Discrimination, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Public School Law, Educational Laws & Policies,...

8/14/2019 Discrimination, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Public School Law, Educational Laws & Policies, Educational Leadership and Administration, Supervision

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Chapter 2

PEDG 5344

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD



Impermissible Discrimination

o In 1954, the US Supreme Court began the effort to eliminate de jure racial segregation (segregation by law) in our society.

o In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, which prohibitsdiscrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin inpublic education, in any federally assisted program or activity, inpublic and private employment, and in privately owned places of public accommodation.

o The courts have required good-faith integration and affirmativeaction efforts. Districts still involved in the original desegregation

suits conduct their affairs in accordance with the court ordersissued in their respective cases. Those under court orders mustfile with the responsible courts periodic status reports describingtheir progress toward desegregation.

o ***The ultimate goal of this process is to be declared “unitary,” astatus denoting the eradication of all aspects of a segregated,

dual school system.



Impermissible Discrimination

o In 1991, the US Supreme Court declared that once all vestiges of de jure segregation have been eliminated, federal court supervisionmay end, even if one-race schools reemerge. Also in 1991, the 5th

Circuit ruled that once unitary status has been declared, plaintiffsbear the burden of proving in a new lawsuit that a school board’sactions were based on intent to discriminate, which is very difficult todo.

o Section 504 of Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibitsdiscrimination against individuals with disabilities in federallyassisted public school programs. IDEA requires that any state

receiving financial assistance under the act must assure a free,appropriate public education to children with disabilities within thestate and must assure that the rights of those children and their parents are protected.

o Title XI of the 1972 Education Amendments prohibits intentionaldiscrimination on the basis of sex in programs that receive federalassistance.



Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

The decision of the US Supreme court was thatpublic education facilities that are raciallysegregated are inherently discriminatoryeven if equal; the Court struck down lawsthat treated people differently solely on thebasis of their color or racial heritage. This

overruled the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson 1896, and began themovement to end de jure segregation(segregation by law) in the public sector.



The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled thatpreference given African Americans and MexicanAmericans in the admissions process at UT School of Lawviolated the 14th amendment equal protection clause. Theadmissions process set aside 5% of the spaces in theentering class for African Americans and 10% for MexicanAmericans; to achieve these goals, lower admissionscriteria and greater individual attention were necessary.The appeals court rejected the use of race or ethnicity as a

criterion in admissions, it did recognize that other criteriathat may correlate with race and ethnicity would bepermissible as long as they are not used for discriminatingon the basis of race (applicant’s residence, parents’education, and economic and social background).

Hopwood v. The State of Texas



Freeman v. Pitts

The US Supreme Court ruled that a trial

court can relinquish supervision over thoseareas where a school district has achieved

unitary status yet can retain authority to

oversee continued desegregation in other

areas. In effect, unitary status can beachieved in incremental stages.



Plyler v. Doe

In 1982, the US Supreme Court ruled that Texas no longer couldexclude the children of undocumented admitted aliens from atuition-free education. The court ruled that children could not beheld responsible for being in Texas illegally and was notpersuaded that the exclusionary provision in the Texas schooladmissions statute retarded the influx of undocumented aliensinto the country or that providing a tuition-free education tothese children would constitute a serious drain on the state’sfunding for public education.



Major v. Nederland ISD

In 1991, Nederland ISD lost when it refused to admit a student

who was living with her boyfriend’s parents in the district so

that her home life could be stabilized. The student’s mother had executed power of attorney giving the boyfriend’s

parents authority to make decisions regarding the student’s

education and health care. The federal district court

concluded that the district could address problems of white

flight and overcrowding of its schools without enacting anoverly broad policy that violated state and federal law. The

district was ordered to change its policy and to pay court

costs, the student’s attorneys’ fees, and nominal damages

for the days the student was excluded from school.



TEC 25.085 : Compulsory School

Attendance

i. (a) A child who is required to attend school under this section

shall attend school each school day for the entire period the

program of instruction is provided.ii. (b) Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a child who

is at least six years of age, or who is younger than six years of

age and has previously been enrolled in first grade, and who has

not yet reached the child’s 18th birthday shall attend school.

iii. (c) On enrollment in prekindergarten or kindergarten, a childshall attend school.




