Member Since 2009


Joshua Dunn is professor of political science at the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs. His research focuses on judicial policymaking and in particular the influence of the courts on education. He is the author of Complex Justice: The Case of Missouri v. Jenkins (University of North Carolina Press 2008) and the co-editor, with Martin West, of From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: The Judiciary’s Role in American Education (Brookings 2009). He also authors a quarterly article on law and education for Education Next.

Published Articles & Media

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The Education Exchange: “Quotas Masquerading as a Holistic Review”

After high court's decision on affirmative action in college admissions, preferences for alumni children are targeted

High Court Decision in College Admissions Case Has K-12 Implications

Considering race in school assignment will become even harder after Harvard, UNC lose
Nebraska Solicitor General Jim Campbell speaks with reporters outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, after arguing before the court against President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan. Standing behind Campbell are Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, from left, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Ray Wagner of the Missouri Attorney General's office and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers.

The Imperial Presidency Meets Student Debt

Supreme Court skeptical of Biden’s unilateral loan forgiveness

Supreme Court Skeptical in Affirmative Action Cases

No Civil War over oboe players, Chief Roberts reminds Harvard’s lawyer
West Virginia circut court judge Joanna Tabit

In West Virginia, Scholarship Program Faces a Legal Challenge

Defeated in legislatures, school-choice opponents look to courts
Dave and Amy Carson with their daughter at Bangor Christian Schools in Maine. The Carsons are one of three families that sued Maine over a program that bans families from an otherwise generally available student-aid program if they choose to send their children to schools that teach religion. (Photo by the Institute for Justice www.ij.org.)

In Carson v. Makin, Justices Prolong Death of Blaine Amendments, but Don’t Quite Finish the Job

Supreme Court majority rules that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from tuitioning program
Striking Minneapolis teachers rallied in March 2022 at the state capitol.

Minneapolis Tries to Protect Minority Teachers from Layoffs

New contract was worded with care, but faces legal peril as unduly race-based

Coach’s Prayer Receives Jesuitical Analysis by Supreme Court

A “center of attention” test, coercion test, and endorsement test are discussed as standards for religious speech by school employees
A man reads a copy of Maus by Art Spiegelman

Suits Challenging Book “Banning” May Be Better Politics than Law

School boards can’t suppress ideas they dislike but do have “broad discretion”

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