Law Commons^™

Bankruptcy And Education, Keith Sharfman

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Bankruptcy law interacts with education law in a number of respects. A bankrupt educational institution loses access to student financial aid, and its accreditation status is excluded from the bankruptcy estate. Actions by accreditation agencies against bankrupt educational institutions are not subject to the automatic stay. And absent a showing of undue hardship, student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

The exceptional treatment of educational institutions and their students in bankruptcy reflects a fundamental tension between the goals of bankruptcy law on the one hand and education policy on the other. While bankruptcy law generally seeks to maximize value …

The Gap Between Rights And Reality: The Intersection Of Language, Disability, And Educational Opportunity, Claire Raj

Faculty Publications

English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing group in America’s schools. The debate over how to best serve them is largely dominated by fights over English-only versus bilingual instruction. This controversy is once again taking center stage, as states like California and Massachusetts reassess their language programs after a decade of English-only laws on the books. But once again, lost in the battle over language pedagogy is the fact that ELLs face educational challenges beyond language. Like any other student population, the ELL cohort includes students with disabilities who need special education services. In theory, two different statutes protect …

A Contract Theory Of Academic Freedom, Philip Lee

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Academic freedom is central to the core role of professors in a free society. Yet, current First Amendment protections exist to protect academic institutions, not the academics themselves. For example, in Urofsky v. Gilmore, six professors employed by various public colleges and universities in Virginia challenged a law restricting state employees from accessing sexually explicit material on computers owned or leased by the state. The professors claimed, in part, that such a restriction was in violation of their First Amendment academic freedom rights to conduct scholarly research. The Fourth Circuit upheld the law and noted that “to the …