This document records testimony from a hearing before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary Education of the Committee on Education and the Workforce that was held to examine school choice. Opening statements were provided by: (1) Honorable Aaron Bean, Chairman, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary…

The Departments of Education and Justice are responsible for enforcing certain federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in K-12 schools based on characteristics such as race, sex, and disability, including regarding police interactions with students. The House committee report for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,…

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces five Federal statutes that prohibit discrimination in any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (ED). The process for filing a complaint is outlined in this brochure. It includes information on the timeliness of the complaint, institutional…

Court decisions relating to bilingual education in the United States are synthesized and analyzed. In addition to cases relating specifically to language of instruction, those dealing with desegregation and racial or ethnic discrimination are reviewed. In decisions involving the teaching of foreign languages in elementary school, during the period…

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded Keyes v Denver to the district court for further proceedings. In past hearings, the court had concluded that minority populations in Denver were receiving an inferior instructional program in violation of constitutional and legal rights. After remand from the Supreme Court, the court requested assistance in…

Reviews court litigation in Texas concerning the rights of children who are illegally residing in the United States to public schooling. Focuses particularly on the issue of whether the equal protection clause in the fourteenth amendment applies to noncitizens. (GC)

The conference report presents the text of an amendment to the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) to authorize the awarding of reasonable attorneys' fees as part of the costs to the parents or guardian of a handicapped child or youth who is the prevailing party in a settlement. The General Accounting Office is directed to conduct a study of…

Traces the nine-year history of Geraldine Cannon's ongoing legal battle, based on accusations of age and sex discrimination, to gain admission to medical school in the state of Illinois. (JBM)

A decision upholding the constitutionality of Florida's competency exam is reviewed and school boards advised of measures for ensuring fairness and legality in competency testing: a curriculum that teaches the skills tested, adequate remedial instruction, and several chances to take the test. (MJL)

Concerns about student resegregation resulting from discriminatory student grouping practices are highlighted in this paper. Part 1 determines the characteristics of discriminatory ability grouping and tracking practices through a content analysis of 35 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) case file documents for the fiscal years 1983-89. Twenty-three…

This booklet looks at selected recent court cases dealing with a number of questions regarding P.L. 94-142 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: (1) What is meant by "free appropriate" education? (2) Which services are considered "related services" and thus obligatory upon schools? (3) What procedural protections…

Examines the impact on minorities of school policies dealing with curriculum, scheduling, grouping, student assessment, and discipline; identifies policies with adverse effects; and notes the difficulty in generalizing their impact for all minority students. (SM)

The appellees, all Spanish surnamed Americans, contended that the appellants deprived them of their right to equal protection of the laws. After hearing all evidence, the trial court had ordered the Portales schools to submit a plan for remedial action within 90 days. Appellees thereafter filed a Motion for Hearing to hear their objections to the…

Five legal questions are discussed in the conflict between the move to institute minimum competency testing (MCT) for students and the effort to protect the educational rights of handicapped children. The threshold question is whether handicapped children should be subject to the same MCT requirements as the non-handicapped. (PS)

This document is one of a two-part set of publications. Both deal with equal education and provide a concise overview of Title IX and gender equity issues in education and steps to take to ensure nondiscrimination and equal education opportunity for all. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the major federal law prohibiting sex…