Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, School Law Power Point Presentation, Educational Laws & Policies, Due Process, Employment Law, Personnel Law, Equal Rights, Discrimination, Diversity, Teacher Rights, Termination of Employment
A N O V E R V I E W O F E D U C A T I O N L A W, T E X A S S C H O O L ...William Kritsonis
Educational Background
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis earned his BA in 1969 from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. In 1971, he earned his M.Ed. from Seattle Pacific University. In 1976, he earned his PhD from the University of Iowa. In 1981, he was a Visiting Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, and in 1987 was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. In June 2008, Dr. Kritsonis received the Doctor of Humane Letters, School of Graduate Studies from Southern Christian University. The ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A N O V E R V I E W O F E D U C A T I O N L A W, T E X A S S C H O O L ...William Kritsonis
Educational Background
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis earned his BA in 1969 from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. In 1971, he earned his M.Ed. from Seattle Pacific University. In 1976, he earned his PhD from the University of Iowa. In 1981, he was a Visiting Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, and in 1987 was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. In June 2008, Dr. Kritsonis received the Doctor of Humane Letters, School of Graduate Studies from Southern Christian University. The ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana.
For more course tutorials visit
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POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
Education Funding Litigation in Washington State (June 2014)Dan Steele
Historical review of Education Funding litigation in Washington State, with a comprehensive update of the on-going McCleary v. State of Washington case
POL 110 RANK Education Planning--pol110rank.comWindyMiller31
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POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Week 3 Discussion Is Federalism Necessary?"
POL 110 Week 4 Discussion The Ideologies of American Politics
POL 110 RANK Education Your Life / pol110rank.comkopiko19
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POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Inspiring Innovation/tutorialrank.comjonhson151
For more course tutorials visit
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POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Week 3 Discussion Is Federalism Necessary?"
Pol 110 Massive Success / snaptutorial.comReynolds26
POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Week 3 Discussion Is Federalism Necessary?"
POL 110 Week 4 Discussion The Ideologies of American Politics
Student Attendance and Instructional Program - Dr. William A. KritsonisWilliam Kritsonis
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, School Law, Curriculum Legal Issues, Curriculum and Law, Extra Curricular Activites, Copyrights, Attendance, Discrimination, Due Process
Skinner Desiree A The Kritsonis Balanced Teeter Totter ModelWilliam Kritsonis
William H. Parker Leadership Academy Hall of Honor
In 2008, Dr. Kritsonis was inducted into the William H. Parker Leadership Academy Hall of Honor, Graduate School, Prairie View A&M University – The Texas A&M University System. He was nominated by doctoral and master’s degree students.
Desiree Skinner, PhD Student in Educational Leadership, PVAMU/Texas A&M University System & Faculty Mentor, Dr. William Kritsonis
For more course tutorials visit
www.newtonhelp.com
POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
Education Funding Litigation in Washington State (June 2014)Dan Steele
Historical review of Education Funding litigation in Washington State, with a comprehensive update of the on-going McCleary v. State of Washington case
POL 110 RANK Education Planning--pol110rank.comWindyMiller31
FOR MORE CLASSES VISIT
www.pol110rank.com
POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Week 3 Discussion Is Federalism Necessary?"
POL 110 Week 4 Discussion The Ideologies of American Politics
POL 110 RANK Education Your Life / pol110rank.comkopiko19
FOR MORE CLASSES VISIT
www.pol110rank.com
POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Inspiring Innovation/tutorialrank.comjonhson151
For more course tutorials visit
www.tutorialrank.com
POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Week 3 Discussion Is Federalism Necessary?"
Pol 110 Massive Success / snaptutorial.comReynolds26
POL 110 Week 1 Discussion How Active Is Your Government
POL 110 Week 2 Discussion Does the need for national security conflict with our personal rights
POL 110 Week 3 Discussion Is Federalism Necessary?"
