Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 31

Full-Text Articles in Law

Hats Off To Claire Flom: Education And The Importance Of Being Involved , Judith S. Kaye Jan 2011

Hats Off To Claire Flom: Education And The Importance Of Being Involved , Judith S. Kaye

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This transcript of the Claire Flom lecture covers primarily two themes—the importance of early intervention, and the importance of people getting involved with the public school system and in their children - and other children's education The lecture applies these concepts first to children with special education needs and then to adolescents, kids at the brink of adulthood. The article argues that early intervening early is key to both populations and that neglected learning difficulties only worsen with the passage of time.


Legal Education After Law School: Lessons From Scotland And Englan, Clark D. Cunningham Jan 2005

Legal Education After Law School: Lessons From Scotland And Englan, Clark D. Cunningham

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article addresses the issue of the needed collaboration between law schools and law firms about legal education after law school. The author proposes pilot projects be launched to increase collaboration between legal academics and law firms in the provision of legal education after law school. The Article suggests that the programs emulate the close partnerships that exist between the legal academy and legal profession in England and Scotland. The Article acknowledges why the training of lawyers is different now than in the past. The author compares the American law firm training programs with the post school education that takes …


Footing The Bill For A Sound Basic Education In New York City: The Implementation Of Campaign For Fiscal Equity V. State, Bonnie A. Scherer Jan 2005

Footing The Bill For A Sound Basic Education In New York City: The Implementation Of Campaign For Fiscal Equity V. State, Bonnie A. Scherer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

On March 16, 2005, in what appeared to be a victory for the children of New York City, the Court of Appeals of New York, applying the Education Article, upheld a lower court decision and recommendation, by a panel of judicially appointed Special Referees, holding that the New York State school funding system failed to provide New York City children with a “sound basic education.” The Court of Appeals mandated that the State Legislature phase in $5.6 billion annually, as well as an additional $9.2 billion in a capital fund to reform the City public schools. The opinion, however, failed …


Profits And Professionalism, Deborah Rhode Jan 2005

Profits And Professionalism, Deborah Rhode

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article looks at the financial effect of ethics work. The author examines to what effect and under what circumstances “ethics pays,” and what can be done to increase the rate of return. The article studies this issue in three different contexts. First, it looks at workplace cultures and professional values. The author tries to find how the legal professional can create more organizational structures in which adhering to principles serves prudential interests. The second context is pro bono work. Here, the author looks at the pro bono benefits to, the lawyer, and legal employer, as well as the costs …


Reflections On Justice Before And After Brown , Constance Baker Motley Jan 2005

Reflections On Justice Before And After Brown , Constance Baker Motley

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article discusses the important role that Brown v. Board of Education and the federal legislation that followed from it played in nullifying the Jim Crow edits. The Article examines how the result in Brown and certain subsequent events allowed for the creation of a black middle class. Martin Luther King's movement directly challenging state-forced segregation was highly effective in this matter; his 1963 march on Washington, in which 250,000 people turned up in support, became the turning point in the segregation battle. Brown also served as a predicate for the passage of the 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act which …


Large Law Firms And Their Role In The Educational Continuum Of Lawyers, Paula A. Patton Jan 2005

Large Law Firms And Their Role In The Educational Continuum Of Lawyers, Paula A. Patton

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the ways in which large law firms have served as educators. Furthermore, the Author considers how law firm efforts as educators might be enhanced. The paper looks at the necessity for law firms to continue to educate their associates and the motivation for associate training. The author proposes that law firms must embrace comprehensive strategies that impart performance standards, benchmarks, and core competencies through experiential training.


