Law Commons^™

Resolving Regulatory Threats To Tenure, Joseph W. Yockey

University of Richmond Law Review

Many lawmakers and public university governing boards are looking to curb faculty tenure. Driven by both ideological and economic motives, recent efforts range from eliminating tenure systems altogether to interfering when schools seek to tenure individual, often controversial scholars. These actions raise serious questions about higher education law and policy and have important implications for the future of academic freedom. Indeed, if they gain further traction, current regulatory threats to tenure will jeopardize the ability of American universities to remain at the forefront of global research and intellectual progress.

This Article examines the growing anti-tenure sentiment among state officials and …

Douglass, Lincoln, And Douglas Before Dred Scott: A Few Thoughts On Freedom, Equality, And Affirmative Action, Henry L. Chambers Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass delivered speeches about the newly passed Kansas-Nebraska Act. That law opened the Kansas and Nebraska Territories to slavery by extending popular sovereignty, the practice of letting territorial majorities decide whether to allow slavery in a territory, to them. Given before Dred Scott v. Sandford, the infamous case in which the Supreme Court ruled that Black Americans—whether freeborn, freed, or enslaved—could not be citizens of the United States absent congressional action or constitutional amendment, the speeches are worth revisiting. They focus on whether or how slavery should be limited, reflecting …

Disrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: Reforming The Role Of The School Resource Officer, Olivia Seksinsky

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

A School Resource Officer (“SRO”) is a law enforcement officer employed

by local law enforcement agencies to provide security to public schools. As

a result of fatal and highly publicized school shootings such as Columbine

and Parkland, SROs have become a fixed aspect of many school communities.

There are tens of thousands of SROs patrolling the halls of Virginia’s

public elementary and secondary schools every year. Despite their intended

purpose to keep students safe and prevent crime, SROs too often contribute

to the school-to-prison pipeline. When SROs are brought into the classroom

to address “disruptive” behaviors, students are at an …

Symposium Transcript

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Gender Stereotypes And Gender Identity In Public Schools, Dara E. Purvis

University of Richmond Law Review

Given the changing interpretation of Title IX, both statutory and constitutional arguments supporting the right of public school students to express their gender in any manner contrary to traditional gendered norms have renewed vitality. In the decades since Stonewall, students facing school discipline for nonconforming gender presentation that violated school dress codes have attempted to challenge the dress codes as violating their First Amendment free expression rights. Tracing these arguments is not only helpful as a historical exercise, but also to present alternative arguments under an unsympathetic presidential administration and Supreme Court. In today’s world in which the Trump administration …

Amateurism And The Ncaa: How A Changing Market Has Turned Caps On Athletic Scholarships Into An Antitrust Violation, Daniel Laws

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Why Kindergarten Is Too Late: The Need For Early Childhood Remedies In School Finance Litigation, Kevin Woodson

Law Faculty Publications

In the remedial phases of school finance lawsuits, courts and legislatures have sought to provide poor children access to adequate educational opportunities through remedies and reforms focusing almost exclusively on improving educational conditions within elementary and secondary schools. This approach is both inefficient and ineffective. As a large and growing body of scientific and social science research reveals, class-based disparities in quality of care and enrichment during the first years of life can have life-long effects that inhibit the ability of many poor children to succeed academically, thereby depriving them of equal and adequate access to educational opportunity. The failure …

Civil Rights And The Charter School Choice: How Stricter Standards For Charter Schools Can Aid Educational Equity, Rachel E. Rubinstein

Law Student Publications

This paper analyzes the way variations in charter-enabling legislation may exacerbate segregation and how federal and state reforms could better utilize the charter system to further integration. Part I discusses the history of school choice and the social science underlying its potential as a vehicle for integration as well as further segregation. Part II reviews research on charter school demographics and the effectiveness of relevant civil rights statutes. Part III analyzes themes in local charter legislation that can influence charter school segregation by limiting accessibility for low income families and students with disabilities. Finally, Part IV offers recommendations for policy …

Inequitable Schools Demand A Federal Remedy, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

It is not often that the U.S. Supreme Court admits that one of its previous decisions, especially one that shaped the fabric of our nation, was fundamentally wrong. One such instance occurred in 1954, when the court famously declared, in Brown v. Board of Education, that the doctrine of “separate but equal” public schools for black children and white children was unconstitutional. In Brown, the court overturned, for public schools, its approval of this doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and established that segregated schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court also proclaimed that …