POL 110 Week 4 Discussion The Ideologies of American Politics
Student Attendance and Instructional Program - Dr. William A. KritsonisWilliam Kritsonis
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, School Law, Curriculum Legal Issues, Curriculum and Law, Extra Curricular Activites, Copyrights, Attendance, Discrimination, Due Process
Skinner Desiree A The Kritsonis Balanced Teeter Totter ModelWilliam Kritsonis
William H. Parker Leadership Academy Hall of Honor
In 2008, Dr. Kritsonis was inducted into the William H. Parker Leadership Academy Hall of Honor, Graduate School, Prairie View A&M University – The Texas A&M University System. He was nominated by doctoral and master’s degree students.
Desiree Skinner, PhD Student in Educational Leadership, PVAMU/Texas A&M University System & Faculty Mentor, Dr. William Kritsonis
School Law - Educational Law & Policies - Litigation Law - Privacy Law - Employment Law - Court Cases - Educational Leadership -William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis earned his BA in 1969 from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. In 1971, he earned his M.Ed. from Seattle Pacific University. In 1976, he earned his PhD from the University of Iowa. In 1981, he was a Visiting Scholar at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, and in 1987 was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. In June 2008, Dr. Kritsonis received the Doctor of Humane Letters, School of Graduate Studies from Southern Christian University. The ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana.
School Law - Educational Law & Policies - Litigation Law - Privacy Law - Employment Law - Court Cases - Educational Leadership -William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Public School Law, School Law, School Legal Issues, Educational Laws & Policies
Professorial Roles
Dr. Kritsonis has served in professorial roles at Central Washington University, Washington; Salisbury State University, Maryland; Northwestern State University, Louisiana; McNeese State University, Louisiana; and Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge in the Department of Administrative and Foundational Services.
In 2006, Dr. Kritsonis published two articles in the Two-Volume Set of the Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Administration published by SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, California. He is a National Reviewer for the Journal of Research on Leadership, University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA).
In 2007, Dr. Kritsonis was invited to write a history and philosophy of education for the ABC-CLIO Encyclopedia of World History.
Currently, Dr. Kritsonis is Professor of Educational Leadership at Prairie View A&M University – Member of the Texas A&M University System. He teaches in the PhD Program in Educational Leadership. Dr. Kritsonis taught the Inaugural class session in the doctoral program at the start of the fall 2004 academic year. In October 2006, Dr. Kritsonis chaired the first doctoral student to earn a PhD in Educational Leadership at Prairie View A&M University. He has chaired over 18 doctoral dissertations. He lives in Houston, Texas.
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, School Law, Use of School Facilities, Religous Rights of Teachers, Religous Freedom of Expression, Religous Rights in Schooling, Due Process, Freedom of Expression, School Prayers, Termination, Due Process
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Students Rights, Student Freedom of Speech, Student Expression, Pickering and other cases, Censsorship of Student Publications, Due Process, Discrimination, Diversity, Multicultural Issues, Personnel Administration
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, School Law Power Point Presentation, Educational Laws & Policies, Due Process, Employment Law, Personnel Law, Equal Rights, Discrimination, Diversity, Teacher Rights, Termination of Employment
Business Law I Introduction to LawHello class and welcome to t.docxRAHUL126667
Business Law I
Introduction to Law
Hello class and welcome to the week one lecture for Business Law I. We will begin with an introduction to the law and the American Legal system. Law is a grouping of rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society. The function of the law is to maintain stability while allowing for change when necessary. As we will discuss, this law originates from many sources.
To start, America has a rich common law tradition. Common law dates back to the English Court system. This common law developed through the slow accumulation of decisions over many hundreds of years. At bottom, judges generally apply the principle of Stare Decisis or the application of principles applied in earlier cases with similar facts. These earlier cases are known as precedent. This principle is important because it allows for a modicum of stability in the law as the idea is that similar cases will be decided in similar ways. However, this system allows gives the common law some flexibility. Judges may decide that old precedent is no longer applicable, for example, due to changes in society’s attitudes or in technology. When this situation occurs, the judge can create a new precedent.
The constitution provides another source of law. The federal constitution creates the rules for governing the country. It specifies which powers each branch of government may wield, and any state or federal law found to be in conflict with the constitution by the courts will be found to be invalid. A third source of law is statutory law. This source of law includes the statutes and ordinances of Congress and state legislatures. This is a very important source of law, and much of the work of the courts is consumed by interpreting these statutes.
