Many people in the early childhood education field are afraid of government relations work, intimidated by politicians, and believe the whole process is unseemly. The author asserts that they should not be afraid nor be intimidated because government relations is not rocket science and fundamentally officeholders are no different from the rest of…

This report outlines the case for an education amendment to the US Constitution to reduce radical disparities in the allocation of resources and funds for the education of the nation's public school students. The report argues that an education amendment is the best way to fundamentally reform the "structural arrangements" that are…

This September, Oxford University Press is publishing "Out of Range: Why the Constitution Can't End the Battle Over Guns." Written by Mark Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, "Out of Range" explores competing interpretations of the Second Amendment and discusses how the entanglement of…

A step-by-step description of the process of passing a bill into law in Congress is presented. (JD)

In the twenty-first century, differences in the treatment of trade in alcoholic beverages in comparison to other commercial goods seem at odds with the federal regulation of interstate trade under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, which prohibits "differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that…

This hearing provides the statements from the following individuals: Chairman Simpson; Hon. Silvestre Reyes; Hon. Ander Crenshaw; and Hon. Lane Evans (prepared statement of). This document also includes statements from over 10 wittinesses and contains an article, bill, chart, and statement submitted for the record relating to this hearing.…

Discusses the state of children's rights in the United States in the wake of U.S. Senate refusal to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Examines the discrepancy between the U.S. leadership role in human rights and child advocacy and the legal system's treatment of children strictly according to law. (JPB)

The Government in the Sunshine Act, passed by Congress in September 1976 to become effective in March 1977, will require many of the federal government's decision-making agencies to permit attendance by the press and public at agency meetings. This report details the provisions of the new law and comments on the effects it may have on the…

Judicial intervention in educational matters supplements the legislative actions of the Constitution in protecting the rights of children. (LH)

In May 2005, university administrators were rudely awakened from their civic slumbers by a "notice of implementation" from the U.S. Department of Education. With little advance comment from the academy, Congress had passed and the President had signed into law a requirement that "each educational institution that receives Federal…

The problems of formulating a legal definition of religion as used in the U.S. Constitution may be traced through the Supreme Court's interpretation of the word. According to the U.S. Constitution, religious tests cannot be required for any office or public trust under the central government. The Bill of Rights states that the national government…

Examines four recent Supreme Court decisions. The decisions involve Miranda rights, alleged Fourth Amendment violations (good faith exception and vehicle searches), and the right to confront witnesses. (BSR)

The looming expiration of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has prompted a flood of commission reports, studies, and punditry. Virtually all of those analyses have assumed that the law should and will be reauthorized, disagreeing only over how it should be revised. They have accepted the law's premises without argument: that…

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.…

This activity designed for secondary students provides extensive background on the differences between the executive, the judicial, and the legislative branches of government. Through the case study method, students learn how the powers of the three branches co-exist and conflict. (BSR)