This essay outlines the federal role through Congress, the executive branch, and the judiciary in increasing equality of educational opportunity in the United States. Special emphasis is placed on government efforts of the 1960s and 1970s. (CT)

Judicial activism raises the question whether the people, through their elected representatives, should make decisions about social policy issues or whether these decisions will be made by appointed members of the federal judiciary. Through a series of judicial decisions, many basic social problems have become nationalized. Yet the U.S.…

In this commencement address given by the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, a brief review of the Younger vs. Harris case is given. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could not issue injunctions against state criminal proceedings on the ground that such prosecutions would result…

The proper role and function of the Supreme Court in the United States' system of government has been a matter of great controversy in recent years. "The Federalist Papers," specifically the documents written by "Publius," have much insight to contribute to this debate. In "Federalist #78," Publius makes the case for…

Finding missing children is a national problem. The increasing mobility of American society often hampers law enforcement's ability to follow missing children cases. A federal response to coordinate and assist in the effort to locate and recover missing children was initiated in 1984 when the Department of Justice established the National Center…

Presented here are the remarks of William Bradford Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division at the Education Commission of the States National Project on Desegregation Strategies' Workshop. Reynolds states that mandatory busing and other remedial techniques to achieve racial balance in schools (measures tentatively sanctioned by…

Noting that the Supreme Court in 1997 considered the question of whether the Internet would be regulated by the government as broadcasting or whether it would remain as free as newspapers, this paper examines the difficulty involved in applying old law to new technology. It also notes that while journalism education generally has accepted…

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is empowered with a delicate balance of executive, legislative, and judicial powers, putting the Commission in a vulnerable position whenever its decisions are reviewed. This paper takes the position that a "super-regulatory" title is unjustified when applied to the legally sanctioned role…

The fifth of eight related documents, this booklet is part of a series of papers presented at the 1978 National Right to Read Conference examining issues and problems in literacy. In examining the issue of student accountability, this booklet first sets forth the prototypical case of pupil illiteracy and surveys the arguments that can be made for…

Characteristics of state coordinating boards or governing boards are briefly outlined, and the nature and character of political relationship of the board with other agencies are examined. The board is characterized by its limited powers, its nonpolitical base, and its restricted clientele. In dealing with the executive agency, it is important to…

Three political scientists diagnose the current state of political influence on jury selection in political trials, based upon personal experience, upon the literature of political theory, justice, and law, and upon recent action of lawyers, judges, defense committees, and some defendants. Political trials are interpreted as formal examinations of…

The paper discusses problems faced by policy makers in utilizing social science research in decision making on educational issues and problems. The term social science research is interpreted as including both educational evaluation and educational research. The history of social science research and critical issues associated with social science…

The United States Supreme Court case, Meese v. Keene, in which the justices narrowly defined the meaning of the term "political propaganda," failed to address adequately the complexities of the issue. In this case it is necessary to bring together divergent views about communications in the analysis of the legal problem, including…

A compelling argument can be made for the "public forum doctrine," which states that public broadcasting stations licensed to government bodies have a greater obligation than commercial stations under the First Amendment to transcend political and personal biases in making programing decisions. It is also equally important that…

This paper explores whether or not the recent increase of interest by the U.S. Supreme Court in educational disputes results in a gradual reduction in the role that professional ethics plays in educators' everyday decisions. It is argued that there are links between an educator's professional ethics and constitutional justice. The increase in…