The final source of law to discuss is the administrative law. The development of this law has become increasingly important. As the economy began to grow more complex, Congress devolved some of its powers to administrative agencies (generally under the supervision of the executive branch) to regulate the economy. For example, the Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to keep the air safe. This mandate empowers the EPA to pass and enforce regulation protecting society from airborne pollutants. Although this area of law gets less coverage from the press, it can be critically important as these regulations have a monumental impact on the economy. Judges are frequently called upon to determine if the agencies have exceeded the scope of their mandate.
Another important distinction involves the relationship between the federal and state courts. Each state and the federal government has its own court system. And each of these entities will often have different statues, common law, administrative law, and constitutions. States are generally required to follow the decisions of other court’s due to the full faith and credit clause ...
Chapter 10· Page 241Using public funds for private schools hasEstelaJeffery653
Chapter 10
· Page 241
Using public funds for private schools has a major impact on the overall aspects of school finance. Although the public, in general, supports its local public schools, forces continue to promote using taxpayer dollars to assist in providing revenues for nonpublic schools. Legislators, private entrepreneurs, and some citizens are questioning the ability of personnel in the public sector to operate the schools efficiently and to offer enough options to meet the needs of students. Privately sponsored schools have been encouraged for those groups and individuals who are willing to support them financially in addition to participating in financing the public school system. However, such groups have become more vocal, stressing that because the states have a responsibility to provide a free education for the school-age population, they should provide for students in both private and public schools. The use of public funds for educating children in private schools was essentially a non-issue for more than a century. The interpretation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights (1791), as well as established state codes, was that an interrelationship between church and state was prohibited, and that direct government support for private or parochial schools was illegal. In 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant called for a Constitutional Amendment that would prohibit the use of public funds for private “sectarian schools.” Motivated by Grant’s speech, Congressman James G. Blaine proposed the following amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives: No State shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and no money raised by taxation in any State for the support of public schools, or derived from any public fund therefore, nor any public lands devoted therein, shall ever by under the control of any religious sect, nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations.1 Blaine’s proposal passed the House but did not pass by two-thirds vote in the Senate. The proposal had a great impact on states; however, as many as 37 states included laws with similar criteria with some included in state constitutions.2 The State Blaine influence has been felt in several court cases as late as 2015. The first court case that opened a door for those who advocated using public funds for church-related schools was Pierce v. Society of Sisters (268 U.S. 510, 1925). In its ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court stated, “The fundamental theory of liberty under which all governments in this union repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers.”3 From this decision to the present day, many changes have occurred that have had and will have a great effect on financing public schools during the next decade. The arguments for and against the use of ...
Chapter 3 Due Process, Equal Protection, and Civil Rights Those .docxchristinemaritza
Chapter 3 Due Process, Equal Protection, and Civil Rights
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter you should better understand:
· • The standards applied for determining whether a procedure satisfies the constitutional due process requirements
· • The manner in which the restrictions on federal government action in the Bill of Rights have been incorporated into the due process guaranty that applies to state actions
· • The U.S. Supreme Court’s approach to determining whether classifications violate the constitutional equal protection requirements
· • The classifications to which “strict scrutiny” is applied in the equal protection analysis
· • The basic remedies available for civil rights violations
At the heart of the rule of law lie the ideals that everyone should be treated fairly and equally before the law. Toward this end the U.S. Constitution protects individual rights by constraining government. But fairness and equality cannot be reduced to prohibitions. To reach more broadly the Constitution also includes fundamental guaranties. Many important court decisions and legislative acts addressing individual rights have been based on the two most fundamental general guaranties: the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause.
