Law Commons^™

Student Protests And Academic Freedom In An Age Of #Blacklivesmatter, Philip Lee

Journal Articles

Student activism for racial equity and inclusion is on a historic rise on college and university campuses across the country. Students are reminding us that Black lives matter. They are bringing attention to the ways in which the normal operation of the legal system creates racial and other inequalities. They are critiquing the ways in which their experiences and perspectives are pushed to the margins in classrooms, on campuses, and in society.

In urging for university policies that allow for such activism to be moments of teaching and learning for all involved, I argue in this Article that student academic …

Expanding The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Schools (K-12) And The Regulation Of Cyberbullying, Philip Lee

Journal Articles

Cyberbullying has received increasing societal attention in the aftermath of the tragic suicides of some of its youngest and most vulnerable victims — 15-year-old Phoebe Prince from Massachusetts, 13-year-old Ryan Halligan from Vermont, 12-year-old Sarah Lynn Butler from Arkansas, 15-year-old Grace McComas from Maryland, and 12-year-old Rebecca Ann Sedwick from Florida.

In this Article, I hope to provide states and their schools better guidance on how to effectively regulate cyberbullying that originates off campus. Specifically, I aim to make four unique contributions to the conversation.

First and foremost, I argue that cyberbullying is so harmful in and of itself that …

Going Back To The Drawing Board: Re-Entrenching The Higher Education Act To Restore Its Historical Policy Of Access, Twinette L. Johnson

Journal Articles

This article explores both the historical entrenchment of the Higher Education Act (“HEA” or “the Act”) and ongoing attempts to retrench it. In it, I argue that Congress should return the HEA to its historical roots and enact reauthorizing legislation that will set the course for re-entrenching the Act and its historical policy. This re-entrenching will properly set the focus of the Act on providing widespread higher education access by creating and implementing new pathways (funding and otherwise) to that access.

In the article, I discuss the entrenchment of the HEA into American culture in an effort to understand the …

No Child Left Behind: Disincentives To Focus Instruction On Students Above The Passing Threshold, Christina Payne Tsoupros

Journal Articles

As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), schools place a great emphasis on standardized testing. Students at risk of failure are identified for additional instruction. This is aligned with the adequacy (versus equity) framework of school finance litigation, which seeks to bring the bottom up to a certain minimum level. Under the adequacy ideology, the focus is on achieving a minimum threshold of proficiency. In low performing schools where a high percentage of students are at risk of failing the test, a focus on the minimum creates disincentives to work with students performing at or above …

Ill Effects Of A Well-Intentioned Law: The Rights Of The Handicapped Overlooked, Robert L. Burgdorf

Journal Articles

Indiana's Public Law No. 162, which was signed into law in 1972, is an admirable achievement. The statute consolidated and clarified the procedures to be employed by schools in suspending, expelling or excluding students. The rights of students were closely guarded through the clear enumeration of the requirements of due process in this area. Written notice, a relatively formal hearing, the right to be represented by counsel, the right to cross-examine witnesses, a written decision and record of the proceedings, and an appeal procedure are all specifically mandated by the law whenever a child may be suspended, expelled or excluded. …