When cobbling together the landmark No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, Congress quietly tacked on an unusual provision that says the law does not require states or school districts "to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this act." Little noticed at the time and lifted directly from an earlier version of the law enacted…

Teachers and coaches who suffer reprisals for complaining about illegal sex discrimination against their students will be able to sue their school districts for damages, under a ruling by a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court. The 5-4 ruling held that the federal law that bars discrimination based on sex in federally financed education programs…

With the nation's charter sector now encompassing some 3,200 schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia, shutdowns have become more common occurrences in the past few years. As estimated one in every 10 charter schools has now closed its doors, up from only about 4 percent four years ago. Most authorizers who take their responsibilities…

This article examines what some people see as flaws in the transfer policy provision of the No Child Left Behind law. Advocates of the policy are calling for providing schools with incentives to accept transfers and for giving parents more time, information, and options, among other changes. States need to hold districts' feet to the fire, those…

This article reports the 7-2 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding a Washington state scholarship program that denies aid to theology majors. Disappointing proponents of tuition aid for students in religious schools, the court held that Washington state was well within its rights to exclude students' training for the ministry from its Promise…

Since the historic moment of "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka," much has changed in American life and education. By today's standards, the notion that black children could be consigned to separate schools solely because of their skin color--in a nation founded on principles of freedom and equality--seems unconscionable. Fifty years…

Urban small-school proponents who desire more autonomy find charter schools appealing, since they receive public money but operate independently of the district structure. Others feel that charter schools are a stalking horse for private school vouchers and privatization, part of an attempt to undermine public education, or an abandonment of…

When it comes to the legal fight over special education that they have waged for the past seven years, Jocelyn S. and Martin P. Schaffer and their Maryland school district don't agree on much. But the two sides do see eye to eye on this: With the U.S Supreme Court's decision to review the Schaffers' case, the dispute suddenly has the potential to…