Education as a Civil Right
February 2,
2008
2005
Symposium
2007 Symposium
Keynote Speaker
Christopher Edley, Jr.
Dean and Professor, UC Berkeley School of Law
Panel Discussions
Defining a Right to Education
Moderator: Jamienne S. Studley, Public Advocates, Inc.
Providing an adequate education is a goal of educational reform, but defining adequacy is a difficult goal in itself. This panel will address recent court cases, reform efforts, and the distinction between adequacy and equality. Is adequacy really enough, or should we be striving for something more?
Panelists
Wendy Puriefoy, Public Education Network
Paul Trachtenberg, Rutgers School of Law
Elise Boddie, Fordham Law School
High-Stakes Testing
Moderator: Jesse Hahnel, J.D. candidate, Stanford Law School
Passage of a high school exit exam will soon be required for graduation in more than half of the states, and schools are increasingly using tests as a basis for determining grade promotion. This panel will address how the growing popularity of high-stakes testing affects the educational mission of schools, with a particular emphasis on the effects on low-income, minority, and English language learner students. It will also highlight the possible implications of high-stakes testing on school-funding reform.
Panelists
Monty Neill, National Center for Fair & Open Testing
Amanda Broun, Public Education Network
Educational Rights for Linguistic Minorities
Perhaps no other area of education reform has faced more controversy than bilingual education efforts. With English learners comprising roughly 25 percent of California's school enrollment, educators, policymakers, and legal advocates turn increasing amounts of attention to the unique issues and demands of these students. This Panel will assess the current state of education for linguistic minorities in California and consider policy-based and legal approaches to remedies. It will also address the relationship between the hostility these students face and both their race and legal status.
John Trasvina, MALDEF
Kenji Hakuta, Stanford University
Maria Blanco, Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity, UC Berkeley School of Law
Special Education and Disability Discrimination
Moderator: Stephen Rosenbaum, UC Berkeley School of Law
Schools across the country must abide by a variety of federal anti-discrimination laws. Unique to the educational context is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates that schools provide a "free and appropriate public education" in the "least restrictive environment." Speakers on this panel will address how the civil rights of disabled students are met, as well as major challenges that remain for these most vulnerable of children.
Panelists
Bill Koski, Stanford Law School
Shawn Morehead, Advocates for Children of New York
Bill Abrams, Stanford University
School Desegregation and Issues of Racial Justice in Public Schools
Fifty years after Brown, schools are consistently growing more segregated as a result of increasing stratification of cities along racial lines. Supreme Court cases in the past several decades have made integration efforts more challenging, and with the recent decision in Seattle School District, No. 1, proactive efforts at voluntary integration seem all but impossible. These speakers will address what, if anything, remains of desegregation efforts.
Panelists
Catherine Lhamon, ACLU of Southern California
Joseph O. Oluwole, Montclair State University
Stuart Biegel, University of California, Los Angeles
School Choice and Charter Schools
Moderator: Bruce Fuller, Berkeley Graduate School of Education
Traditionally associated with conservative reform efforts, school choice has become a cause celebre among progressive reformers for inner city schools. As the charter school movement expands and matures, questions of relative academic performance and unequal access have come into sharp focus. Panelists representing all sides of this issue will discuss the various practical, moral, and constitutional concerns behind school choice and charter school efforts.
Panelists
James Ryan, University of Virginia School of Law
John Coons, UC Berkeley School of Law
Damon Hewitt, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, New Orleans
Closing the Achievement Gap
Moderator: Michael Wald, Stanford Law School
This panel will address the economic and social consequences of failing to close the persistent racial and socio-economic gap in education opportunities. The panel will also explore strategies for reducing this gap.
Panelists
Hank Levin, Columbia University
Ron Ferguson, Kennedy School of Government
