federal funding for special education services for children with disabilities.[i] The goal of the legislation is that all handicapped children, who were historically excluded from the classroom, would be […]
education
How the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Fails Minority Students
By: Liza DavisAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), every child with a disability who participates in a state school system accepting federal special education funds is guaranteed a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate.[i] Instead of ensuring that all disabled children have meaningful access to […]
What the 2018-19 Teacher Walkouts Mean for Labor in a Post-Janus World
By Donna Cao Associate Editor, Vol. 24 The 2018 teacher movement, monikered “Red for Ed,” is the first post-Janus demonstration of the future of the U.S. education labor movement. Educators wear the color red to represent their advocacy for increased funding for public schools, many of which operate in the red, and to describe the […]
The School to Prison Pipeline Comes to Pre-K
By Elliott Gluck Associate Editor, Volume 23 For years, the startling rates of suspensions and expulsions in America’s public schools have raised concerns for stakeholders across the educational landscape.[1] These disciplinary actions are frequently connected with higher drop-out rates, lower lifetime earnings, and higher rates of incarceration.[2] With African American students facing expulsion and suspension […]
Betsy DeVos, School Choice, and the Resegregation of American Public Schools
By Laura Page Associate Editor, Vol. 22 The Senate confirmation hearing of Betsy DeVos, the President’s nominee for Secretary of Education, was one of the most contentious and heated in recent history.[1] Critics contend that the billionaire Republican donor has no experience in public education—neither she nor her children attended public schools or borrowed a federal […]
The 2016 Presidential Election: Quiet on Education Policy, Near Silent on K-12 Education Reform
By Madeleine McKay Jennings Associate Editor, Vol. 22 I wrote this post in the week preceding the United States presidential election. On November 8, by about 10 p.m., the subject of this writing seemed immediately irrelevant. In my personal and academic lives, I’ve placed much importance around this issue but, on that Tuesday night, it was […]
Civil Rights Groups Call For New K-12 “Accountability System”
By Whitney Robinson, Associate Editor Vol. 20 On Tuesday, a coalition of eleven national civil rights groups sent a letter to President Obama urging him to drop the standardized test-based K-12 “accountability” system. According to these groups, the current standardized test-based “accountability system” for K-12 education is “overly focused on narrow measures of success” and […]
It’s been 50 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the achievement gap between minorities and whites remains a salient issue
By: Daniela Tagtachian, Associate Editor Vol. 20 Students have the right to not be discriminated against based on race, color or national origin. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin, in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. The Department of […]
Conservative proposal to censor AP U.S. History curriculum to promote “respect for authority” and “patriotism” removes its emphasis on “race, gender, class, ethnicity” and civil disobedience
By: Daniela Tagtachian, Associate Editor Vol. 20 A recent conservative initiative from South Carolina to Colorado has called for the AP U.S. History curriculum to be more in line with “patriotism” and “respect for authority.” The Republican National Committee adopted a resolution in August 2014 stating that the College Board’s framework for Advanced Placement U.S. […]
Michigan Journal of Race & Law 