Law Commons^™

Fisher’S Cautionary Tale And The Urgent Need For Equal Access To An Excellent Education, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

In this Comment, I argue that much greater care and attention must be paid to the educational opportunity gaps and resulting achievement gaps that prompt many colleges and universities to rely on affirmative action. Increased attention to greater equality and excellence in elementary and secondary education can help reduce or eliminate the need for affirmative action, which is an approach that fundamentally aims to ensure equality. Without additional attention to closing opportunity gaps, the Court may declare that the time has come for affirmative action to end, but the United States will not be equipped to maintain diverse, selective postsecondary …

Sexualization, Sex Discrimination, And Public School Dress Codes, Meredith J. Harbach

Law Faculty Publications

This essay joins the conversation about sexualization, sex discrimination, and public school dress codes to situate current debates within in the broader cultural and legal landscapes in which they exist. My aim is not to answer definitively the questions I pose above. Rather, I ground the controversy in these broader contexts in order to better understand the stakes and to glean insights into how schools, students, and communities might better navigate dress code debates.

Education & Practice (Newsletter Of The Section On Education Of Lawyer, Virginia State Bar) - V. 25, No. 1 (Fall 2016), Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

What You Do and Do Not Learn in Law School: A Family Law Associate’s Perspective

Hiring and Supervising New Lawyers: A Family Law Partner’s Perspective

Chair’s Column

Law Faculty News and News and Events Around the Commonwealth

Call for Nomination: William R. Rakes Leadership in Education Award

2016-2017 Board of Governors

It’S Time For The Fourth Circuit To Rethink Deshaney, Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

In 2015, the Fourth Circuit heard Doe v. Rosa, in which the parent plaintiffs sought to extend civil liability to the Citadel’s president, for failing to protect their minor sons from sex abuse inflicted by one of the Citadel’s employees. In dismissing the matter, the Fourth Circuit followed precedent set by the Supreme Court years ago in Deshaney. This interpretation of Deshaney, however, is no longer valid in light of the growing number of sexual misconduct cases involving educational institutions. Strictly applying Deshaney encourages schools to place their interests higher than the security of their students. In …

Diversity Without Integration, Kevin Woodson

Law Faculty Publications

The de facto racial segregation pervasive at colleges and universities across the country undermines a necessary precondition for the diversity benefits embraced by the Court in Grutter — the requirement that students partake in high-quality interracial interactions and social relationships with one another. This disjuncture between Grutter’s vision of universities as sites of robust cross-racial exchange and the reality of racial separation should be of great concern, not just because of its potential constitutional implications for affirmative action but also because it reifies racial hierarchy and reinforces inequality. Drawing from an extensive body of social science research, this article explains …

The K-12 Funding Crisis, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

Current discussions about K-12 education often highlight the reforms that seek to improve the quality of schooling. Some of these measures—the common-core standards, teacher evaluation, and, most recently, the Every Student Succeeds Act—undoubtedly have the potential to improve educational opportunities for students. However, what is often missing from education reform conversations is how these reforms can create sustainable changes to the education system. We believe the system's very foundations are broken, and school funding is one of the most pressing issues in need of repair.

No Quick Fix For Equity And Excellence: The Virtues Of Incremental Shifts In Education Federalism, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

In this Article, I join these calls for the federal government to lead states to reform their school funding systems. In doing so, I build upon my recent scholarship that calls for additional federal leadership insisting that states prioritize equity and excellence in education. I recommend that we restructure education federalism by requiring the federal government to serve as the ultimate guarantor of equal access to an excellent education. My theory of education federalism embraces federal policymaking strengths in education, such as federal research, technical, and financial assistance, that support state and local reforms to promote equity and excellence. This …