This article briefly reviews the contributions to this volume and revisits the original focus of the Civil Rights Act (CRA). It considers how much progress has been made in addressing the original concerns regarding ethnic and racial discrimination that the act was intended to address and the intersection of language issues with them. The article…

In this article, David Conley focuses on how to assess meaningful learning in ways that promote student achievement while simultaneously meeting system accountability needs. The article draws upon research that supports the notion that a major shift in educational assessment is needed in order to encourage and evaluate the kind of learning that…

The situation of undocumented immigrant youth is one of the most important issues today. Since the introduction of the federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act in 2001, their circumstances have captured the attention of the American public as well as the academic community. Fourteen years have passed without any…

In the last 10 years, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased 200 percent. Principals, special education directors, and superintendents across the country report that their schools are teaching increasing numbers of students with ASD. Educators want to provide a good and effective educational experience, but they may not be…

This article reviews several recent court cases at the federal and state levels related to school choice initiatives in the United States. Through this review, the article sheds light on the enduring question of whether these programs are unlawful bonds between church and state. The review includes details about choice programs that exist (or have…

Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was enacted into federal law in 2002, states have been required to test students in grades 3 through 8 and again in high school to assess math and reading achievement. The federal law also asks states to establish the performance level students must reach on the exams in order to be identified as…

The author draws on his extensive experience helping lead Congress's education efforts and later a highly respected education research concern to propose a new approach to federal education policy that expands and transforms the federal role. This new approach would significantly expand federal aid to schools that is not restricted to particular…

In 2010, a comprehensive reform required Italian state universities to restructure their institutional governance by revising their statutes. This interpretative paper aims to evaluate whether the Italian reform is congruent with its declarations, examine the variations in the implementation within the same country of a unitary national regulation…

Background: 2007-2013 spanned an economic downturn with rising food costs. While Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits increased during those years by 13.6% from the 2009 American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the impact of these competing conditions on household food insecurity (HFI, household food insecure but child food…

This fifth article in the series reviewing recent court decisions concerning appropriate school psychology practice from both professional and legal perspectives, asks readers to consider the summary of the Illinois case presented, and the questions and answers that follow. The primary issue is whether the school district's adverse employment…

Students who are deaf with a disability or disabilities (DWD) constitute nearly half of the population of K-12 learners who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, there is a dearth of information on theory, research, and practice related to these learners. The authors present an overview of (a) how the field of education of students who are D/deaf…

For decades, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has enforced civil rights in our nation's preschool through 12th grade (P-12) and post-secondary schools, which now serve almost 80 million students annually. In Fiscal Year 2015, the OCR promoted excellence in education through conducting investigations and monitoring schools under resolution…

Parents experiencing homelessness may be struggling to enroll and keep their children in school. If they have a child with special needs, they may have even more challenges to make sure their child receives the help she needs. This brief helps parents with the following concerns and offers resources for additional assistance: (1) not knowing who…

Changing schools may greatly impede the academic achievement and social development of students experiencing homelessness. Students who transfer to a new school often experience educational discontinuity and, as a result, lose academic credits. Moreover, the mobility experienced by these students separates them from their social network and from…

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, speaking at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January, called for an open Internet which would make sure that ISPs had economic incentives to build better networks while still protecting consumers and innovators. His specific recommendations were shared with the other members of the FCC in February. One of…