Attendance

iv. (d) Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a student enrolled ina school district must attend:1. an extended-year program for which the student is eligible that is provided

by the district for students identified as likely not to be promoted to the nextgrade level or tutorial classes required by the district under Section 29.084;

2. an accelerated reading instruction program to which the student is assignedunder Section 28.006(g);

3. an accelerated instruction program to which the student is assigned under Section 28.0211; or

4. a basic skills program to which the student is assigned under Section29.086.

v. (e) A person who voluntarily enrolls in school or voluntarily attendsschool after the person’s 18th birthday shall attend school each schoolday for the entire period the program of instruction is offered. A schooldistrict may revoke for the remainder of the school year the enrollmentof a person who has more than five absences in a semester that are notexcused under Section 25.087. A person whose enrollment is revokedunder this subsection may be considered an unauthorized person on

school district grounds for purpose of Section 37.107.




Attendance

Residency and Guardianship – Schools can not require persons with whom students live to secure legal

guardianship.

The Compulsory School Law – The Compulsory School law requires that a person who is at least 6

years of age, or who is younger than six years of age and has previouslybeen enrolled in first grade, and who has not turned 18 shall attendschool.

– A student who is 17 or older and has a high school equivalencycertificate or high school diploma is exempted from the compulsoryschool law

Absences – A student who fails to attend school without excuse on 10 or more full or

partial days within a six-month period in the same school year, thedistrict must file a complaint against the student or the parent or both inan appropriate court or refer the student to a juvenile court as specifiedin the statute.



The Required Curriculum

To ensure consistency, in 1981, the TX legislature passed a lawrequiring a well-balanced curriculum in TX public school districts,including both a foundation curriculum and an enrichment curriculum.

Foundation curriculum: English/LA, math, science and SS. Enrichmentcurriculum: other languages, health, PE, FA, economics, career andtechnology education, and technology applications.

TEKS are located in Chapters 110-128 of Vol. 19 of the TexasAdministrative Code. The state board cannot designate either themethodology or the amount of time to be used in teaching the content.

The SBOE is directed by rule to adopt curriculum requirements for

minimum, recommended, and advanced high school programs.Beginning with the 04-05 freshmen, school districts must endure thateach student t enrolls in either the recommended or advanced schoolprogram unless the student, parent, and school official agree that thestudent should be allowed to take courses at the minimum level.



The Required Curriculum

School districts are required to develop advanced placement tests for each primary grade level and secondary academic subject for advancing talented students from one grade to another.

Legislation enacted in 2003 permits TEA to establish a 3-year technology immersion pilot project in which each student at aparticipating school would receive a laptop and accessories that wouldhave been shown to improve academic achievement.

TX legislature now allows school districts to teach sex educationcourses and to select teaching materials. Courses must presentabstinence as the preferred choice of behavior for unmarried persons

of school age. Curricular materials for these courses must beavailable for public inspection and parents are entitled to an opt-outoption for their children.

Public school districts are authorized to offer an integrated program of educational and support services for students who are pregnant or who are parents.



Student Assessment

TEC 28.022 provides that districts must establish a policy that providesfor parent-teacher conferences and requires notice to parents of their student’s performance in each class or subject at least once every 12

weeks and must be signed by the parent and returned to the school.Such notice is not required if the student is 18 or older and livingseparate from the student’s parents, is married, or has had thedisabilities of minority removed by a court.

If a student’s performance is consistently unsatisfactory in a foundationcurriculum subject, the district must provide written notice to the parentor legal guardian at least once every three weeks or during the fourth

week of each nine-week grading period. The TAKS test is the state-wide assessment program (TEC 39.022). 11th graders must take an exit-level test in all four core subjects for the

purpose of determining minimum skill mastery for high schoolgraduation and



Student Assessment

No one is “exempt” but certain children with disabilities or withLEP may be permitted to take an alternate assessment asdecided by the child’s ARD committee.

Private schools may, but are not required to, participate in thestate assessment program.

Under George W. Bush, the Texas legislature tightened up onsocial promotion. Beginning in 02-03 school year, 3rd gradersare required to pass the state reading assessment before they

can be promoted to the 4th grade. This extends to 5th grade inmath and reading in the 04-05 school year and 8th graders inthe 07-08 school year. Those who fail are required to have atleast 2 more administrations of the test.



Student Assessment

The grade placement committee can promote the

student to the next grade level only if, using

standards adopted by the board of trustees, thecommittee concludes that the student is likely to

perform at grade level if promoted and given

accelerated instruction. This decision is final and

may not be appealed. Students not likely to be promoted to the next grade

are required to attend an extended-year program, an

accelerated reading program, an accelerated

instructional program, or a basic skills program.