Econometric Analyses Of U.S. Abortion Policy: A Critical View, Jonathan Klick Jan 2004

Econometric Analyses Of U.S. Abortion Policy: A Critical View, Jonathan Klick

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article surveys, in non-technical language, various econometric studies on the correlation between changes in access to abortion (whether through legalization, increased public funding, increased safety, etc.) and social phenomena such as sexual activity, crime, and opportunities for women. It argues that many econometrics-based abortion studies are contentious, often yielding varying results depending on the stakes of those commissioning the studies, and often too technical to be useful to policy-makers. As a result of these shortcomings, the author calls for methodological soundness and publication for a more general audience for those social scientists who want to enter the reproductive rights …


The Conception Of Brown, Robert L. Carter Jan 2004

The Conception Of Brown, Robert L. Carter

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article discusses the pervasive racism that continues to exist in the United States and examines the critical role that the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education played in transforming race relations. The Article stresses the need to find a way to rid the country of race and color differentiation and emphasizes the deleterious effect that segregated school systems have on black school childrens ability to learn. The Article examines how Brown came about and states that the Court's rejection of Plessy v. Ferguson is what makes the case so significant. The Article discusses some of the important …


The Judicial Betrayal Of Blacks - Again: The Supreme Court's Destruction Of The Hopes Raised By Brown V. Board Of Education, Nathaniel R. Jones Jan 2004

The Judicial Betrayal Of Blacks - Again: The Supreme Court's Destruction Of The Hopes Raised By Brown V. Board Of Education, Nathaniel R. Jones

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article discusses the history of school desegregation beginning with the pivotal decision in Brown v. Board of Education and noting the hopes that the case raised for black americans. The Article notes the resistance that Brown faced, especially from political forces who began to subvert the desegregation process, and examines the Supreme Court's subsequent decisions which aimed to secure Brown's objectives. The Article also examines the desegregation attempts in the North and discusses the difficulties plaintiffs faced in proving racial discrimination in school districts. The Article concludes by stating that the commitment to desegregation is waring and that segregation …


"Press Prudence," Nazi Student Orders, And Jim Crow, Louis H. Pollak Jan 2004

"Press Prudence," Nazi Student Orders, And Jim Crow, Louis H. Pollak

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article discusses the 1931 decision of the Austrian Constitutional Court in which it was held that rules promulgated by the University of Vienna, which aimed to separate the student body into four ethnically-defined nations, were invalid. The Article notes the striking similarities of the case to Brown v. Board of Education and other American equal protection education cases. In examining the decision the article states that in declining to uphold an equivalent to the 'separate but equal' doctrine, the Austrian justices did for Austrian law what Plessy had failed to do for US law thirty five years before. The …


From Equity To Adequacy: The Legal Battle For Increased State Funding Of Poor School Districts In New York, Brian J. Nickerson, Gernard M. Deenihan Jan 2003

From Equity To Adequacy: The Legal Battle For Increased State Funding Of Poor School Districts In New York, Brian J. Nickerson, Gernard M. Deenihan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article evaluates the influence of federal courts' school finance cases on the New York school finance groups' decision to litigate in the New York courts. It then analyzes the importance of other states' legal precedents in school finance cases as a factor influencing interest groups in New York to challenge the state's public education funding formulas. This Article discusses the progression of public elementary and secondary school funding formula litigation in New York, focusing on the legal arguments raised by various interest group-plaintiffs and tracing the development of those arguments to school finance cases in other states. The conclusion …


Edison Schools And The Privatization Of K-12 Public Education: A Legal And Policy Analysis, Lewis D. Solomon Jan 2003

Edison Schools And The Privatization Of K-12 Public Education: A Legal And Policy Analysis, Lewis D. Solomon

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the private takeover of the management of K-12 publicly funded schools. It focuses on one particular educational management organization, Edison Schools. This Article examines the situation in Philadelphia's public schools and the efforts of a local school reform commission to revitalize K-12 education. It goes on to look into the personalities of those who started and today run Edison Schools, analyze Edison Schools financial position, and discuss the structured educational approach Edison Schools uses in it schools. This Article addresses the policy considerations behind the efforts to privatize public schools. It concludes that while Edison Schools does …


Examining How The Inclusion Of Disabled Students Into The General Classroom May Affect Non-Disabled Classmates, Marissa L. Antoinette Jan 2003

