Education Law

Education news, analysis, and opinion about important court cases dealing with education
Special Education Supreme Court Firms Up Goal Posts on Spec. Ed. Rights
Advocates for children with disabilities cheer a high court decision setting more-ambitious academic expectations for those in special education, while district administrators have a more measured response.
Christina A. Samuels & Mark Walsh, April 4, 2017
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6 min read
Kansas Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn, left, confers with J.G. Scott, right, the chief fiscal analyst for the legislature’s research staff, on K-12 budget issues, as Larry Hinton, center, McGinn’s administrative assistant, follows their discussion.
Kansas Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn, left, confers with J.G. Scott, right, the chief fiscal analyst for the legislature’s research staff, on K-12 budget issues, as Larry Hinton, center, McGinn’s administrative assistant, follows their discussion.
John Hanna/AP
Law & Courts New Dimension to Kansas' K-12 Funding Puzzle
Lawmakers trying to satisfy judges in a school funding case grapple with how increased funding can be used to boost results for black, Latino, and low-income students.
Daarel Burnette II, April 4, 2017
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6 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Jonathan P. Larsen/AP
Special Education Will High Court Ruling Raise Expectations for Special Ed.?
Experts on children with disabilities are cheering a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court as a clear win that establishes more-ambitious academic standards for special education students.
Christina A. Samuels & Mark Walsh, March 24, 2017
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6 min read
Plastic cups spell out Rockville Strong, at Rockville High School in Rockville, Md., this week. The school has been thrust into the national immigration debate after a 14-year-old student said she was raped in a bathroom, allegedly by two classmates, both of whom authorities have said came to the U.S. illegally from Central America.
Plastic cups spell out Rockville Strong, at Rockville High School in Rockville, Md., this week. The school has been thrust into the national immigration debate after a 14-year-old student said she was raped in a bathroom, allegedly by two classmates, both of whom authorities have said came to the U.S. illegally from Central America.
Brian Witte/AP
School Climate & Safety High School Rape Case Becomes Flashpoint in Immigration Debate
The alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl in a Rockville, Md., high school has exploded into outrage over immigration as the two suspects are undocumented immigrant students from Central America.
Corey Mitchell, March 24, 2017
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9 min read
Law & Courts To Keep Struggling Schools Open, Detroit Will Sue the State of Michigan
The state's school reform office identified 38 schools statewide for potential closure because they have ranked in the bottom 5 percent academically for three straight years.
Corey Mitchell, March 15, 2017
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1 min read
School & District Management Feuding Superintendents and School Boards Struggle to Make Amends
As battles move into court or the public sphere, it's very hard for schools chiefs and their boards to find a way to work together effectively.
Francisco Vara-Orta, March 7, 2017
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5 min read
Ehlena Fry, a Michigan 6th grader who has cerebral palsy, sits with Wonder, her retired service dog. She had been denied use of the dog by her former school district.
Ehlena Fry, a Michigan 6th grader who has cerebral palsy, sits with Wonder, her retired service dog. She had been denied use of the dog by her former school district.
Erin Irwin/Education Week-File
Special Education Supreme Court Backs Family in Case on Denial of Service Dog in School
The justices gave a unanimous, but for now partial, victory to a family that sued a Michigan district that barred a service dog for a child with cerebral palsy.
Mark Walsh, February 28, 2017
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4 min read
Gavin Grimm, a transgender boy shown at his home in Gloucester, Va., in August 2015, sued his school district for denying him access to the boys’ bathroom. The case will be argued before the Supreme Court this month.
Gavin Grimm, a transgender boy shown at his home in Gloucester, Va., in August 2015, sued his school district for denying him access to the boys’ bathroom. The case will be argued before the Supreme Court this month.
Steve Helber/AP-File
Law & Courts Attention Turns to Courts in Battle Over Transgender-Student Rights
All eyes will be on the Supreme Court later this month when it hears a case that could either expand or curtail the rights of transgender students.
Evie Blad & Mark Walsh, February 24, 2017
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7 min read
Judge Neil Gorsuch speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, after President Donald Trump announced Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court.
Judge Neil Gorsuch speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, after President Donald Trump announced Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Special Education Supreme Court Nominee Faced Range of K-12 Issues on Federal Bench
Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, a Denver federal appeals court judge, has written or joined in opinions involving school discipline, special education, school employee speech, and more.
Mark Walsh, February 7, 2017
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8 min read
Jeffrey L. Fisher argues to the U.S. Supreme Court that federal law requires special education to provide “substantially equal educational opportunities.”
Jeffrey L. Fisher argues to the U.S. Supreme Court that federal law requires special education to provide “substantially equal educational opportunities.”
Special Education High Court Arguments Focus on Spec. Ed. Benefits
A handful of words and phrases could end up setting the standard for the level of benefits school districts nationwide must provide to students with disabilities.
Mark Walsh, January 17, 2017
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4 min read
Nancy Villa was brought to the United States illegally from Mexico as a child. She has a work permit through a federal program started under the Obama administration called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Villa, who attends Harold Washington College in Chicago, has three siblings protected under DACA and two siblings who are U.S. citizens.
Nancy Villa was brought to the United States illegally from Mexico as a child. She has a work permit through a federal program started under the Obama administration called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Villa, who attends Harold Washington College in Chicago, has three siblings protected under DACA and two siblings who are U.S. citizens.
Nam Y. Huh/AP-File
Law & Courts Trump's Anti-Immigration Rhetoric Fuels Data Concerns
Education officials are wrestling with how they would protect student data if the Trump administration tried to use it for immigration-enforcement purposes.
Benjamin Herold, January 13, 2017
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10 min read
Law & Courts High Court Argument to Center on Level of Benefits for Spec. Ed.
In a case involving a Colorado student with autism, the Supreme Court will consider what level of benefits school districts must provide to students with disabilities.
Christina A. Samuels, January 9, 2017
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7 min read
Standards & Accountability High Court Denies Case on Science Standards
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of a group of Kansas parents and students who object on religious grounds to the state's adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards.
Mark Walsh, November 29, 2016
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1 min read
Ehlena Fry, 12, is helped down the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court by her mother, Stacy Fry; Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan legal director; and her dog, Wonder. The high court heard arguments in a case involving Ehlena, who has cerebral palsy and who, at age 5, was banned from bringing her service dog to school.
Ehlena Fry, 12, is helped down the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court by her mother, Stacy Fry; Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan legal director; and her dog, Wonder. The high court heard arguments in a case involving Ehlena, who has cerebral palsy and who, at age 5, was banned from bringing her service dog to school.
Molly Riley/AP
Special Education Justices Pose Sharp Questions in Service-Dog Case
The U.S. Supreme Court hears a special education dispute involving a girl with cerebral palsy who was denied the use of her service dog at school.
Mark Walsh, November 15, 2016
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5 min read
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