Student Assessment

A district must develop a personal graduation plan for each middle school, junior high, or high school student who does not perform well on the state

assessment or is not likely to graduate on time. The plan must (1) identifyeducational goals, (2) include diagnostic information and evaluation strategies,such as monitoring and intervention, (3) include an intensive instructionprogram, (4) address parent participation and expectations, and (5) provideinnovative methods to promote student advancement.

Schools may offer a certificate of completion to students who complete thecurriculum requirements but fail the state assessment requirement. They may

participate in graduation ceremonies and their transcript must specify whether the student received a diploma or certificate of coursework completion.

A school district may not withhold a diploma or deny a student the opportunityof graduating or participating in graduation exercises for failure to return booksor pay the price of the books. However, the student forfeits the right to freetextbooks until all previous books have been returned or paid for. The districtcan withhold records for failure to return or pay for books.



Student Assessment

Teacher evaluation systems require that one of the appraisalcriteria must encompass the performance of the teacher’sstudents. The appraisal of a school principal also must reflect

how well students on the campus perform. In McLean v. Quanah ISD, the commissioner of education

observed that significant lack of student progress can be areason for nonrenewal of a teacher contract. However, gradesalone do not establish a teacher’s level of competence.

A person under 18 years of age will not be issued a driver’s

license unless the person (1) has obtained a high schooldiploma or its equivalent, (2) is enrolled in a public, home, or private school and has attended school for at least 80 days inthe fall or spring semester preceding the date of application, or (3) has been enrolled for at least 45 days, and currently isenrolled in a program to prepare persons to pass the highschool equivalency exam.



School District Accountability

The SBOE, directed by the TEC, established a set of academic excellence indicators for school campuses, toinclude such items as results on state-mandated assessmentinstruments, dropout rates, student attendance, high schoolexit-level assessment, SAT results, progress of students failingto pass state assessment instruments on test retakes,percentage of students exempted from the statewideassessment program, and high school graduation rates.

Principals must meet annually with their planning and decisionmaking committee to review and revise their campusimprovement plan.



School District Accountability

A “campus report card” is issued each year by the TEA thatcompares the performance of the campus on the academic

excellence indicators, student/teacher ratios, and administrative andinstructional costs per student with the performance of the districtand other schools in the state. These report cards are distributedannually to parents.

The thrust of these statutes is to make districts and individualcampuses accountable to the community for the quality of educationthey impart and they make teachers and administrators moreaccountable for their performance.

School districts and individual schools are held accountable to TEAthrough the accreditation process. Districts are classified asexemplary, recognized, academically acceptable, and academicallyunacceptable.



Effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

NCLB 2001 amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It is arguably the most ambitious piece of legislation Congresshas ever passed with regard to public education.

The primary purpose is to raise student achievement by holding statesand school districts to high standards with strict accountabilityrequirements.

Students must make “adequate yearly progress” and is demonstratedthrough the statewide assessment test. Each state’s definition of AYPmust apply “the same high standards of academic achievement to allpublic elementary and secondary school students in the State.” All

students, regardless of ability level, are expected to met the yearlyprogress requirements and be achieving at grade level by the 2013-1014 school year. To make AYP, a school not only must show that itsstudent body as a whole met the standard, it also must show that eachsubgroup met the same standard. NCLB requires a 95% participationrate, meaning that if less than 95% of the students take the test, theschool will be identified as not making AYP regardless of how well the

students do on the test. The 95% also applies to each subgroup.



Effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

NCLB requires that school districts hire “highly qualified” teachers for the core academic subjects by the end of the 05-06 school year.

If a school fails to make AYP: (1) the school enters what is termed“school improvement”. All students then have public school choiceand can transfer to another school within the district that made AYP, or to a charter school with geographic boundaries that include the district.(2) If a school fails to make AYP for 3 years, “supplemental educationservices” become available including tutoring, but only families fromlow income families are eligible. (3) A school that fails to make AYP for

4 consecutive years will move into “corrective action” and will berequired to: replace the school staff who are relevant to the school’sfailure to make AYP, implement a new curriculum, significantlydecrease management authority at the school level, appoint one or more outside experts to advise the school, extend the length of theschool year or school day, or restructure the internal organization of the school.

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