Law Commons^™

Connecting The Dots: Immigration Policy And Access To Higher Education For Refugees In France, Isabella Amaro Varas

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Since 2016, the increasing number of refugees in Europe accelerated the development of national and regional policies to determine their rights and access to resources. Against this backdrop, the strong politicization of migration, and the recent financial crises, refugees' access to welfare has “become a key area of concern across European democracies” (Lafleur et al. 2020). Considering public education programs as a pillar of social policy agendas in this region, this study examines French policy in order to answer the following questions: How do French immigration and education policies converge to determine refugees’ access to higher education in France? What …

Inclusion Of Visually Impaired And Deaf Students In Kenya: A Call For Action, Edwin O. Abuya, Jane W. Githinji

Washington International Law Journal

Drawing on field data, this Article reviews the experiences of visually impaired and deaf students (VIDS) in select universities in Kenya. The paper argues that, unlike able bodied students, these learners face discrimination in these institutions. The Article focuses on three spaces where VIDS are excluded: the admission process, the learning, and the examination environments. To counter the unfair treatment, the paper proposes three solutions that VIDS and stakeholders should consider. These are consistent with legal requirements on access to education by VIDS. Firstly, course instructors should be robustly engaged with. Further, universities should provide adequate and timely information should …

The Magic Of Fintech? Insights For A Regulatory Agenda From Analyzing Student Loan Complaints Filed With The Cfpb, Matthew Adam Bruckner, Christopher J. Ryan

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

This Article looks at consumer complaints about student loan lenders and servicers from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) consumer complaint database. Using a novel dataset drawn from 30,678 complaints filed against 212 student loan companies, we analyze consumers’ subjective views about whether traditional or fintech student loan lenders and servicers provide a better customer experience. Overall, we find that consumers initiate far fewer complaints against fintech lenders than traditional lenders. But we find that fintech lenders are 28 times more likely than traditional lenders to receive complaints for making confusing or misleading advertisements. Our data also show that complaints …

Reconciling Self-Censorship: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of University Staff And Administrators, Leigh C. Morales

Doctoral Dissertations

In addition to a global pandemic, the past three years have been marked by racial, social, and political unrest. These circumstances add meaningful context to examine and better understand factors that undermine free expression and contribute to self-censorship among university staff and administrators. To date, few studies have holistically explored the unique experiences of university staff and administrators with self-censorship and how this phenomenon affects their experience on college and university campuses. Understanding why staff and administrators choose to self-censor may allow for a deeper discussion about speech climate and the degree to which colleges and universities implement and uphold …

Abusing Discretion: The Battle For Childhood In Schools, Hannah Dodson

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

For too many children the schoolhouse doors become a point of entry into the criminal justice system. Children of color are the most likely to suffer from this phenomenon. The presence of policing in schools is a key contributor to this “school-to-prison pipeline.” This Note argues that broad, discretionary mandates for school resource officers (SROs) promote biased law enforcement that impacts Black girls in different and specific ways. I contend that SRO mandates can be effectively limited by strategically bolstering community organizing efforts with impact litigation.

The Merit Of Inclusion: A Policy Review Examining The Convergence Of Special Education And Inclusions Policies With Compensatory Medicaid Policies In The Wake Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Corbyn Baggett

Capstone Experience

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a global pandemic. This global issue compelled governments to announce careful virus containing policies in order to prevent further spread and control of the disease. Although it has been proven that measures like social isolation could aid in scaling the spread of illness, the resulting extended school closures that occurred in response to an increased number of COVID-19 outbreaks posed significant challenges for all students, but especially those students with special needs. The unpredictable nature of COVID-19 at the outset of the pandemic …

Tenure In New York, Matthew W. Finkin

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Education Administration In Federal Indian Law: Learning From A Colonial Project Turned Tool Of Liberation, Ariel Liberman, Douglas L. Waters Jr.

American Indian Law Journal

While statistics tend to focus on the difficulties facing tribal education, this article endeavors to look at the matter with fresh eyes. The federal administrative paradigm governing tribal schools has gone from a tool of cultural genocide to a mechanism for empowerment. A survey of recent governmental reforms demonstrates an embrace of the diversity of Indigenous communities, an interest in empowering students through learning, and an acknowledgement of a history of active disenfranchisement. This is ever-evolving federal-tribal relationship shows the administrative state’s capacity for dealing with greatly nuanced community needs and for tailor-making reforms to achieve concrete goals, even if …

Indoctrination By Elimination: Why Banning Critical Race Theory In Public Schools Is Unconstitutional, Emma Postel

