Education Law

Education news, analysis, and opinion about important court cases dealing with education
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Law & Courts Opinion Fisher v. University of Texas and Lessons for K-12 Districts
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on race-conscious admissions provides important guidance on how districts can further diversify their schools, write Erica Frankenberg and Liliana M. Garces.
Erica Frankenberg & Liliana M. Garces, July 7, 2016
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5 min read
Abigail Fisher, right, who challenged the use of race in college admissions, walks with lawyer Edward Blum following oral arguments last December at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.
Abigail Fisher, right, who challenged the use of race in college admissions, walks with lawyer Edward Blum following oral arguments last December at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP-File
Law & Courts Aftershocks From Affirmative Action Ruling to Hit K-12, College
Educators at all levels believe they have some room to maneuver now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a race-conscious admissions policy at the University of Texas.
Mark Walsh, July 7, 2016
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7 min read
Law & Courts Kansas Legislature Adjusts Funding Formula to Keep Schools Open
The plaintiffs' lawyers in an ongoing lawsuit are satisfied with a bill passed by legislators late Friday that would add $38 million to the K-12 funding formula.
Daarel Burnette II, June 25, 2016
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1 min read
Law & Courts Washington State Chief Backs School Shutdown as Funding-Fight Option
In an amicus brief filed with the state's supreme court, Randy Dorn, Washington's superintendent of public instruction, said the court should consider witholding money from the state's school system to force the legislature to fix its funding formula.
Daarel Burnette II, June 9, 2016
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3 min read
Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general, asserts that the Obama administration failed to follow proper legal procedures in issuing guidance on transgender students.
Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general, asserts that the Obama administration failed to follow proper legal procedures in issuing guidance on transgender students.
Sue Ogrocki/AP-File
Law & Courts Restroom Guidance a Thorny Study in Administrative Law
The clash involving the Obama administration's "Dear Colleague" letter on transgender students' choice of restrooms spotlights the often-arcane wrangling over federal regulatory guidance.
Mark Walsh, June 7, 2016
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9 min read
Richard Gray, representing the Texas Taxpayer & Student Fairness Coalition, argues before the Texas Supreme Court in a lawsuit by more than 600 school districts challenging the state’s school finance formula. The court in May upheld the state’s funding, finding that it met “minimal” constitutional standards.
Richard Gray, representing the Texas Taxpayer & Student Fairness Coalition, argues before the Texas Supreme Court in a lawsuit by more than 600 school districts challenging the state’s school finance formula. The court in May upheld the state’s funding, finding that it met “minimal” constitutional standards.
Eric Gay/AP-File
Law & Courts School Finance Suits: More Than Just a Legal Roll of Dice?
The fate of challenges to state K-12 funding formulas is far from random, often hinging on the specifics and ambiguities of each state's constitution.
Daarel Burnette II, May 31, 2016
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6 min read
Ashley Joubert-Gaddis, director of operations at the nonprofit Center for Equality, holds a toilet seat at her workplace in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Center for Equality was one of many organizations that worked against a bill that would have required transgender students in South Dakota to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their sex at birth.
Ashley Joubert-Gaddis, director of operations at the nonprofit Center for Equality, holds a toilet seat at her workplace in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Center for Equality was one of many organizations that worked against a bill that would have required transgender students in South Dakota to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their sex at birth.
James Nord/AP-File
Law & Courts Transgender Students and Bathrooms: What Should Schools Do?
The Obama administration's guidance to schools on the rights of transgender students has provoked protests, lawsuits, and uncertainty among educators.
Evie Blad, May 27, 2016
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5 min read
Law & Courts Arizona Districts Eye Ways to Use New Aid Approved by Voters
A ballot measure that passed last week will let districts tap into a state land trust for an extra $2.1 billion over the next decade.
Daarel Burnette II, May 23, 2016
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1 min read
In this image taken with a fisheye lens, the doors to public restrooms are propped open at a office complex on Monday, May 9, 2016 in Anaheim, Calif. A California lawmaker says he'll bring up for a vote Monday his proposal requiring single-stall public restrooms to be gender-neutral, hours after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory sued the federal government to defend that state's law restricting access to restrooms based on the gender listed on a person's birth certificate.
In this image taken with a fisheye lens, the doors to public restrooms are propped open at a office complex on Monday, May 9, 2016 in Anaheim, Calif. A California lawmaker says he'll bring up for a vote Monday his proposal requiring single-stall public restrooms to be gender-neutral, hours after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory sued the federal government to defend that state's law restricting access to restrooms based on the gender listed on a person's birth certificate.
Chris Carlson/AP
Law & Courts Schools at Center of Feud Over N.C. Transgender Law
An escalating legal fight between the Obama administration and state officials could still leave federal funds at risk for the state's K-12 schools.
Evie Blad, May 17, 2016
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5 min read
Merrick B. Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, clerked for Justice William J. Brennan Jr. during the 1978-79 term, when he was involved in cases about desegregation and religious schools.
Merrick B. Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, clerked for Justice William J. Brennan Jr. during the 1978-79 term, when he was involved in cases about desegregation and religious schools.
Susan Walsh/AP
Law & Courts High-Court Nominee's Clerkship Combed for Hints on K-12
Merrick B. Garland, nominated for a U.S. Supreme Court seat, clerked for Justice William J. Brennan Jr. in the 1978-79 term, which included high-profile education cases.
Mark Walsh, May 17, 2016
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9 min read
Equity & Diversity Cleveland, Miss., District Ordered to Desegregate After 60 Years of Resistance
A federal judge has ordered the 3,600-student Cleveland, Miss., school district to merge its racially isolated middle and high schools.
Corey Mitchell, May 17, 2016
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1 min read
Law & Courts Texas Supreme Court Upholds State School-Funding Formula
The state's highest court rejected arguments by more than half of the state's school districts that the Texas school funding formula fails to meet constitutional standards.
Daarel Burnette II, May 13, 2016
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1 min read
Supporters of an Obama administration program seeking to give protection from deportation to unauthorized immigrants whose children are U.S. citizens demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in a challenge to the program.
Supporters of an Obama administration program seeking to give protection from deportation to unauthorized immigrants whose children are U.S. citizens demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in a challenge to the program.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Equity & Diversity Supreme Court Weighs Deportation Dispute
A divided high court hears oral arguments over the Obama administration’s program to give protection from deportation to unauthorized immigrants whose children are U.S. citizens.
Mark Walsh, April 26, 2016
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4 min read
Law & Courts New Md. Law Protects Journalism Teachers From Reprisals
The law protects student journalists' right to free speech and freedom of the press and ensures that student media advisers cannot be punished for what their students publish in the school newspaper.
Madeline Will, April 26, 2016
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3 min read
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