A Due Process Clause was part of the Fifth Amendment in the original Bill of Rights and it was aimed at the federal government. It provides that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process.” The original Bill of Rights did not mention equal protection of the laws in a general sense. The Fourteenth Amendment, added after the Civil War and aimed at former slave states, included the same due process provisions as the Fifth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment also included the Equal Protection Clause. It provides that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Although nothing in the text said that equal protection applied to the federal government as well as to the states, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually held that it did. In 1954 in Bolling v. Sharpe the Court said that “the concepts of equal protection and due process, both stemming from our American ideal of fairness, are not mutually exclusive. The ‘equal protection of the laws’ is a more explicit safeguard of prohibited unfairness than ‘due process of law,’ and, therefore, we do not imply that the two are always interchangeable phrases. But, as this Court has recognized, discrimination may be so unjustifiable as to be violative of due process.”1 Consequently due process and equal protection apply to both federal and state laws.
The Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses address government action. They require that laws and legal procedures be fair. As discussed in the final section of this chapter, other constitutional provisions or laws may directly address unfair or discriminato ...
Chapter 22 THE LAW AND TALENT MANAGEMENTWayne F. Cascio, HEstelaJeffery653
Chapter 2
2 THE LAW AND TALENT MANAGEMENT
Wayne F. Cascio, Herman Aguinis
Learning Goals
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
· 2.1 Describe the framework of the U.S. legal system
· 2.2 Describe alternative legal routes for complaints against an employer’s employment practices
· 2.3 Explain the two major legal theories of unfair employment discrimination
· 2.4 Understand the major legal principles that define key civil rights laws
· 2.5 Identify the six exemptions to Title VII coverage
· 2.6 Define sexual harassment and identify preventive steps employers should take
· 2.7 Know when you can and cannot justify “English-only” rules in the workplace
· 2.8 Understand how to prevent age-discrimination claims when downsizing or terminating workers for cause
Comprehensive employment-related legislation, combined with increased motivation on the part of individuals to rectify unfair employment practices, makes the legal aspects of employment among the most dominant issues in human resource management today. All three branches of the federal government have been actively involved in ongoing efforts to guarantee equal employment opportunity (EEO) as a fundamental individual right, regardless of race, color, age, gender, religion, national origin, or disability.
All aspects of the employment relationship, including initial screening, recruitment, selection, placement, compensation, training, promotion, and performance management, have been addressed by legislative and executive pronouncements and by legal interpretations from the courts. With growing regularity, I/O psychologists and HR professionals are being called on to work with attorneys, the courts, and federal regulatory agencies. It is imperative, therefore, to understand thoroughly the rights as well as obligations of individuals and employers under the law and to ensure that these are translated into everyday practice in accordance with legal guidelines promulgated by federal regulatory agencies. Affirmative action involves a proactive examination of whether equality of opportunity exists. If it does not, a plan is implemented for taking concrete measures to eliminate the barriers and to establish true equality (Society for Human Resource Management, 2016b). Affirmative action has become a fact of modern organizational life. To ignore it is to risk serious economic, human, and social costs.
Every public opinion poll based on representative national samples drawn between 1950 and the present shows that a majority of Americans—black, brown, and white—support EEO and reject differential treatment based on race, regardless of its alleged purposes or results. There is agreement about the ends to be achieved, but there is disagreement about the means to be used (Von Drehle, 2003). EEO has been, and is still, an emotionally charged issue. Congress has provided sound legal bases for effecting changes in EEO through sweeping civil rights legislation. Subsequently, thousan ...
Chapter 1 Overview - School Law - Dr. William Allan KritsonisWilliam Kritsonis
Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, School Law Power Point Presentation, Educational Laws & Policies, Due Process, Employment Law, Personnel Law, Equal Rights, Discrimination, Diversity, Teacher Rights, Termination of Employment
Education is a hallmark of civic life in America, so it’s no surpr.docxgidmanmary
Education is a hallmark of civic life in America, so it’s no surprise that it’s been at the center of many landmark controversies over the years. Here are 10 Supreme Court cases related to education that impacted both constitutional law and the public school experience.
10. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Arguably the most well-known ruling of the 20th century, Brown overturned Plessy v. Fergusonand established that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” The Warren Court’s unanimous decision explained that the separate-but-equal doctrine violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and ordered an end to legally mandated race-segregated schools. While the Brown decision marked only the beginning of a prolonged struggle to achieve actual integration, its impact cannot be understated.
