Education Law

Education news, analysis, and opinion about important court cases dealing with education
Families & the Community Los Angeles Parents Mounting Trigger-Law Petition Drive to Improve School
Parents of students attending a low-performing Los Angeles elementary school hope to use California's parent-trigger law to spur academic and staffing changes.
Karla Scoon Reid, April 8, 2015
3 min read
Law & Courts Roundup: Educators React Strongly to Atlanta Verdicts
Education Week gathered reactions to the Atlanta test-cheating trial, in which 11 educators were found guilty of racketeering.
Maria Moy, April 3, 2015
1 min read
School Choice & Charters A Look Back at Parent-School Relationships
Educators have always struggled with cultivating the parent-school partnership even though they believe it is an invaluable tool that helps boost student achievement.
Karla Scoon Reid, April 2, 2015
2 min read
School Choice & Charters Q&A: Predicting Parent-Trigger Law's Path
Education Week reporters discuss California's controversial so-called parent-trigger law and examine whether the law has made good on its promise to improve struggling schools.
Karla Scoon Reid, April 1, 2015
1 min read
States Judge Tosses Out Anti-Common-Core Lawsuit from Gov. Jindal, Legislators
On March 30, District Court Judge Tim Kelley dismissed a lawsuit that alleged the state school board violated Louisiana law in adopting the common core.
Andrew Ujifusa, March 30, 2015
2 min read
Families & the Community N.J. Opt-Out Bill Gets Unanimous, Bipartisan Support in One Chamber
New Jersey school districts would be required to provide students who opt out of standardized testing an "educationally appropriate ungraded" activity under proposed legislature.
Karla Scoon Reid, March 27, 2015
1 min read
Law & Courts Tenn. Accused of Inadequate School Funding in Districts' Lawsuit
The districts allege that the state underestimated the cost of teachers' salaries by about $532 million and that the districts face yearly shortfalls in the classroom amounting to about $134 million
Denisa R. Superville, March 26, 2015
1 min read
Law & Courts Fight Looms in Kansas on Funding K-12 Via Block Grants
Lawmakers approve a plan that would ditch the state’s current education formula, but its fate is entangled with a long-running legal dispute over the funding.
Andrew Ujifusa, March 24, 2015
4 min read
Law & Courts Advocates Seek to Broaden California Parent-Trigger Law's Reach
In most of the seven states that have such a law, parents are reluctant to use it to transform failing schools, but California advocates forge ahead.
Karla Scoon Reid, March 20, 2015
4 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Educators Await Outcome on Health-Care Law
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule by June on a challenge to the Affordable Care Act with potential impact on school districts' employee-benefits policies.
Mark Walsh, March 17, 2015
2 min read
Law & Courts Supreme Court Mulls Teachers' Duty in Reporting Abuse
Arguments in an Ohio case revolved around whether the requirement that teachers report child abuse turns them into agents of law enforcement.
Mark Walsh, March 17, 2015
4 min read
States Kansas Lawmakers OK Shift to Block-Grant Funding, But Court Fight Looms
The Kansas Legislature has approved a plan to switch K-12 spending from a formula to block grants, but the state's legal system might not approve of the change.
Andrew Ujifusa, March 17, 2015
2 min read
Law & Courts Family Engagement in Education Act Reintroduced in Congress
Federal lawmakers reintroduce legislation in Congress that would increase the percentage of Title 1 funds dedicated to family-engagement efforts.
Karla Scoon Reid, March 6, 2015
1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Jonathan Bouw for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Teacher Tenure: An Innocent Victim of Vergara v. California
School administrators, not teacher-tenure laws, are responsible for "ineffective" educators, writes former teacher and principal David Finley.
David Finley, March 3, 2015
6 min read