Law Commons^™

Abandoning The Federal Role In Education, Derek Black

Faculty Publications

In December 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which redefined the role of the federal government in education. The ESSA attempted to appease popular sentiment against the No Child Left Behind Act’s (NCLB) overreliance on standardized testing and punitive sanctions. But in overturning those aspects of the NCLB, Congress failed to devise a system that was any better. Congress simply stripped the federal government of regulatory power and vastly expanded state discretion. For the first time in fifty years, the federal government lacks the ability to prompt improvements in student achievement and to demand equal resources for …

No Child Left Behind And Special Education: The Need For Change In Legislation That Is Still Leving Some Students Behind, Stephanie S. Fitzgerald

Law Student Publications

In four parts, this article focuses on NCLB’s negative impact on special education. Part II outlines the provisions of NCLB and examines the differences between NCLB and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). Part III provides a detailed explanation of the existing scholarly opinions in support of, and in disagreement with, NCLB. Part IV discusses the current political landscape and NCLB’s pending reauthorization. Finally, Part V, based on an analysis of the issues plaguing the current system, suggests a solution to improve the existing relationship between special education and NCLB. Furthermore, Part V addresses the positive aspects and possible …

The High Cost Of The Nation's Current Framework For Education Federalism, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

This Article will show the consistent ways that the current understanding of education federalism within the United States has hindered three of the major reform efforts to promote a more equitable distribution of educational opportunity: school desegregation, school finance litigation, and, most recently, NCLB. In exploring how education federalism has undermined these efforts, this Article adds to the understanding of other scholars who have critiqued these reforms and examined why the nation has failed to guarantee equal educational opportunity. For example, scholars have argued that the failure to undertake earnest efforts to achieve equal educational opportunity is caused by a …

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 …

Litigated Learning, Law's Limits, And Urban School Reform Challenges, Michael Heise

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This Article assesses the likely efficacy of litigation efforts seeking to enhance equal educational opportunity by improving student academic achievement in the nation's urban public schools. Past education reform litigation efforts focusing on school desegregation and finance met with mixed success. Current litigation efforts seeking to improve student academic achievement promise to be even less successful because student academic achievement involves variables and activities located further from the reach of litigation than such variables as a school's racial composition and per pupil spending levels. Moreover, efforts to improve student achievement in the nation's urban public schools--especially high poverty schools--face additional …

Lawyer, Client, Community: To Whom Does The Education Reform Lawsuit Belong?, Amy Reichbach

Faculty Publications

Important education reform litigation is often undertaken by lawyers with admirable intentions. It is too easy, however, particularly in the context of large, enduring, complex litigation where it is difficult to identify the class, much less name and pursue the class's goals, to lose sight of the client-lawyer relationship and the significance of client autonomy. Several recent lawsuits concerning the enforceability of No Child Left Behind exemplify issues that arise in class representation. In devising legal strategies, lawyers must balance the need to address clients' immediate problems with the pursuit of longer-term strategies for change, such as organization and mobilization. …

The Case For A Collaborative Enforcement Model For A Federal Right To Education, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

This Article proposes an innovative approach for directing the expanding federal role in education that will encourage states to address disparities in educational opportunities that prevent disadvantaged students from achieving their full potential. The proposed approach builds on the understanding reflected in NCLB that the federal government will remain critical in public education reform. This Article reexamines one avenue for federal involvement that the U.S. Supreme Court considered in several cases and that scholars have debated for more than thirty years: a federal right to education.

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez explicitly offered the Supreme Court the opportunity …

The 2006 Winthrop And Frances Lane Lecture: The Unintended Legal And Policy Consequences Of The No Child Left Behind Act, Michael Heise

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

No Lawsuit Left Behind, Michael Heise

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Power Behind The Promise: Enforcing No Child Left Behind To Improve Education, Amy M. Reichbach

Faculty Publications

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's recognition in 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, that education is of paramount importance, six million middle and high school students are still in danger of being left behind. Less than seventy-five percent of eighth graders, fifty percent in urban schools, are graduating from high school within five years. Advocates for educational equity have appealed to the courts, achieving limited success. They have also turned to the legislature, which most recently enacted the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ("NCLB"). Thus far, however, the federal government has not enforced NCLB adequately. This …