D017 SCHOOL LAW TEST |81 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The Common School Movement 1830's: american families could not afford to pay for education. Horace mann and Henry Barnard made it possible for common schools to establish themselves as the first public schools in the nation Common Schools primary schools and taught rudiments Massachusetts Law of 1827 prohibited the use or purchase of school books that favor any particular religion Compulsory Attendance Act of 1852 children between the ages of 8 and 14 must attend school for twelve weeks per year, six of which had to be consecutive. This law was weakly enforced but initiated a number of court cases confirming that states have the authority to mandate school attendance Commonwealth v. Gillen Gillen's unwillingness to comply with the vaccination rule did not exempt him from attendance requirements and that the instruction in the home did not meet the statutory requirement that alternatives to the public school be by a "properly qualified private tutor" and "satisfactory to the proper county or district superintendent of schools." Without the money to hire a tutor, Gillen had no other choice but to vaccinate his children or move to another state with less stringent laws. 1923 case Meyer v. Nebraska a. the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether state laws forbidding foreign language instruction in schools violated the federal constitution. State supreme courts in Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio had applied precedents to uphold the laws as valid police power regulations; they served a legitimate public purpose and did not violate any express constitutional provisions, the courts argued. However, the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed and defined a Fourteenth Amendment constitutional guarantee of individual liberty. According to the court, "That the state may do much, go very far, indeed, in order to improve the quality of its citizens, physically, mentally and morally, is clear, but the individual has certain fundamental rights which must be respected." These "certain fundamental rights" it declined to define with exactness but included "not merely freedom from bodily restraint but also the right of the individual to contract, to engage in any of the common occupations of life, to acquire useful Pierce v. Society of the Sisters in 1925 U.S. Supreme Court extended its arguments in Meyer to consider the realm of "fundamental rights" that the Fourteenth Amendment protected. Asked to consider the constitutionality of Oregon's new law to prohibit private schools, the court applied the reasoning in Meyer to argue that police powers must not unreasonably interfere with the rights of individuals. With no evidence that private schools were inherently harmful, the Court argued, destruction of private schools was an unreasonable abridgement of their property rights. It was also an invasion of the fundamental rights of parents. The Oregon law "unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the up-bringing and education of children under their control." The state did not have the power to "standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only," for the "child is not the mere creature of the state" and "those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coup Parens patriae A legal doctrine that gives the state the authority to act in a child's best interest. may restrict parents' control by requiring school attendance National Defense Education Act- a. 1958 Title III of NDEA provided states matching funds to strengthen mathematics, science, and foreign language instruction, which included better equipment and materials, along with professional development for teachers. One goal of NDEA was to increase the number of citizens who were fluent in foreign languages. NDEA also allowed teachers and researchers to work together to study the impact of educational media on learning. NDEA awarded financial aid to capable students who did not have the means to pursue a degree. Additionally, it provided millions of dollars for purchasing scientific equipment to be used in classrooms across the country. NDEA Title II The student loan program Title I Distribute funding to schools and school districts with high percentage of students from low-income families. Title II The purpose of Title II is to provide supplemental activities that strengthen the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders which includes: ... Provide low-income and minority students greater access to effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders. Title III The purpose of Title III is to help ensure that English learners, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency and develop high levels of academic achievement and assist teachers (including preschool teachers), administrators, and other school leaders in developing and enhancing their capacity to ... Title IV Allocated over $100 million over a five year period to fund educational research and training. The purpose of Title IV, Part A funds is to improve students' academic achievement by increasing the capacity of states, local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and local communities to: Provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; Improve school conditions for student learning; and Title V Supplemented grants created under public law 874 Title VI protects children who are not English proficient from discrimination. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR OR NATIONAL ORIGIN IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES WHICH RECEIVE FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION A nation at risk Reagan- 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. Improving America's Schools Act 1994 Improving America's schools act. supports schools in moving all children toward higher academic standards supports schools in moving all children toward higher academic standards- Clinton The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (IASA) was a major part of the Clinton administration's efforts to reform education. ... The Title 1 program, providing extra help to disadvantaged students and holding schools accountable for their results at the same level as other students. NCLB Legislation championed by George W. Bush which mandated sanctions against schools that failed to meet federal performance standards; part of his campaign pledge to end "low expectations". No Child Left Behind - 2001 Pres. Bush designed to promote "standards-based education reform" via assessments that measure progress; results often affect funding and administration control Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Obama's act in 2015 that took over No Child Left Behind Created accountability for state testing. Plessy v. Ferguson a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) Supreme Court decision that overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision (1896); led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court ruled that "separate but equal" schools for blacks were inherently unequal and thus unconstitutional. The decision energized the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Charter Schools Can be Subject to state and federal education legislation State Statutes Determine minimum graduation requirements Sources of Law common law, statutory law, administrative law 14th Amendment Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws De Jour Segregation literally "by law" refers to legally enforced practices, such as schools segregation in the south before the 1960s