Governance and Leadership

A seven-member elected board governs the Denver Public Schools. Now that the pandemic’s disruption is receding, the board appears poised to renew its efforts to roll back reform.

Dismantling Denver

The city was a national model for education reform. Then union-backed candidates took over the school board.
Autumn Looijen and Siva Raj had no funding or political experience when the effort began to recall board members and reopen schools.

Behind a School Board Recall in San Francisco, a Diverse Coalition

Frustrated parents, Asian-Americans, gays, venture capitalists, even teachers aim to oust “radical” board
In this image from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, center, is taken into custody as his attorney, Eric Nelson, left, looks on, after the verdicts were read at Chauvin's trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Tarnished Shield of Qualified Immunity

Cases involving teachers, principals, and school board members have been central to the evolution of a legal doctrine that also often protects abusive police from financial liability.
A protester holds an “END QUALIFIED IMMUNITY” sign during a Black Lives Matter protest in Brooklyn, New York, on July 4, 2020.

Schooling Qualified Immunity

Should educators be shielded from civil liability for violating students’ rights?
Student holds a sign outside a news conference that reads "LAUSD: My children deserve a better education WE WANT EQUALITY"

As Unions and Public Officials Push to Keep Schools Closed, Parents Fight Back

Lawsuits on behalf of special needs students, private school parents have greatest chance of success
President Donald Trump watches as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administers the Constitutional Oath to Amy Coney Barrett on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, after Barrett was confirmed by the Senate earlier in the evening.

A Fertile Period for Education Reform?

The unexpected effects of politics, the pandemic, and racial awakening
Lamar Alexander walks to the Senate floor on January 21, 2020.

Leadership Makes a Difference: Lamar Alexander and K–12 Education

As governor, secretary of education, and senator, Alexander had vast influence.
The U.S. Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Title IX Spotlight Shifts from the Campus to the Schoolhouse

New federal rules aim at preventing sexual harassment and assault in elementary and secondary education

A Short-Lived Constitutional Right to Education

Full Sixth Circuit will rehear case of Gary B v. Whitmer

Disrupted

Public-education reform in the nation's capital

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