Uniform Rules: Addressing The Disparate Rules That Deny Student-Athletes The Opportunity To Participate In Sports According To Gender Identity, Chelsea Shrader

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Will To Prevail: Inside The Legal Battle To Save Sweet Briar, William H. Hurd, Ashley L. Taylor Jr., Nancyellen Keane, Stephen C. Piepgrass, C. Reade Jacob Jr., James M. Giudice, J. Westwood Smithers Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

Part I provides an in-depth factual overview, beginning with the Sweet Briar College's founding in the early 1900s. The commentary then turns to the controversial decision to close and discusses the facts and legal theories of the case, the decisions by the circuit court and the Supreme Court of Virginia, and the eventual settlement that kept the school alive.

In Part II, the discussion shifts to the landmark nature of this case, not only for Sweet Briar College, but also for other Virginia colleges and non-profits around the country. The essay analyzes the legal questions arising from the case, including …

Clarence Thomas, Fisher V. University Of Texas, And The Future Of Affirmative Action In Higher Education, Scott D. Gerber

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Mainstreaming To Marginalization? Idea's De Facto Segregation Consequences And Prospects For Restoring Equity In Special Education, Kerrigan O'Malley

Law Student Publications

As a basic construct for recommending measures to correct the prevailing inequities in special education, this comment examines the de facto segregation impact IDEA stemming from the Supreme Court's interpretive rulings and from the Act's own enforcement norms. The analysis further identifies the equality compromising consequences of specific IDEA provisions and considers prospects for restoring equity to special needs service delivery in these areas, with a particular focus on tuition reimbursement for private school. Respecting the historical alignment of the law of race discrimination in education and the law of disability education rights, the analysis identifies inequities that prevail at …

Charting The Course: Charter School Exploration In Virginia, Katherine E. Lehnen

Law Student Publications

This comment reviews the background and status of the charter school movement in Part I and addresses legal challenges charters face in Part II. Part III provides an overview of Virginia's charter school law, and Part IV analyzes how the legislature can improve that law to foster charter school exploration in the Commonwealth.

Legal Precedent And The Opportunity For Educational Equity: Where To Now, Colorado?, Molly A. Hunter, Kathleen J. Gebhardt

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Real Costs Of Neoliberal Education Reform: The Case Of Philadelphia School Closures, Jerusha Conner, Kelly Monahan

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Are We Heading Toward A Charter School "Bubble"?: Lessons From The Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Preston C. Green Iii, Bruce D. Baker, Joseph O. Oluwole, Julie F. Mead

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Charting The Course: Charter School Exploration In Virginia, Katherine E. Lehnen

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Race-Conscious" School Finance Litigation: Is A Fourth Wave Emerging?, David G. Hinojosa

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Federal Role In Education: Encouragement As A Guiding Philosophy For The Advancement Of Learning In America, Gerard Robinson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Restorative Practices: Righting The Wrongs Of Exclusionary School Discipline, Marilyn Armour

University of Richmond Law Review

The purpose of this article is to explain the pressing need for school-based restorative justice as a philosophy and mechanism to alter increasingly negative school climates, redress educators' retributive orientation to student behavior, and redirect the school-to-prison pipeline. Part I discusses the manifestations ofthe current crisis in education. Although zero tolerance was intended to increase school safety, recent studies attest to the severe iatrogenic consequences including high rates of in-school and out-of-school suspensions, ever-increasing racial disparities in the use of punishment, the misuse of harsh disciplinary procedures with traumatized youth, and growing evidence of educator dropout that parallels the failure …

Sexualization, Sex Discrimination, And Public School Dress Codes, Meredith Johnson Harbach

University of Richmond Law Review

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.

Over-Disciplining Students, Racial Bias, And The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Jason P. Nance

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Equity In American Education: The Intersection Of Race, Class, And Education, Pamela J. Meanes

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

Charting The Course: Charter School Exploration In Virginia, Katherine E. Lehnen

Law Student Publications

This comment reviews the background and status of the charter school movement in Part I and addresses legal challenges charters face in Part II. Part III provides an overview of Virginia's charter school law, and Part IV analyzes how the legislature can improve that law to foster charter school exploration in the Commonwealth.

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 …