This invited commentary provides a response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case of "Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin" (2013). The author addresses the question regarding whether the newest decision about the use of affirmative action in higher education admissions raised the bar with respect to the legal doctrine of…

The author reports on the ruling of a divided appellate court that held that the state law unconstitutionally made it harder for minorities to seek preferences than for other groups. The court struck down a voter-passed ban on the use of race-conscious admissions by Michigan's public colleges, holding that the measure had unconstitutionally put…

Southern Methodist University has released the terms of its agreement with the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation to house the president's official library and museum. To some faculty members, the most troubling element of the project is a conservative policy institute that will be affiliated with the library and museum. Unlike similar…

Religious ferment has been on the rise in public schools. For example, recent newspaper accounts report a controversy in Mustang, Oklahoma, concerning the superintendent's removal of a nativity scene from an elementary school's holiday production; a suit by a Cupertino, California, elementary school teacher against a principal who censored his…

Discusses the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez," handed down 10 years ago, concerning financial equity in the Texas school finance program. Summarizes Justice Powell's majority opinion and Justice Marshall's dissent and introduces the two following articles assessing the decision's…

Two federal appellate courts heard cases with similar fact patterns and the same issue--are school districts liable for student-caused sexually hostile environments under Title IX? Since the courts reached different conclusions, this issue seems ripe for consideration by the Supreme Court. No student should have to run a gauntlet of abuse to…

In "Doe v. Plyler" the court unanimously held that the denial of a free public education to illegal alien children is a violation of the equal protection clause. Examines how the court came to its conclusion. (Author/IRT)

In 1975 Texas revised the state's school admission and funding statute by excluding undocumented children from free attendance in public schools. The impact of litigation and court decisions involving the rights of undocumented children to attend public schools is outlined. The Supreme Court upheld a series of decisions in favor of the plaintiffs.…

Discusses federal district court decision dismissing suit brought by three Texas high school students claiming that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when police, at request of administrators, entered school and rounded up, handcuffed, and detained them and 11 other students who "hung out" with a student arrested…

Reactions to the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and debate over the president's replacement nomination, Judge John Roberts, Jr., of the D.C. Circuit, dominated this summer's Supreme Court recess. Subsequently, after Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death on September 3, 2005, President Bush nominated Roberts for the chief justice…

Examines effectiveness of court challenges to education-finance systems in achieving need-driven educational equity, focusing on California, Kentucky, and Texas. Provides overview of education-finance litigation and goals of finance reform. Describes funding system in each state both pre- and post-litigation; uses statistical measures to discuss…

This report discusses the constitutionality of state aid to church-related institutions of higher education. The introduction deals with the important role that private institutions play in the total system of higher education, the seriousness of their financial plight, and the necessity for increased state aid to these institutions. Sections 2…

In "United States v. State of Texas," a federal judge in 1971 handed down a statewide desegregation order affecting over 1,000 Texas school districts, to be enforced by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Chapter 1 of this evaluation of the order's implementation begins with the national background and local history of the case and then…

Published as a special project of Texas IMPACT and the Texas Conference of Churches, this booklet outlines legal aspects of the education of undocumented children, lists moral and practical reasons for educating them, provides reasons for changing the Texas law which prohibits use of state funds for education of children who are not legally…

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.…