Examining How The Inclusion Of Disabled Students Into The General Classroom May Affect Non-Disabled Classmates, Marissa L. Antoinette

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Comment discusses the effectiveness of the inclusion of disabled students in general classrooms, focusing particularly on the effects on non-disabled classmates. Part I of this Comment outlines the history of inclusion as established through federal legislation, as well as its gradual implementation in New York City. Part II examines the issues concerning inclusion, looking at the consequences inappropriate inclusion of disabled students may have on the non-disabled ("general") student. Finally, Part III proposes a solution, suggesting that a school district give a disabled student a "three strikes" policy regarding disruptions, after which she may be removed, permanently or temporarily, …


An Effective Drug Policy To Protect America's Youth And Communities, Asa Hutchinson Jan 2003

An Effective Drug Policy To Protect America's Youth And Communities, Asa Hutchinson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Drug abuse and addiction, and the government's response to these problems, are frequently and appropriately a topic for public debate. Law enforcement has made significant advances in both reducing the number of people using illegal drugs and in the fight against traffickers. Legalization of illegal drugs would not elinate the black market or eliminate drug-related violence. The facts on the issue make a strong case for a national policy geared toward effective drug abuse education and prevention, and treatment for people dependent on illegal drugs. Our nation should also continue to conduct research to determine the most effective means of …


Confronting Same-Sex, Student-To-Student Sexual Harassment: Recommendations For Educators And Policy Makers, Thomas A. Mayes Jan 2001

Confronting Same-Sex, Student-To-Student Sexual Harassment: Recommendations For Educators And Policy Makers, Thomas A. Mayes

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Student-on-student sexual harassment has been the subject of significant scholarly commentary and numerous court battles. In light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, which held that in certain cases students have a cause of action under Title IX against schools for peer sexual harassment, many schools have been advised to consider responses to and ways to prevent student-on-student sexual harassment. When considering corrective and preventative approaches to peer sexual harassment in the schools, educators and policy makers should strongly consider addressing same-sex harassment. Prior to its decision in Davis, a unanimous …


The Education Justice: The Honorable Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr., Victoria J. Dodd Jan 2001

The Education Justice: The Honorable Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr., Victoria J. Dodd

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Honorable Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. is “the education Justice” of the United States. During his tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court, from 1971 to 1987, Justice Powell authored at least twenty major opinions in education law, in addition to numerous significant concurrences and dissents. Just a sampling of Justice Powell's majority opinions on education could form the bulk of an education law textbook recognizable by any American law student. This Article will explore some of Justice Powell's major Supreme Court rulings in education law. It will also consider how these rulings may have related to aspects of Justice Powell's …


The Children's School: Lessons For Inclusion, Leadership, And School Success, Beth Lief Jan 2001

The Children's School: Lessons For Inclusion, Leadership, And School Success, Beth Lief

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In recent years education has evolved into the country's number one public concern. Presidential, gubernatorial, mayoral, and legislative candidates all claim to care about educating our children. Successful schools should be used by educators and policy-makers as models. In order to reproduce the success of these schools, the reasons for their success must be identified. A school's achievement data gives important indications of why it succeeds. There are also innumerable studies and reports listing factors enabling school success. The Children's School in Brooklyn, New York is a school worthy of study. The leadership is superb; teachers know their students and …


Unequal Educational Opportunities For Gifted Students: Robbing Peter To Pay Paul?, Charles J. Russo Jan 2001

Unequal Educational Opportunities For Gifted Students: Robbing Peter To Pay Paul?, Charles J. Russo

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Brown ushered in an era that has led to admirable, yet arguably incomplete, gains in equal educational opportunities for all children, most notably minorities, females, and students with disabilities. However, despite the progress that has been made in the struggle for educational equality, many exceptional students are not being fully served. Aside from commission reports and rhetoric, little has been done at either the federal or state level to offer appropriate programming for gifted and talented children's educational needs. It is questionable whether educational leaders and policy makers have taken sufficient steps to meet the educational needs of gifted children. …


