Historically, private education has been an option mostly for families who could afford the cost or received financial help. Years of research have shown that many families would choose private schools and other educational resources for their children if they did not face insurmountable financial or geographical limitations. Private educational…

In its 2023 decision in "Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard," the Supreme Court effectively ended its approval of affirmative action in higher education admissions, holding that practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) were unlawful. The Court concluded that UNC's practices violated the guarantee of equal…

In August 2022, the U.S Department of Education (ED) announced it would invoke the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) to cancel up to $20,000 of federal student loan debts for borrowers who fell below certain income thresholds. The HEROES Act authorizes the Secretary to "waive or modify" statutory…

This second brief of a three-part series explores the systemic underfunding of HBCUs in Maryland, and their attempts to correct these challenges, first through the courts and then through legislation. Maryland was one of the first states to reach such a monumental agreement in the sustainability of HBCUs. The first brief explored the national…

There is an abundance of research on the college admissions process and the practices selective schools employ to evaluate and select students. Most findings are complex, nuanced, or conflicting. Less than a month after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in "Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard" and "Students…

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in "Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees" (AFSCME) (referred to as "Janus" hereafter) prohibited state and local government worker unions from negotiating collective bargaining agreements with fair share fee arrangements. In this report, the authors…

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits federally funded programs, activities, and institutions from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. In its current form, Title VI remains largely unchanged since its adoption. Unlike the Civil Rights Act's better known and more heavily litigated provisions, Title VI is concerned…

Since the enactment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, P.L. 89-10, as amended) in 1965, the major programs of aid to elementary and secondary education authorized under it have sought to provide for the equitable participation of eligible students enrolled in both public and private elementary and secondary schools. This is…

For more than twenty-five years, the Public School Forum of North Carolina has published an annual list of the top issues that they believe should or will likely be at the forefront of conversations around K-12 public education policy in the upcoming year. They intend for these publications, compiled through engagement with staff, board members,…

Schools in the United States continue to be segregated by race and socioeconomic status, almost 70 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling that aimed to desegregate schools. Segregation exists in three ways in K-12 schools: (1) Across districts. This is the case in about two-thirds of segregation in metropolitan areas; (2)…

The last several years have seen renewed debate over the role that race plays in higher education--a debate over "affirmative action." The report first considers "affirmative action" in its original sense: the "mandatory" race-conscious measures that the federal courts have imposed on "de jure" segregated…

In this ambitious volume, leading legal and educational scholars examine "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez" (1973), the landmark US Supreme Court decision that held that the Constitution does not guarantee equality of educational opportunity. Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., and Kimberly Jenkins Robinson have brought…

While freedom of speech is a defining characteristic of the United States, the First Amendment right is often regulated within certain environments. For years, schools have attempted to monitor and regulate student communication both within the educational environment and in student use of social media and other online communication tools.…

Central to the Public School Forum of North Carolina's mission is the imperative to ensure that all students in North Carolina have equitable access to a meaningful, high quality education through a strong system of public schools. It is important to note that equitable does not mean equal. Achieving equitable access to high quality education for…

Sexual harassment has long been a significant problem for women workers. But with the emergence of the #MeToo movement, there has been a renewed public, cultural and academic focus on workplace harassment. "Limiting our Livelihoods: The Cumulative Impact of Sexual Harassment on Women's Careers" investigates the compounding impact of…