As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reverberate across the nation, for millions of students, educators, and families, the current school year is rife with challenges. The long-term impact of the disruptions of the last two years on student enrollment and attendance remains to be seen, particularly for students with whom schools have lost…

High rates of truancy at some DC schools are receiving considerable attention. The Family Court cannot realistically be a primary response to the chronic truancy of thousands of chronically truant high-school students, Senior Fellow Akiva Liberman of the Justice Policy Center told the City Council. Liberman commented that family-based…

As illustrated by two recent decisions, the courts in the past decade have demarcated wide boundaries for school officials considering dress codes, whether in the form of selective prohibitions or required uniforms. Administrators must warn the community, provide legitimate justification and reasonable clarity, and comply with state law. (MLH)

Offers a historical overview of the role of social reformers in the formation of the New York City public school system in the early twentieth century. Considers the attitudes, motivations, and concerns of this group of largely middle and upper class men and women who had little direct involvement with public schools. (DMM)

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions met to consider the largest program within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards. At this hearing, how Title I funds are spent, who they serve, and whether student performance is improving were topics discussed. After…

This Oversight Hearing on the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act was held before the Subcommittee on Equal Opportunities of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Ninety-Fourth Congress, Second Session. The Hearing, held in Washington, D. C., on June 29, 1976, speaks to the concerns of those working with…

Testifying on housing patterns in St. Louis (Missouri), this expert indicates that St. Louis has been, and continues to be, a highly racially segregated metropolitan area, where the housing effects of past discrimination have not disappeared. Schools remain an important factor in the voluntary choice of residential area. (SLD)

As part of its consideration of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the House Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education met to address the need to maintain schools as safe learning environments. The Safe Schools Act of 1993 had been introduced as the administration's effort to help deal with…

This report summarizes strategies used by a monitoring commission to evaluate Project Creating a New Approach to Learning (CANAL), part of a court-mandated desegregation plan in Chicago (Illinois). The commission focused on the following areas: (1) the degree to which the project complied with activities in its funding proposal; (2) the level to…

The "municipal overburden" argument alleges that cities lack adequate funding for their schools because they are unable to levy high enough tax rates. Examines support for the hypothesis held by jurists and legal commentators and then inquires why economists commonly find that position unacceptable. (MLF)

The New Jersey Supreme Court has significantly redefined the state's constitutional obligation to poor, urban children--providing a "thorough and efficient" education geared to a post-industrial economy. Measures have shifted from expenditures to provision of resources to meet state curriculum standards. The problem: ensuring adequate…

Reviews state school-funding litigation since the California Supreme Court's 1971 decision in "Serrano v. Priest." Assesses the impact and evolution of state funding litigation; discusses the subsequent erosion of local control; describes potential future funding litigation involving rural schools, local sales taxes, and urban schools.…

In the 1990s, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. (CFE), filed a lawsuit against New York State on behalf of New York City students, charging that the state unconstitutionally underfunded city schools. In 2003, the Court of Appeals held that the state funding system must be reformed to ensure that every school in New York City has sufficient…

This testimony by the co-director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, Christopher Edley, examines the U.S. Department of Education's (DOE's) early implementation efforts regarding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB), recommending actions that the DOE should take to ensure that states, districts, and schools understand and…

A Congressional hearing was held to discuss the readiness of the District of Columbia public schools for the 1998-99 school year. In the 1997-98 school year, the District's public schools had not been able to open on time because of repair work that was not completed. After opening remarks by Congress members Thomas M. Davis and Constance Morella,…