Diversity Efforts In Independent Schools , Michael Brosnan Jan 2001

Diversity Efforts In Independent Schools , Michael Brosnan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In recent years, independent schools have begun committing themselves to diversity. Schools are recruiting more students and teachers of color and have transformed their curriculum to better address race, gender, class religion, and sexual orientation. Schools must start marketing themselves to a broad spectrum of families, teachers, and administrators, and have done so in order to prepare students for the adult world to come. Schools need to hire and retain teachers of color. To achieve this, some overlapping efforts by schools include: creating the need to hire teachers of color with the school's mission, clarifying the school's climate and culture, …


Strong, Smart, And Bold Girls: The Girls Incorporated Approach To Education , Heather Johnston Nicholson, Mary F. Maschino Jan 2001

Strong, Smart, And Bold Girls: The Girls Incorporated Approach To Education , Heather Johnston Nicholson, Mary F. Maschino

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Girls Incorporated is a national non profit youth organization that "inspires all girls to be strong, smart and bold". in 200, Girls Inc. programs reached more than 740,000 girls and young women ages six through eighteen. A vast majority of these programs are conducted at schools during and after the school day. Program areas include science, media criticism, leadership, and substance use prevention. This article explores the different tactics, philosophies, and programs utilized used by Girls Inc.


Is Our Drug Policy Effective, Jefferson M. Fish Jan 2000

Is Our Drug Policy Effective, Jefferson M. Fish

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The article begins by stating that the time has come for a reexamination of our drug policy. It continues by discussing the two day conference "Is Our Drug Policy Effective?" "Are There Alternatives?" organized by several committee's. Because of space constraints, the article mainly delves into two topics, certain substances both licit and illicit with regard to both their physiological effects and the policies governing them, and also the disproportionate emphasis placed by the war on drugs on combating marijuana. The article then gives summaries of the speakers at the conference. These include: Objectives of our drug policy, overviews of …


Reforming The Urban Workplace: The Legacy Of Frances Perkins, Honorable Jeanine Francis Pirro Jan 1999

Reforming The Urban Workplace: The Legacy Of Frances Perkins, Honorable Jeanine Francis Pirro

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article focuses on the life and legacy of Francis Perkins, a twentieth century champion of woman's and worker's rights. It examines her work as a reformer and as Secretary of Labor under Franklin Roosevelt, specifically on the issues of woman's rights, education, social services and working conditions for poor. By focusing on specific legislation she helped enact, such as the Social Security Act and laws regarding working conditions, the Article ultimately seeks to portray Perkins as the most influential person to urban America in the twentieth century.


The Judicial System & Equality In Schooling, Frank J. Macciarola, Dorothy Kerzner Lipsky, Alan Gartner Jan 1996

The Judicial System & Equality In Schooling, Frank J. Macciarola, Dorothy Kerzner Lipsky, Alan Gartner

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines how the concept of equality has played out in the efforts of the courts to define student rights in several important areas. These include school prayer and flag salutation, racial discrimination and cases concerning students with learning disabilities. The Article examines how differences in these areas are first conceptualized and then addressed by the courts. This Article discusses good school practices and addresses the educational methods which have been proven to be effective. The common thread in effective educational doctrine is that programs which integrate and include students are often the most effective education method on many …


Public School Drug Searches: Toward Redefining Fourth Amendment "Reasonableness" To Include Individualized Suspicion, Jill I. Braverman Jan 1986

Public School Drug Searches: Toward Redefining Fourth Amendment "Reasonableness" To Include Individualized Suspicion, Jill I. Braverman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Incidents of illegal drug use' and violent crime plague public school authorities across the nation. As narcotics and weapons appear on school campuses, school officials seek to conduct searches of students' lockers, property, and persons for contraband or prohibited weapons. Public school authorities justify their actions by stating that since the state requires children to attend school, the state retains a compelling interest, if not an affirmative duty, in ensuring that the school environment remain free of illegal substances which might present safety hazards to teachers or fellow students. The fourth amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted to …


