Education Headline Roundup

• This week’s headline roundup brings an update to the evolving story of U.S. colleges & universities rescinding test-optional admissions policies. Yale, MIT, and Georgetown have joined Dartmouth in reinstating a requirement that students submit test scores with their college applications. Students at Dartmouth attended a tense office hours session on Feb. 5 with university administrators to voice concerns with the College’s reinstatement of mandatory test score submission, arguing that it will result in a less diverse applicant pool. In other Dartmouth news from last week, the college also just settled in class-action suit involving 17 elite universities that alleged they engaged in an anti-competitive tuition price-fixing scheme that may have disadvantaged certain applicants due to their financial status.
• The Chicago Board of Education has voted unanimously to remove school resource officers from Chicago Public Schools by the start of next academic year. This decision followed years of debate and advocacy, driven by several key factors, including concerns about disproportionate policing impact on minority students and the efficacy of SRO programs in preventing safety incidents. Advocates proposed investing in social workers, counselors, and restorative justice programs as more effective and equitable approaches to address safety concerns.
• Harvard University is forming a working group to explore formalizing a policy of “institutional neutrality” following recent controversies involving pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli student demonstrations that ultimately led to the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay.

Landmark Supreme Court Cases That Changed U.S. Education: Part I

Join us as we embark on a two-part series exploring landmark Supreme Court cases that have profoundly impacted the landscape of education in the United States. This week’s episode includes discussions of the following cases:

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Challenging racial segregation in public schools.
• Engel v. Vitale (1962) & Abington School District v. Schempp (1963): Establishing the separation of church and state in public education.
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969): Defining students' First Amendment rights to symbolic expression.
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973): Addressing disparities in school funding across districts.
• Lau v. Nichols (1974): Ensuring equal educational opportunity for students with limited English proficiency.
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978): Addressing the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
• Board of Education v. Rowley (1982): Establishing the standard for providing education to students with disabilities.

Stay tuned for Part II!

Sources & Resources:

Yale University Joins Dartmouth, MIT, and Georgetown in Requiring Applicants to Submit Standardized Test Scores; Kaplan Survey Suggests Other Schools Will Join Them

Chicago Board of Education votes to remove police officers from schools.

Chicago Board of Education unanimously votes to remove school resource officers from CPS

Students voice complaints about testing requirement reinstatement during ‘tense’ office hours - The Dartmouth

Class-action lawsuit accuses 17 elite universities of running 'price-fixing cartel'

‘This Has to Stop’: Harvard Set to Consider Institutional Neutrality | News

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) | National Archives

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) | National Archives

Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale | United States Courts

https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc5Ove6xYf8C&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q&f=false

Abington School District v. Schempp :: 374 U.S. 203 (1963)

First Amendment and Religion | United States Courts

School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp (1963) | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

School District of Abington Township v. Schempp | First Amendment & Education | Britannica

The Schempp-Murray Decision On School Prayers and Bible Reading

Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969).

Tinker v. Des Moines | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

The Young Anti-War Activists Who Fought for Free Speech at School | History| Smithsonian Magazine

McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union

McCreary County v. ACLU

Safford Unified School District v. Redding | Oyez

Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue | Constitution Center

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College | Definition, Questions, Grutter v. Bollinger, Affirmative Action, & Decision | Britannica

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard FAQ: Navigating the Evolving Implications of the Court’s Ruling - Stanford Center for Racial Justice

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District | Oyez

Supreme Court Sides With Coach Over Prayers at the 50-Yard Line - The New York Times

Supreme Court school prayer ruling in Lee v. Weisman and family's quest - The Washington Post

Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley | Britannica

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke | Oyez

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

Lau v. Nichols | Oyez

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez | Oyez

1973: San Antonio ISD v. Rodriguez - A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States

The Worst Supreme Court Decisions Since 1960 | TIME