WGU D017 SCHOOL LAW COMPREHENSIVE
EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GUARANTEED TO PASS
◉ A Nation at Risk. Answer: 1983 National Commission report calling
for extensive educational reforms, including more academic course
requirements, more stringent college entrance requirements, upgraded
and updated textbooks, and longer school days and year.
◉ Types of Schools. Answer: Public - funded through taxes and subject
to all federal and state laws.
Private - funded by grants, donations and student tuition and is not
subject to federal or state laws.
Charter- The charter is a performance contract which establishes the
school's mission and goals. They can select (randomly) who attends the
school and are funded by tax dollars and take the same tests as public
schools. -Get less per pupil than public schools.
◉ Role of Government in Schools. Answer: Federal - can influence
education thorough funding powers and enforcement of constitutional
rights.
,States - have absolute power to make laws governing education. Create
state laws and has state agencies to adopt regulations.
◉ Federal Legislation. Answer: Law at the highest or national level of a
federal government, consisting of a constitution, enacted laws and court
decisions pertaining to them. In education compliance is usually
attached to funding.
◉ State Legislation. Answer: State legislatures pass laws on issues.
Example: compulsory attendance laws. Must be constitutional.
◉ Federal and State Regulations. Answer: Supplements to the law that
are legally binding. Help explain how the law should be interpreted and
implemented.
◉ Case or Common Law. Answer: the body of law made up of judicial
opinions and precedents
◉ State Court Structure. Answer: Varies by state but general includes
trial court, state courts of appeal, and a state supreme court. Any federal
question would go to the US District Court instead of the Trial court.
◉ Separate but Equal Doctrine. Answer: The doctrine established in
Plessy v. Ferguson that African Americans could constitutionally be kept
in separate but equal facilities.
, ◉ De Jour Segregation vs De Facto Segregation. Answer: De Jour -
unnatural or forced state mandated segregation. -unconstitutional
De Facto - natural segregation caused by house patterns for example. -
not unconstitutional
◉ Brown v. Board of Ed. of Topeka. Answer: "We conclude that in the
field of public education the doctrine of 'separate-but-equal' has no
place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
Demonstrated that education is a civil right and therefore discrimination
in education is unconstitutional.
◉ Unitary System. Answer: Court has defined a unitary system as the
status a school system achieves "when it no longer discriminates
between school children on the basis of race,"
◉ ReZoning of Schools. Answer: Because of a long history of
gerrymandering boundary lines with the intent to segregate, many school
boundaries during the 1950s and 1960s had little to do with geographic
barriers (e.g., rivers, hills); safety issues (e.g., location of busy roads,
factories); or the size, location, or dispersion of the student population.
When the schools were rezoned with good faith the schools were better
integrated.
EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GUARANTEED TO PASS
◉ A Nation at Risk. Answer: 1983 National Commission report calling
for extensive educational reforms, including more academic course
requirements, more stringent college entrance requirements, upgraded
and updated textbooks, and longer school days and year.
◉ Types of Schools. Answer: Public - funded through taxes and subject
to all federal and state laws.
Private - funded by grants, donations and student tuition and is not
subject to federal or state laws.
Charter- The charter is a performance contract which establishes the
school's mission and goals. They can select (randomly) who attends the
school and are funded by tax dollars and take the same tests as public
schools. -Get less per pupil than public schools.
◉ Role of Government in Schools. Answer: Federal - can influence
education thorough funding powers and enforcement of constitutional
rights.
,States - have absolute power to make laws governing education. Create
state laws and has state agencies to adopt regulations.
◉ Federal Legislation. Answer: Law at the highest or national level of a
federal government, consisting of a constitution, enacted laws and court
decisions pertaining to them. In education compliance is usually
attached to funding.
◉ State Legislation. Answer: State legislatures pass laws on issues.
Example: compulsory attendance laws. Must be constitutional.
◉ Federal and State Regulations. Answer: Supplements to the law that
are legally binding. Help explain how the law should be interpreted and
implemented.
◉ Case or Common Law. Answer: the body of law made up of judicial
opinions and precedents
◉ State Court Structure. Answer: Varies by state but general includes
trial court, state courts of appeal, and a state supreme court. Any federal
question would go to the US District Court instead of the Trial court.
◉ Separate but Equal Doctrine. Answer: The doctrine established in
Plessy v. Ferguson that African Americans could constitutionally be kept
in separate but equal facilities.
, ◉ De Jour Segregation vs De Facto Segregation. Answer: De Jour -
unnatural or forced state mandated segregation. -unconstitutional
De Facto - natural segregation caused by house patterns for example. -
not unconstitutional
◉ Brown v. Board of Ed. of Topeka. Answer: "We conclude that in the
field of public education the doctrine of 'separate-but-equal' has no
place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
Demonstrated that education is a civil right and therefore discrimination
in education is unconstitutional.
◉ Unitary System. Answer: Court has defined a unitary system as the
status a school system achieves "when it no longer discriminates
between school children on the basis of race,"
◉ ReZoning of Schools. Answer: Because of a long history of
gerrymandering boundary lines with the intent to segregate, many school
boundaries during the 1950s and 1960s had little to do with geographic
barriers (e.g., rivers, hills); safety issues (e.g., location of busy roads,
factories); or the size, location, or dispersion of the student population.
When the schools were rezoned with good faith the schools were better
integrated.