9. Engel v. Vitale(1962) and 8. Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
This pair of cases shaped the modern understanding of how the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment constrains prayer in public schools. In Engel, the Court struck down a New York State rule that allowed public schools to hold a short, nondenominational prayer at the beginning of the school day. The Court decided that these prayers amounted to an “official stamp of approval” upon one particular kind of prayer and religious service, and said that, since teachers are agents of the federal government, the scheme violated the Establishment Clause.
The reasoning in Engel was also applied in Schempp, in which the Court struck down a Pennsylvania policy that required all students to read 10 Bible verses and say the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of each day. While a student could get an exemption with a parent’s note, the Warren Court decided that this still amounted to an unconstitutional government endorsement of a particular religious tradition.
7. Lemon v. Kurtzman(1971)
This case adjudicated a different sort of Establishment Clause challenge, where the controversy dealt with a statute providing financial support for teacher salaries and textbooks in parochial schools. The Burger Court unanimously decided that this financial aid scheme violated the Establishment Clause and delineated the governing precedent for Establishment Clause cases known as the Lemon test. Under Lemon, statutes (1) must have a secular legislative purpose; (2) must have primary effects that neither inhibit nor advance religion; and (3) cannot foster an “excessive government entanglement with religion.” The Court held that this scheme violated the third prong of the Lemon test.
6. Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Among the litany of public school cases from the Warren and Burger eras is the landmark Free Exercise Clause decision in Yoder. Wisconsin mandated that all children attend public school until age 16, but Jonas Yoder, a devoutly religious Amish man, refused to send his children to school past eighth grade. He argued that his children didn’t need to be in school that long t ...
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Francesca Gottschalk - How can education support child empowerment.pptxEduSkills OECD
Francesca Gottschalk from the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation presents at the Ask an Expert Webinar: How can education support child empowerment?
How to Make a Field invisible in Odoo 17Celine George
It is possible to hide or invisible some fields in odoo. Commonly using “invisible” attribute in the field definition to invisible the fields. This slide will show how to make a field invisible in odoo 17.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Chapter 1 Notes - School Law - Dr. William Allan Kritsonis
1. Chapter 1 Notes
Law Notes and Lectures
Class Notes
Chapter One
Lesson One Notes and Information
Sources of Law
1). Constitution Law, 2). Legislative Law, 3). Judicial Law, 4).
Administrative Law
Some references use another source of law term known as "Common Law."
Common Law comes from 3 sources: a) customs and traditons (such as fence lines
between neighbors), b) court decisions, attorney general decisions, and judges
opinions or decisions. c) acts of paliament.
The Constitution of the United States
Article 1, Section 8---Know as the "GENERAL WELFARE CLAUSE"---Congress has the
power to collect taxes, provide for defense, and common welfare of all people..."
Article 1, Section 10--"No state shall...make any law impairing th e obligations of
contracts." This article of the constitution makes a contract an important
document. Example: King George Chartered Dartmouth College; the state wanted
to make Dartmouth a state college. The courts said "No" because of article 1,
section 10. This action could not be done without the consent of Dartmouth College.
First Amendment
1). Separation of church and state 2). abridging freedom of speech or press 3).
right of people to assemble and petition government with grievances.
Fourth Amendment
1). Search and seizure
Fifth Amendment
1). Person does not have to witness against himself; due process; imminent
domain
Page 1
2. Chapter 1 Notes
Tenth Amendment "Reserved Powers Clause"
1). Those powers not specific to federal government are reserved to states....this is
our basis for state education; however, it is not mentioned in the constitution as a
reserved power.
Fourteenth Amendment
1). discrimination, 2). due process, 3). equal protection
PRECEDENCE
The Supreme Court of the United States interprets the United States Constitution
Each State has a constitution but if conflict between the state and federal law exist,
the question reverts to the federal constitution and federal
COURT SYSTEMS
Federal or United States Constitutional issues go to the federal court system. 1).
Case orginates at Federal District Court, 2). If parties are not satisfied; file in Federal
Curcuit Court of Appeals. (This areas of Texas would go to 5th Curcuit Court of
Appeals in New Orleans...7 judges). 3). If parties are still not content with court
decision an appeal can be filed with the United States Supreme Court.
