The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Student Rights." Contents include: (1) Restorative Practices Can Prevent and…

This case study examined the trials and tribulations a predominantly Mexican-American community in South Texas went through to obtain higher education opportunities for its residents. This study focuses on the "LULAC v. Richards" lawsuit and the South Texas Border Initiative. In 1987, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational…

Social prejudice by Texas-Anglo society as reflected by politicians and administrators resulted in a segregated school system. However, the Mexican community never passively accepted discrimination in the schools. The American G.I. Forum's records and the action of the World War II generation indicate that Mexicans have long struggled to acquire…

Reviews court litigation in Texas concerning the rights of children who are illegally residing in the United States to public schooling. Focuses particularly on the issue of whether the equal protection clause in the fourteenth amendment applies to noncitizens. (GC)

The court refused to declare differences in per pupil district expenditures unconstitutional. Reformers must now look to the State courts for change in the present system of school finance. (Author/WM)

Discusses the effects of past and current discriminatory practices on limited English proficiency (LEP) students. Reviews federal legislation, judicial findings, and executive action which form the legal foundation of federal responsibility, and stresses the need for a strong federal commitment to equal educational opportunity for Mexican…

Summarizes plaintiffs' and defendants' opinions in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case concerning why some minority students fail TAAS, history of racial/ethnic discrimination in Texas schools, students' opportunity to learn TAAS content, teaching-TAAS alignment, adverse impact on minority students, psychometric integrity, decision…

Contests the State of Texas argument in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case that historical discrimination against African Americans and Mexican Americans is unrelated to their TAAS outcomes. Examines contemporary de facto school segregation, distribution of substandard teachers, and the relationship of these factors to student…

Applies four measures of disparate impact (four-fifths rule, Hazelwood rule, Shoben rule, and rule of practical significance) to Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) performance data for racial/ethnic groups. Compares findings to data on school quality and math course completion by racial/ethnic group. (Contains 21 references.) (SV)

The verdict in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case undermined the concept of educational equity by equating it with sameness. Testimony was excluded that revealed bureaucratic processes creating new inequities: overemphasis on test preparation and manipulation of students' grade level designations to artificially improve…

On July 22, 1980, in U.S. Federal District Court in Texas, Judge Woodrow Seals declared unconstitutional Section 21.031 of the Texas Education Code which restricted children of undocumented immigrants from attending Texas public schools. The decision's effect is to affirm the Constitutional right to an education regardless of immigration status.…

Reviews legal claims made by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund on behalf of plaintiffs challenging the Texas graduation requirement that students pass the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Discusses the requirement as a violation of minority students' equal protection and due process rights. Analyzes court actions and the…

Historical studies have tended to take a simplistic view of minority groups as passive victims of an oppressive and racist public school system. This book looks at Mexican Americans as active agents in history and documents their quest for educational equality in Texas--a state notorious for its record of inferior and separate schooling for…