K-12 educational outcomes are a powerful reflection of social opportunity, both by meaningfully predicting adult wellbeing across measures like health and income, and by encapsulating the breadth of factors that contribute to a child's preparedness, ability, and opportunity to learn and persist in school. In this light, the persistent deficits in…

Through a lens of cultural capital, this dissertation explored the complex implementation of Section 504 policy in public high schools, focused on how school-level characteristics and the state-level litigious educational environment impact the qualifying rates of 504 plans. This study of the 2017-18 school year employed data from national…

U.S. policies such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 and the Americans with Disabilities Act support the inclusion of adults with disabilities in all areas of employment. Through WIOA, the federal government required public entities to provide training and help job seekers with disabilities access high-quality, competitive,…

This research study describes a quantitative examination of Arkansas school counselors' perceptions of their knowledge about the McKinney-Vento homeless Assistance Act and how involved they are with partnership practices in meeting the needs of homeless children and families. The study also examined what type of training school counselors have…

Under Title IX, male and females have an equitable opportunity both at work and at school. Under Title IX, any institution, that receives federal funding, is compelled to provide equal opportunities to participate in sports for female athletes. Since the enactment of Title IX, the percentage of female head coaches for female athletic teams has…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the patterns in allegations of workplace discrimination by individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). The goal of the research was to describe the discrimination, both actual and perceived, that has occurred against individuals with SUDs through analysis of the United States Equal Employment…

The story of Black veterans and their experience in the Vietnam War is one of little investigation especially with regard to those who are from the state of Alabama. This study particularly focuses on the experiences of African American Vietnam War veterans from the state of Alabama. The observations are based on the educational, occupational, and…

Despite roughly 21.2 million veterans living in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012), only 2 million service members and their families were eligible for benefits under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (American Council on Education [ACE], 2008). Furthermore, less than 1 million beneficiaries received education…

The purpose of this research was to examine Court Cases Alleging Employment Discrimination in Public Schools by analyzing 115 law based court cases ranging during 1980-2012, through the most available publication of "West's Educational Law Digest" of 2012. Employment is a means to provide sustainable income to support the individual(s)…

Considering six million children ages six through 21 receive special education services in the United States (Department of Education, 2017), it is critical to examine the leadership it takes to provide equitable education to students with disabilities. This study employs a qualitative research methodology utilizing in-depth interviewing to…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has put many schools under a lot of pressure to meet its high demands. In this quantitative study, the effects that the NCLB act has had on students' opportunity to learn (OTL) and Subject Level Success (SS) from 2004 to 2012 in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade math coursework (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and…

In 2000, President Bill Clinton enacted the "Children's Internet Protection Act" (CIPA) which requires all K-12 schools and publicly funded libraries to use Internet filters to protect children from pornography and other obscene or potentially harmful online content as a stipulation for receiving E-Rate funding. The varying…

This study focused on the federal and Illinois State the reform legislation titled the Performance Evaluation Reform Act and Senate Bill 7. The Performance Evaluation Reform Act or "PERA" was created from collaboration between stakeholders as Illinois competed in a federal competition titled "Race to the Top." The legislation…

The allocation of resources and participation opportunities in intercollegiate athletics has been a debate among researchers for nearly 40 years. Title IX and traditionally male-dominated budgeting practices continue to be opposing forces that shape the financial and gender makeup of university athletic departments. In fact, the need to be Title…

The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act requires all students with learning disabilities (LD) be given accommodations in general education classes to help balance their educational opportunities. In secondary public schools, the primary educators of students with LD are general education teachers; as such they are responsible for…