State issues related to education are filed first in the Travis County State District
Court, 2). If parties are not satisfied; file an appeal with the State Court of Appeals,
3). If still not satisfied with outcome; file in Texas Supreme Court
Administrative Appeals Process
1). Level One--Campus Principal, Level II--Superitendent of designee, Level III--
Local Board of Education.
2). State Commissioner of Education
3). Travis County Court
Definition of Terms
1. Plantiff--one who brings the lawsuit
2. Defendant--one who is being sued
3. Appellant--the person who appeals the case (usually the lost case)
4. Appellee--the person against whom the appeal is made
Page 2
3. Chapter 1 Notes
5. Dictum/Dicta--judges render an opinion or decision, and include something that is
intended to ward off further court cases an issue; not a part of law or facts of the
case. Sometimes the dicta is more important than the decision!!!
6. Injunction--a court order to stop something; to hold something in obeyance
7. Writ of mandamus--order to comply or do something.
The following notes and comments were written by Dr. Ray Johnson, Professor of
Education Law at Fort Hays State University in Fort Hays, Kansas
Today more then ever professional educators should ensure that their actions in
school settings are lawful. The idea that we are "a nation of laws and nation of men"
is never more applicable than in the field of education. The trend of our society is
forcing our schools to take on more and more responsibility in the training and
educating of children which used to be carried out by families and the religious
institutions.
We have one federal system and 50 separate state legal systems. The responsibility
for education was established by the tenth amendment as a States rights: "the
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people", therefore public
education is one of the sovereign powers of the states. The Supreme Court has
repeatedly reaffirmed the states and school officials right "to prescribe the curriculum
and control conduct of students in the schools."
Education is a national interest, a function of the states and subject to local control.
While many authors believe that much control remains at the local level, I would take
exception. We have moved progressively more and more to a national system of
education until today the vast majority of educators behavior has been
predetermined by the Federal Courts and Textbook companies. Local school districts
still decided when schools will start and end, what sports they will participate in and
whether to show condoms to sixth graders; but they cannot reduce the number of
hours or days a student goes to school or decides that boys only will be on the
wrestling team and teach creationism without a equal amount of time given to
evolution. Federal laws, mandates, and money have shaped a system of American
Education so that a student can move freely from state to state and be in familiar
and comfortable education environment.
State Legislatures have created local school boards (except in Hawaii) to act as the
legal agency to carry out educational practices on behalf the that legislature. Article
#1 and #8 of the United States Constitution, grants congress the power to tax for the
"general welfare of the United States." This provision has enabled billions of federal
tax dollars to flow into school programs within the states. Each state legislature
decides independently how they will fund the education of children in their states. A
wide variety of finding formulas can be found ranging from Property or Sales Tax to
Page 3
4. Chapter 1 Notes
lottery funds. In most states the LSB has limited financial resource that it can add to
the State and Federal allocations. One exception to this is asking the local community
to increase their local taxes by putting forth to the public a bond issues, which are
usually used for remodeling or construction of new facilities.
School Finance in Texas...A rich source of finance litigation!
Financing Schools Equitably click on this link for a good source of finance
information
The following is referenced to Texas Association of School Boards website TCER
FINANCE GUIDE
SCHOOL FINANCE EQUITY ISSUES
Inequities in public school finance have been a national concern since the 1960s and
are a logical extension of U.S. Supreme Court rulings affecting school desegregation
(1954), legislative reapportionment (1962), and protection of the civil rights of the
poor (1965). In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court found the Texas school finance
system constitutional in Rodriguez v. San Antonio ISDRodriguez v. San Antonio
ISD, ending federal court challenges to the constitutionality of state school finance
plans.
According to a review by the Education Commission of the States (ECS), there are 12
states in which the school finance system was ruled unconstitutional by the state's
highest court. Two additional states have had the funding system ruled
unconstitutional by a lower court, and the state did not appeal. In 17 states, the
highest court has upheld the school finance system as constitutional. ECS notes that
school finance litigation is in process in 11 states, including six states in which the
state's high court has, in the past, made a ruling.
