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 "Combatting Classroom Censorship." Contents include: (1) A Wolf in Sheep's…

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…

Raising academic standards and eliminating achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students are America's prime national educational goals. Current federal and state policies, however, largely ignore the fact that the childhood poverty rate in the United States is 21%, the highest in the industrialized world, and that poverty…

Part one of this trilogy of policy briefs explains the challenge facing Texas in funding public education. This policy brief explains why a Texas-style personal income tax is the best way to meet the needs of Texas. Only a personal income tax can significantly reduce reliance on property taxes--cutting the school operations tax from $1.50 to…

This booklet is basically a summary of a law book on the same subject by the same author. Although the 25 chapters of the larger work correspond directly to the chapters of the summary, this publication is not a law book in the usual sense. Rather, it is intended primarily to provide a simplified view of the property tax laws of Texas for tax…

The Texas statute denying undocumented aliens a free public school education does not pass muster under strict scrutiny and is, therefore, unconstitutional. Available from the Texas International Law Journal, 2500 Red River, Austin, TX 78705; sc $4.00. (Author/IRT)

School finance reformers may be riding a carousel with no destination in mind. Finance reform most often results in judicial rescue and legislative restraint. Certain states with invalidated school systems have remained in litigation for decades. Litigation and legislation alone cannot establish an inequitable, adequate public education system.…

State litigation involving unconstitutional school financing systems are described in this document, which focuses on efforts in Texas to reform the financing of public education. Since its school finance system was declared unconstitutional in 1987, two subsequent proposals have been struck down by the Texas Supreme Court for the following…

Reproduced here are the text of the 1982 Supreme Court decision "Plyler v. Doe" and its companion cases, "In Re Alien Children Litigation." An introductory statement explains that in this opinion the Court struck down a Texas law prohibiting tuition-free education for children of illegal aliens, on the grounds that education…

A brief review of the federal constitutional provisions and equivalent Texas Constitutional provisions for the criminally accused is provided in question and answer form. First Amendment rights related to such matters as freedom of the press, rights of students, picketing, distributing leaflets, state licensing, and obscenity are considered in the…

A secondary curriculum for teaching about Texas law is designed for use by both teachers and visiting resource persons. Introductory materials include a preface, acknowledgements, an introduction, and practical suggestions for visiting speakers. The main body of the publication contains nine units of material on the following topics: Texas courts,…

Designed for middle school through high school students, this unit contains eight lesson plans that focus on Texas state law. The state lessons correspond to lessons in the volume, "Antidote: Civic Responsibility. Drug Avoidance Lessons for Middle School & High School Students." Developed to be presented by educators, law student, or…

Public education consists of various levels of laws, policies, regulations, rules, guidelines, and practices based on the U.S. Constitution. At each level, there is a set of "do's and don'ts" guiding the actions of people involved in public education. This handbook, written to help people understand their rights relating to public…