Author name: hlsmultitest

Amicus, Education & Youth

In Their Own Words – Equal Access to “Highly Qualified” Teachers

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Educational inequity is a civil rights issue. Just choose your statistic – numerous studies show how educational achievement maps onto race and socioeconomic status (such as the finding that “by the end of high school, black and Hispanic students’ reading and mathematics skills are roughly the same as those of white students in the eighth grade.”) This inequity undercuts the provision in every state constitution that grants every child a right to education.

Amicus, Freedom of Expression, Voting and Elections Rights

In Their Own Words – Campaign Finance and Corruption

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According to the Roberts Court, the only form of “corruption” that the Government has a legitimate interest in seeking to prevent through campaign finance regulation is quid pro quo corruption, i.e. the trading of cash for votes. By limiting the “corruption” interest in this way, the Roberts Court has thus been able to argue that any threat of undue influence can be satisfactorily addressed through caps on individual donations to candidates. As a result, the “corruption” interest appeared to have lost most, if not all, of its critical force after Citizens United.

Amicus, Education & Youth

In Their Own Words – Identifying and Training Great Teachers

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The past two decades have seen the filing of dozens of cases of so-called “educational adequacy” litigation, state court cases in which plaintiffs have charged that the state has a responsibility to offer all of its children an adequate education. State Supreme Courts throughout the country have held, in clear and forceful terms, that students have a right to an education that will allow them to make effective life decisions, play a meaningful role in the political process, and compete favorably in the job market.

Amicus, Poverty and Economic Justice

In Their Own Words – Fl. Governor Rick Scott & Economic Profiling

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Last month, Governor Rick Scott of Florida signed a bill requiring Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients to undergo drug testing. If a recipient tests positive for drugs, she or he becomes ineligible for benefits. Critics’ Fourth Amendment arguments against the legislation may ultimately lead to its invalidation – however from a civil rights perspective, the discriminatory nature of the legislation is even more important.

Amicus, Uncategorized

In Their Own Words – The Victimhood Narrative

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While there has always been a resistance to affirmative action policies, the present debate has added a new dimension. There has been a rise in rhetoric concerning the notion of white victimhood, and policies like affirmative action are cited as justification for these theories. This victimhood narrative is important because of the way it portrays affirmative action policies as oppressive and discriminatory.

Amicus, Education & Youth, Freedom of Expression

Kids, Sex, and Free Speech

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Kids will be kids, but ‘sexting’ may lead to federal child pornography charges and sex offender registration for the nation’s youth. ‘Sexting’ is a growing phenomenon among adolescents: equipped with cell phones and teenage dreams, adolescents ‘sext’ when they take nude or semi-nude photographs and text or email them to friends or significant others.

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