Education Law Commons^™

200 Years In Review: Education And The Mississippi Constitution, Wendy Scott

Mississippi College Law Review

No abstract provided.

Emerging School Finance Litigation In Mississippi, Lajuana Davis

Mississippi College Law Review

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the implementation of Mississippi's education funding statute, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), which requires the state to fully fund public elementary and secondary education. In those two decades, Mississippi has largely avoided the education finance lawsuits faced by other states, despite the state legislature having only fully funded MAEP twice since its enactment. Although courts have been reluctant to push state legislatures to increase funding to achieve greater equity and adequacy of public school education, some plaintiffs have been successful in reforming education finance laws in other states. Recently, and for the …

The Mississippi Charter School Act: Will It Produce Effective And Equitable Charter Schools?, Robert A. Garda Jr.

Mississippi College Law Review

The Mississippi Charter School Act (CSA) is under constitutional and political attack. On the first front, litigation is underway challenging the funding provisions of the CSA under the Mississippi Constitution. The second front is a broader political attack against charter schools generally, which questions their effectiveness, viability and impact on traditional public schools. These critical issues have diverted attention from a third, and equally important, consideration: whether the CSA is an effective charter enabling statute. This article addresses this overlooked issue and analyzes the CSA to determine if it constructs a landscape that ensures the creation, governance, and oversight of …

Education In Mississippi: A Brief History From 1820 To The Creation Of The State's First Statewide Public Education System, Dennis J. Mitchell

Mississippi College Law Review

This essay surveys education in Mississippi from its origins to the creation of the state's first statewide public education system during "Radical" Reconstruction. The Choctaws and Chickasaws had developed methods of educating youngsters in their traditional culture; however, faced with the invasion of their homelands by Africans and Europeans, they began to embrace "white" missionary schools in order to learn the skills needed to survive in the new economy imposed by the settlers. The European-derived invaders consisted of two classes: the planters and the yeomen (poor).

It Takes A Village, Not A Schoolhouse: The Deprival Of Parents & Students' Rights To Privacy & Expression In Context Of Bell V. Itawamba, Marcellus D. Chamberlain

Mississippi College Law Review

The notion that "it takes a village to raise a child" is a proverbial adage that still maintains the same, if not greater, relevance today. This simply means the successful upbringing of a child depends not only on the parents, but also on the child's village, which consists of trusted members of the community, extended family, friends of the family, and other mentors. As the child transitions into adulthood, there is an expectation among the village members that the child will use the lessons he or she learns about life and its responsibilities to honor the village accordingly. Some of …

Introduction, Stephanie Durr

Mississippi College Law Review

The 2022 Mississippi College Law Review Symposium celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Passage of Title IX. With the benefit of hindsight, the Symposium critically examined Title IX and its progeny, analyzing the benefits and the downfalls over the past fifty years. The 2022 Symposium celebrated Title IX for its accomplishments in eliminating sex-based discrimination in educational institutions but refused to let previous accomplishments overshadow the still-existing gender inequality. While history allows celebration, advocacy demands a commitment to work toward solutions for the persisting inequality. Armed with this intention, the Mississippi College Law Review set out to provide a forum …

Title Ix 50 Years Later. . . Reflections From A Title Ix Coordinator, Dr. Kristena Gaylor

Mississippi College Law Review

On June 23, 1972, Congress enacted the Title IX Education Amendment of 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities operated by recipients of federal financial assistance. Title IX’s core is the concept that students may not be denied educational opportunities based on their sex. Title IX’s protections extend to school activities, including admissions, financial aid, student services, counseling services, athletics, and physical education. The Title IX legislation eliminates sex-based discrimination to ensure all students—both male and female––have access to and equality in education.

The enactment of Title IX led to an upward trajectory for …

A Third Way: Title Ix’S Potential Beyond Criminal And Civil Law Paradigms, Gabriella Kamran

Mississippi College Law Review

A single occurrence of sexual violence on a college campus can lead to any of three major legal outcomes. The first is a traditional criminal prosecution of the alleged perpetrator. The second is a civil lawsuit against the school under Title IX, in which the victim alleges that the school’s disciplinary procedures failed to deliver an adequate response according to the body of law developed by courts interpreting Title IX. The third, which has become increasingly important and visible after a decade of student activism and initiatives by the Department of Education, is an administrative enforcement action by the Department’s …

Charting A Course To Gender Equity: Sexual Harassment Reporting Rates In Charter Schools, Gabriella Kamran

Mississippi College Law Review

Charter schools and sexual harassment are two hot-button issues in the education landscape, but their intersection is seldom addressed in research or public discourse. This Article examines whether K-12 charter schools report allegations of sexual harassment, including harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, at a rate different from that of traditional public schools. I analyzed data from the Department of Education’s 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) report and found that the average national reporting rate of sexual harassment allegations is significantly higher among traditional public schools than it is among charter schools. I then used the National Alliance …

Where Schools Close In Chicago, Randall K. Johnson

Journal Articles

This article tests the assumption that schools close disproportionately in disadvantaged parts of the city in order to explain where schools close in Chicago. It does so by introducing a new CPS closings data set.This data set sheds some light on the phenomenon by identifying 130 schools that closed over time, twenty-seven ZIP codes that experienced CPS closings, and three demographic characteristics of each ZIP code. As a result, the dataset helps to explain how CPS closings relate to race, income, and location.

Simply Put: How Diversity Benefits Whites And How Whites Can Simply Benefit Diversity, Angela Mae Kupenda

Journal Articles

Although there are surmountable legal barriers to racial integration in education, fuller integration is possible. But first, whites must see how they benefit from diversity, and, second, whites must take simple steps toward integration that may, in turn, reveal to whites their desire to become more fully integrated. These two steps may help remove the limiting point to true integration.