Law Commons^™

The Failure Of Education Federalism, Kristi L. Bowman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Since the Great Recession of 2007–09, states have devoted even less money to public education and state courts have become even more hostile to structural reform litigation that has sought to challenge education funding and quality. Yet the current model of education federalism (dual federalism) leaves these matters largely to the states. As a result, state-level legislative inaction, executive acquiescence, and judicial abdication can combine to create a situation in which the quality of traditional public schools declines sharply. This is the case in Michigan, which is an unusually important state not only because the dynamics that are emerging in …

The Intersection Of Family Law And Education Law, Debra Chopp

Articles

It is well-established that parents have a fundamental liberty interest in directing the education of their children. As family law practitioners know, however, parents do not always agree with each other on matters pertaining to their child's education. Where education issues arise in family law cases, it is important for members of the family law bar to have familiarity with education laws so that they may properly advise their clients. This article will identify and briefly discuss common intersections of family law and education law.

Can Michigan Universities Use Proxies For Race After The Ban On Racial Preferences?, Brian T. Fitzpatrick

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

In 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States held that public universities—and the University of Michigan in particular--had a compelling reason to use race as one of many factors in their admissions processes: to reap the educational benefits of a racially diverse student body. In 2006, in response to the Supreme Court's decision, the people of Michigan approved a ballot proposal--called the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative ("MCRI")-that prohibits public universities in the state from discriminating or granting preferential treatment on the basis of race. Shortly after the MCRI was approved, a number of Michigan universities suggested that they were …

Without Color Of Law: The Losing Race Against Colorblindness In Michigan, Khaled Ali Beydoun

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Essay examines affirmative action, while discussing its fall in California, Washington State, and ultimately Michigan.

Confidentiality Of Educational Records And Child Protective Proceedings, Frank E. Vandervort

Book Chapters

The Federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which provides funding for state educational programming, requires that student records be disclosed to a nonparent only with the written consent of the child’s parent, unless the disclosure falls within one of the several exceptions detailed in the statute. One of the exemptions provided for in the federal law permits a school to disclose information to “state or local officials or authorities to whom [that] information is allowed to be reported or disclosed pursuant to state statute,” if that official certifies in writing “that the information will not be disclosed to …

Rethinking Gender Opportunities: Nontraditional Sports Seasons And Local Preferences, Kristen Boike

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School Athletic Association, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court decision, holding that the scheduling of high school girls' sports in "nontraditional" seasons in Michigan violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court of the United States, granting certiorari, vacated and remanded this case back to the Sixth Circuit. This Note suggests reasons why the Sixth Circuit and/or the United States Supreme Court should protect the Michigan High School Athletic Association's (MHSAA) current scheduling of sports seasons. Specifically, using the model provided by Romer v. Evans and …

The Children Left Behind: How Zero Tolerance Impacts Our Most Vulnerable Youth, Ruth Zweifler, Julia De Beers

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

The Michigan Journal of Race & Law Symposium, February 8th and 9th, 2002, at the University of Michigan examined the issue: Separate but Unequal: The Status of America's Public Schools. In the past, children of color were expressly denied an equal education on the basis of their race. Today's policies deny many children of color access to educational programs and supports, for reasons that are neutral on their face, with devastating consequences to the students, their families and their communities. The following article explores the concerns and experiences of a public service agency with the growing application of "Zero Tolerance" …

Equity In Public Education: School-Finance Reform In Michigan, William S. Koski

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that the only adequate compromise between the pressure to limit taxes and the need to provide both educational quality and equity is to institute a form of full-state funded education. Part I of this Note briefly defines equity in public education and discusses the importance of increasing equity. Part II discusses other values and concerns that arise in the school-finance debate, such as liberty, local control, efficiency, and quality of education. Part III considers several fundamental school-finance alternatives. Part IV provides a historical overview of Michigan school finance reform and a description of the current State School …

Michigan's Teacher Certification Requirement As Applied To Religiously Motivated Home Schools, Donald D. Dorman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note defends the thesis that the teacher-certification requirement of Michigan's compulsory attendance statute is unconstitutional as applied to people who, for sincere religious reasons, believe they must teach their children at home. Michigan courts have incorrectly applied a rational-basis test in regulating religiously motivated home schools, rather than the strict scrutiny required by the U.S. Supreme Court for cases involving both the free exercise of religion and parents' interest in directing their children's education.

School Metal Detector Searches And The Fourth Amendment: An Empirical Study, Myrna G. Baskin, Laura M. Thomas

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note is an empirical study of the weapons searches in the Detroit public schools. Part I traces the history of the Detroit public school searches describes how the searches were conducted, and explains the procedure implemented when a student was arrested or detained. Part II addresses the constitutionality of the search policy and concludes that the current sweep procedure violates the fourth amendment. Part III suggests a number of constitutional, and more effective, methods to decrease the number of weapons and the amount of violence in the Detroit high schools.

The Funding Of Children's Educational Costs, Douglas A. Kahn

Articles

A plan for reduction of educational costs should take federal transfer taxes into account. The method chosen for reducing income tax liability usually will involve making gifts. To the extent that it is convenient to do so, the transfer tax consequences of making such gifts should be minimized. This article will examine the estate and gift tax consequences of the income tax reduction arrangements described herein and will consider means of structuring the transactions so as to minimize those consequences.

Trial And Error: The Detroit School Segregation Case, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Trial and Error: The Detroit School Segregation Case by Eleanor P. Wolf

Impasse Resolution Mechanisms And Teacher Strikes, Diane L. Kaye

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Public school teachers have no right to strike under Michigan law, but the power to strike exists. Michigan residents witnessed forty teacher strikes in the autumn of 1973 alone. Among them was the forty-four-day strike by Detroit teachers. The strikes during the past fall were not an unfortunate aberration. Ninety percent of the strikes in Michigan are by school teachers. In the public education context, the threat of a strike no longer brings negotiating parties together. A new mechanism for resolution of deadlocks in teacher-school board contract disputes is needed. This article describes the problem, outlines impasse resolution procedures presently …

Restrictions On Student Voting: An Unconstitutional Anachronism?, W. Perry Bullard, James A. Rice

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Using Michigan as a vehicle for analysis because it has a student voting process representative of many states, this note seeks to accomplish four purposes: (1) an examination of the case law often underlying the presumption against student registrability; (2) an analysis of recent constitutional developments in the due process and equal protection areas as they relate to the particular problems posed by the student voter; (3) a survey of the competing local and student interests in the student vote issue; and (4) a conclusion regarding the likelihood that thwarted student voters can follow the paths of other disfranchised groups …

The University Of Michigan: Its Legal Profile, William B. Cudlip

Michigan Legal Studies Series

Inspiration for the preparation of this volume came from reading two sections of Volume I of the four-volumes published in 1942 entitled, The University of Michigan-An Encyclopedic Survey. One section by E. Blythe Stason, Dean Emeritus of the University's Law School, is captioned "The Constitutional Status of the University of Michigan." The other section captioned "The Organization, Powers and Personnel of the Board of Regents" was prepared by the Dean and the late Wilfred B. Shaw, long connected with the University in important administrative capacities and intimately acquainted with its history.

The material here presented duplicates in part that …