Stough V. Crenshaw Country Board Of Education: Parental Rights And Segregation Academies, Stuart Melnick Jan 1985

Stough V. Crenshaw Country Board Of Education: Parental Rights And Segregation Academies, Stuart Melnick

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The author of this student note explores a recent 11th Circuit decision in Strough v. Crenshaw Country Board of Education, which held that the state's proffered interests were not compelling, and therefore failed to override a fundamental right. In the case, a county school board forbid its employees from sending their children to private school, and the regulation was contested by two tenured teachers who sought to enroll their children in a private, racially segregated school. The court eventually found that a parent's right to educate their child was a fundamental right, and the policy reasons advanced by the school …


Modifying The New York State Public School Financing Formula After Levittown, Elizabeth M. Flinn Jan 1983

Modifying The New York State Public School Financing Formula After Levittown, Elizabeth M. Flinn

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Spending on public education is primarily an obligation of state legislature and local school districts in the United States. Legislatures determine not only the amount of education spending, but also how much money is to be given to specific school districts. As a result, there have been growing discrepancies over how much financial assistance one district will have over another, leaving children from poor and fiscally overburdened districts at a disadvantage. This Note focuses on the New York case, Levittown v. Nyquist, as well as the New York funding formula, and ultimately recommends adoption of a school finance system that …


Educational Malpractice: When Can Johnny Sue? Jan 1979

Educational Malpractice: When Can Johnny Sue?

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This comment explores three avenues to pursue educational malpractice suits. First, a negligence action for malpractice. Second, a cause of action for negligent misrepresentation. And finally, an action sounding in negligence for breach of statutory duty. Each avenue is explored in detail in terms of the likelihood of success. Importantly, the comment recognizes the inherent difficult of pursuing any education malpractice claim.


New York City School Decentralization: The Respective Powers Of The City Board Of Education And The Community School Boards, Kenneth R. Mcgrail Jan 1977

New York City School Decentralization: The Respective Powers Of The City Board Of Education And The Community School Boards, Kenneth R. Mcgrail

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The city of New York constitutes a single school district and the city Board of Education is charged with the general management and control of educational affairs in the city school district. The Board is subject to the plenary powers of the State Board of Regents and the State Commissioner of Education. Local school boards existed within the city school district but functioned largely advisory roles until the State Legislature began restructuring the New York City School District in 1968 and major legislation changed the city district into a decentralized system. The change resulted from the belief that community-base school …


Book Review - Urban School Chiefs Under Fire, Donald L. Herdman Jan 1977

Book Review - Urban School Chiefs Under Fire, Donald L. Herdman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Urban School Chiefs Under Fire, by Larry Cuban, gives life to the study of the urban environment by inviting the readers to meet and experience life with three giants of the public school system, Benjamin Willis (Chicago), Carl Hansen (Washington, D.C.), and Harold Spears (San Francisco). Dr. Cuban's stimulating and well-documented biography of three powerful urban leaders permits readers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of these men, and their service during periods of great urban sensitivity to ethnic imbalance and economic decay. Dr. Cuban not only provides personal vignettes of these three men but also engages the reader …


Note: Bilingual Education - A Problem Of "Substantial" Numbers Jan 1977

Note: Bilingual Education - A Problem Of "Substantial" Numbers

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This unsigned note argues that the Supreme Court should reexamine the rights of language minority students under 42 U.S.C. §2000d in order to clarify its holding in Lau v. Nichols. In that case, the Court established the right of non-English speaking children to receive compensatory language instruction under that statute. The note analogizes language minority children to handicapped children who the Court has held are entitled to receive a minimal education which is geared toward their needs. Since language minority students may not be able to obtain minimal education without compensatory language instruction, they may be entitled to such instruction.