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note argues that Texas public school students’ First Amendment Rights have been violated by the passage of Senate Bill 3 (SB 3), which bans the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in K–12 public schools. The First Amendment is violated here because (1) students have a First Amendment right to speech, and this law bans protected speech; (2) students have a right to receive information, and this ban prevents them from receiving information; and (3) schools are meant to be the marketplace of ideas for students and banning CRT amounts to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. This Note does not suggest …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

It Starts And Ends With The Schools: Using Strict Idea Enforcement To Sunder The School-To-Prison-Pipeline For Special Education Students, Savannah L. Murphy

Ohio Northern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can't Really Teach: Crt Bans Impose Upon Teachers' First Amendment Pedagogical Rights, Mary L. Krebs

Vanderbilt Law Review

The jurisprudence governing K-12 teachers’ speech protection has been a convoluted hodgepodge of caselaw since the 1960s when the Supreme Court established that teachers retain at least some First Amendment protection as public educators. Now, as new so-called Critical Race Theory bans prohibit an array of hot button topics in the classroom, K-12 teachers must either preemptively censor themselves or risk running afoul of these vague bans with indeterminate legal protection. This Note proposes an elucidation of K-12 teachers’ free speech rights via a two-part test to assess the reasonability of instructional speech. Rather than analogizing K-12 teacher speech to …

Reshaping College Athlete Sports Betting Education, Becky Harris, John T. Holden

BYU Law Review

Legal sports wagering has been rapidly expanding across the United States since 2018. In the wake of the Supreme Court's Murphy decision, more than twenty five states have legalized sports betting and billions of dollars have followed the cascades of legalization. As the legal market continues to grow, professional sports leagues have been quick to embrace the regulated expansion, but the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has not changed their steadfast opposition. Despite the NCAA's vehement opposition, the organization has seemed to gain little traction in getting states to either wholly exclude wagering on collegiate sports or getting the federal …

What's Wrong With The Ncaa's New Transgender Athlete Policy?, Erin Buzuvis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In 2022, the NCAA changed its long-standing policy permitting transgender athletes to participate in teams that correspond to their affirmed gender. For twelve years, the NCAA permitted transgender women to participate in women’s sports events under NCAA control, so long as they first underwent a year of androgen suppression. Starting in 2020, however, a political movement to ban transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sport, galvanized by backlash against a single collegiate swimmer, has challenged NCAA’s inclusive approach. Rather than demonstrate leadership and support for rights of transgender women to compete, the NCAA revised its policy to one …

Don't Say Gay: The Government's Silence And The Equal Protection Clause, Clifford Rosky

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This paper will argue that the LGBT movement has played, and will continue to play, a significant role in developing doctrines that subject government speech to the requirements of the Equal Protection Clause. In particular, the paper will examine how this doctrine is being developed in litigation around anti-LGBT curriculum laws—statutes that prohibit or restrict the discussion of LGBT people and topics in public schools. It argues that this litigation demonstrates how the Equal Protection Clause can be violated by the government’s silence, as well as the government’s speech. In addition, it explains why the Don’t Say Gay Laws recently …

Constitutional Law—School Choice: The Landscape After Espinoza V. Montana Department Of Revenue And Contemporary Political Polarization, Peter Hughes

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Title Ix's Trans Panic, Deborah L. Brake

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Sport has long been a site of struggle over competing conceptions of social justice, with no cultural flashpoint more contested than gender. A key site of contention has been the meaning and application of Title IX. With June of 2022 marking the law’s fiftieth anniversary, Title IX has been lauded as the law that launched girls’ and women’s sports from the shadows to their present, more celebrated posture. As these anniversary tributes often emphasize, female athletic participation has soared to new heights in all levels of sports. But Title IX also houses tensions and dilemmas for gender justice that were …

Assessing The Racial Implications Of Ncaa Academic Measures, Timothy Davis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In 1983, the NCAA’s adoption of heightened initial eligibility standards for incoming intercollegiate athletes was met with applause and criticism. Proponents lauded the measure as a legitimate means of restoring academic integrity within intercollegiate athletics. Opponents questioned whether seemingly racially neutral eligibility standards had a disproportionately negative impact on African American athletes. It is against this backdrop that the Article examines the racial implications of the NCAA’s past and present academic standards.