Litigants seek equity in school finance using one of several approaches. They may
seek equity in funding as a requirement of equal protection provisions in the state
constitution, or they may seek it as a means to secure "efficiency" in public finance.
They may also look to the court to define and meet state standards for "adequate" or
"thorough and efficient" education for all children. In Texas, the trial court in
Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1987) found the Texas school finance system
unconstitutional on both equal protection and efficiency counts because the system
discriminated against students living in poor school districts. In 1989, the Texas
Supreme Court upheld the ruling on the violation of the efficient system clause, but
did not take up the equal protection arguments. In response to this decision, the
legislature enacted Senate Bill 1 on June 7, 1990. The legislation provided an
immediate funding increase along with a five-year phase-in of reforms requiring that
95 percent of students be in a wealth-neutral system by 1995. The Texas Supreme
Court rejected this plan in Edgewood II on the grounds that equalization for 95
percent of the students is not "substantially equal." The Legislature passed neTw
legislation in May 1991 creating County Education Districts (CED) by tax base
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5. Chapter 1 Notes
consolidation. The Supreme Court ruled the CED mandatory property tax
unconstitutional in January 1992 in Edgewood III. In May 1993, the Texas
Legislature passed Senate Bill 7, which directs high-wealth school districts to reduce
property wealth. This system was upheld by the Texas Supreme Court in January
1995 (Edgewood IV).
There are two judicial standards of school finance equity. One is expenditure equality,
which requires that districts spend similar amounts of money per pupil. The second is
fiscal neutrality, which requires that district resources be independent of district
wealth. In a fiscally neutral system, all districts should have the opportunity to
generate similar revenues per pupil at similar levels of tax effort. Fiscal neutrality
characterizes the Texas equity standard.
More than 260 Texas school districts challenged the school finance system enacted in
May 1993 on the grounds that it failed to make "suitable provision" for the system of
public education in Texas. Plaintiffs fashioned their argument on four points: (1) the
state share of funding for public schools is less than 50 percent; (2) the state has
failed to provide support through the foundation program for its mandates; (3) local
districts must increase property taxes sharply to provide mandated programs, further
shifting the burden for public school funding away from state aid; and (4) overall
funding is not sufficient to provide accredited education programs across the state. In
December 1993, the district court held for the state and determined that plaintiff
claims regarding "suitable provision" were a political rather than a legal matter.
These are the principal causes of school finance inequities in most states:
Differences in taxable wealth per pupil among school districts;
Property tax systems that are not equal and uniform and which further
exacerbate the disparities resulting from differences in taxable wealth;
Different levels of tax effort exerted by school districts, resulting in unequal
expenditures even when property tax disparities have been reduced;
Over reliance on the local property tax revenues to fund public education; and
Methods of allocating funds to school districts that do not overcome wealth
differences among districts, in an effective manner.
In Edgewood, the fiscal neutrality standard was imposed. The Supreme Court stated
that there must be a "direct and close correlation between a district's tax effort and
the educational resources available to it" and that school district revenues must be
substantially equal at similar levels of tax effort. The Court also found an implicit link
between efficiency and equality. However, the Court did not ignore expenditure
equality as a standard, and the Court made several statements about the lack of
adequacy of state aid.
SCHOOL FINANCE ADEQUACY ISSUES
Adequacy, as a school finance goal, is defined as sufficiency of resource inputs or
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6. Chapter 1 Notes
inputs in amounts sufficient to ensure desired outcomes. The classic question in
school finance has been: How much is enough? Although conservation of resource
inputs is an important goal, insufficient state resources may result in inequities.
Underfunding may also lead to a "paradox of thrift" where patterns of low support
result in problems that are very costly to remediate. Therefore, calibration of school
finance formulas based on measured needs is crucial to the productivity of an
education system.
The Basic Allotment (BA) of the Texas foundation program is the allocation per
unweighted student in average daily attendance before all adjustments are made for
pupil weights and district cost factors. The BA now stands at $2,387 and may rise to
$2,396 if voters approve a constitutional amendment in November 1997.
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