There is no evidence that physically restraining or putting children in unsupervised seclusion in the K-12 school system provides any educational or therapeutic benefit to a child. In fact, use of either seclusion or restraints in non-emergency situations poses significant physical and psychological danger to students. Yet the first round of data…

As a part of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), special education teachers work along with their student with special needs and their parent(s)/guardian(s) to create and implement Individualized Transition Plans (ITP) to assist the student with their transition to the post-school environment. As mandated by Individuals with Disabilities…

There is a sizable number of English Language Learners (ELL) that are not succeeding in schools and are academically "falling through the cracks." The purpose of this thesis is to gather information that identifies reasons why students are not succeeding academically and which strategies individual teachers can implement to help these…

The study focuses on the background of Social Science and Humanities students (specifically in the course General Psychology) on their English education and competence. This research aims to identify the common factors of these students in terms of their English Proficiency. The students will answer survey questions that will give us information…

Affirmative action in college admissions was effectively banned in Texas by the Hopwood ruling in 1997, by voter referenda in California and Washington in 1996 and 1998, and by administrative decisions in Florida in 1999. The "Hopwood" and "Johnson" rulings also had possible applicability to public colleges throughout Alabama,…

In this article we extend Bell's work on interest convergence by using Harris' work on whiteness as property to articulate a cycle of interest convergence, interest divergence, and imperialistic reclamation, or convergence-divergence-reclamation (C-D-R, pronounced "cedar"). We then apply the C-D-R cycle lens to the evolution of…

Group decision-making can result in important benefits for organizational effectiveness. However, collaborative environments do not emerge organically. Effective leadership is critical for group success. Educational leaders must understand group processes and the importance of creating a culture that supports collaboration. Student discipline for…

This case focuses on one parent's request to have his daughter exempted from district-mandated computer tests (called STAR Enterprise tests). These tests are administered several times per year as a formative assessment to gauge student achievement in the areas of reading and math. The parent was concerned that the district was spending too…

Horrific events such as the fatal shooting of three high school students in Chardon, Ohio, in the winter of 2012 places tremendous pressure on state and local agencies to ensure that schools provide a safe and conducive learning environment for all students. To help curb school violence, schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies, which often…

Using race as a factor in admissions policies was contested in "Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin." Although the U.S. Supreme Court firmly held in "Grutter v. Bollinger" that race can be considered among many factors in admitting students, the recent decision in "Fisher" has posed many questions and challenges…

States have responded in a variety of ways to undocumented immigration and its implications for higher education. Some states have allowed undocumented students to seek an affordable college education while others have created barriers. This article highlights the piecemeal legislation that the states have passed in order to respond to the needs…

This article forecasts potential legal problems emerging from the use of new teacher evaluation systems in the states. This research was a policy analysis that combined three types of data to forecast the states and the legal challenges they might encounter: state policy data, selected case law, and problems from the literature of teacher…

Title IX is designed to protect students from discrimination based on sex in any educational institution that receives financial assistance. This article focuses on Title IX as it applies to high school athletic programs by considering the trial of a high school district in California. A federal court found considerable inequalities between boys…

This article discusses Teach for America (TFA), one of the alternative education programs of the U.S. Department of Education designed to address the achievement gap of students of color in the country. Topics explored in this research include issues of racism and race in the recruitment and support of its teacher corp; how TFA educators of color…

Through an analysis of relevant social science evidence, this article provides a deeper understanding of critical mass, a concept that has become central in litigation efforts related to affirmative action admissions policies that seek to further the educational benefits of diversity. We demonstrate that the concept of critical mass requires an…