These standards consist of initial eligibility rules, progress-toward-degree requirements, the graduation success rate, and academic progress rate, the latter two of which comprise the NCAA’s Academic Performance Program. …

Title Ix In Historical Context: 50 Years Of Progress And Political Gamesmanship, Helen Drew, Marissa Egloff, Josie Middione

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

On the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX, it is important to recognize both its historic nature and how it has evolved in political and social context. This Article will begin by examining the history of women’s athletics pre–Title IX, focusing on what activities women participated in, why, and how societal norms shaped their ability to do so. Next, the Article will examine the status of women’s athletic opportunities as Title IX was first proposed, with an emphasis upon its nexus to the women’s rights movement and the Equal Rights Amendment initiative. The Article will then provide historical background for key …

Separate And Unequal: Promoting Racial Equity In Public Schools In The United States And South Africa, Paige Sferrazza

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

On January 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it will hear two cases, against Harvard College and the University of North Carolina, which “rais[e] serious doubts about the future of affirmative action in higher education.” The plaintiff in both cases, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (“SFFA”), is a non-profit organization devoted to eradicating affirmative action programs nationwide. Described as the “culmination of a years-long strategy by conservative activists,” these cases represent the first affirmative action challenges to be argued before the Court’s new conservative majority, where they “pose the gravest threats yet” to over …

A Call For An Intersectional Feminist Restorative Justice Approach To Addressing The Criminalization Of Black Girls, Donna Coker, Thalia González

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

The persistent criminalization and pathologizing of Black youth in the U.S. educational system is a fundamental driver for their entry into the criminal legal system. Despite decades of evidence of the far-reaching harms of the “school-to-prison pipeline” and, more recently, demands from Black Lives Matter activists to defund school police, the role of schools in criminalizing Black girls has been left out of mainstream academic discourse. This occurs even though Black girls experience some of the most subjective and discriminatory practices in schools and evidence of an upward trend in discipline disparities since the mid-2000s. For Black girls with …

Creating Broadband Equity In Rural Wisconsin, Brian T. Coe

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Over 430,000 people throughout the state of Wisconsin cur-rently do not have access to the internet. This "digital divide" is even more prominent in rural communities where broadband is either too slow, too expensive, or simply not available. Wisconsin state law cur-rently restricts local governments from providing this vital utility to their residents. The purpose of this Comment is to help readers un-derstand the impact of Wisconsin law surrounding local government public broadband programs, and how they can be changed to offer a more equitable menu of internet access to rural communities. This Comment will discuss the restrictive statutes that …

Equal Opportunity In Remote Learning, Teramie Hill

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Students with disabilities have always been a marginalized group. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this group was even more vulnerable to discrimination because many students simply could not receive services required to ensure equal opportunity in education. While Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act in order to ensure students with disabilities are fairly treated in the educational system, remote learning has created complications and more complex issues. Making this issue even more complex, many parents are demanding the end of remote learning while others …

An Administrative Solution To The Student Loan Debt Crisis, Justin C. Van Orsdol

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

To say that the student loan debt crisis is out of control is a massive understatement. Although solutions such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the recent temporary payment/interest rate freeze have provided some relief for borrowers, more can be done. Of course, as with any large outlay of taxpayer dollars, opposition is sure to be heated. Given the current political climate, the likelihood of any legislative fixes seems unlikely.

But what if there was an administrative solution that could do more to address this crisis without the cost of the legislative process? This essay proposes such a solution. It …

Family | Home | School, Latoya Baldwin Clark

Northwestern University Law Review

The state grants residents who live within a school district’s border an ownership interest in that district’s schools. This interest includes the power to exclude nonresidents. To attend school in a school district, a child must prove that she lives at an in-district address and is a bona fide resident. But in highly-sought-after districts and schools, establishing a child’s bona fide residence may be highly contested.

In this Essay, I show that education law, policies, and practices fail to recognize a child’s residence when the child’s family and living situation do not comport with a particular ideal of family life. …

Beyond Bostock: Title Ix Protections For Transgender Athletes, Joseph Brucker

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Call To The Bullpen: Saving High School Student Athlete Name, Image, And Likeness Rights, Francesca Casalino

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Cut Athletes' Injunction Hail Mary: Covid-19 And The Unveiling Of Title Ix Noncompliance In Collegiate Sports, Elizabeth Kletsel

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

High School Coaches Call A Foul: Important Considerations For High School Coaches Considering A Defamation Claim, Mallory Shumaker

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Watercooler Is Safer Than The Schoolyard: Lower Courts Dismissal Of Peer Sexual Harassment Under Title Ix Is Especially Failing Our Students In The “#Metoo” World, Christine Tamer

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

While the term #MeToo was first coined in 2006, the movement came to the forefront of American life in October 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “if you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Since then, the #MeToo movement has exposed the fact that sexual harassment remains all too common and has pushed for change in the legal procedures that have failed victims. In the #MeToo world, sexual harassment is “finally getting the public attention it has long deserved” and the public has come together to deem it—in one word—unacceptable.

While …