Curriculum

Source: EdTrust

Date: 12/13/2023

Increasing Access to Advanced Coursework in Kentucky

This brief provides data analyses and a scan of policies and practices in Kentucky for advocates, educators, and policymakers who are leading the work at the state level to increase access to advanced coursework for Black and Latino students.

Legal Issues

Source: Manhattan Institute

Date: 12/14/2023

Unconstitutional Religious Discrimination Runs Rampant in State Programs

"In three recent decisions, the Supreme Court of the United States clarified that the First Amendment's prohibition on religious discrimination extends to public benefit programs that enlist private organizations to advance public goals. In Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (2017), the Court held that Missouri violated the Free Exercise Clause by excluding a faith-based preschool from a state program that provided recycled tires for playground resurfacing. In Espinoza v. Montana Departmentc of Revenue (2020), the Court held that the Montana Supreme Court violated the Free Exercise Clause when it invalidated, on state constitutional grounds, a private-school-choice program because it included faith-based schools. And in Carson v. Makin (2022), the Court held that Maine unconstitutionally excluded religious schools from a scholarship program for students in rural school districts.

 

Read together, these cases make clear that when the government adopts a program that extends public benefits to private organizations, the Free Exercise Clause prohibits it from excluding religious organizations from participating and from requiring them to secularize to participate. Unfortunately, the import of these decisions is not yet universally reflected in government policies on the ground. Although the Court has made clear that the government cannot refuse to extend otherwise available public benefits to organizations because they are religious-or because they do religious things-many dozens, likely even hundreds, of public programs at all levels of government continue to do exactly that.

 

This report collects and examines state-level programs that run afoul of the First Amendment's nondiscrimination mandate. These programs enlist private organizations to advance a range of goals-education, job training, poverty alleviation, housing, health care-but exclude some organizations from participating because they are religious or limit their participation to "secular" or "nonsectarian" activities. Our report is not comprehensive. Rather, the examples highlighted here are part of a much wider problem that pervades local, state, and federal programs. We hope that this report will provoke a discussion about reforming public programs to comply with the Free Exercise Clause's nondiscrimination principle and provide a road map for lawmakers and advocates concerned about the persistence of religious discrimination in public programs."

Review of The Cost-Effectiveness of Wisconsin's Private School Choice Programs

Source: School Choice Wisconsin

Reviewed by: Stephen Kotok, St. John's University

A recent report from School Choice Wisconsin claims that Wisconsin's voucher programs are highly "productive," achieving better academic outcomes at lower costs than public schools. A closer examination, however, calls into question the validity of these assertions.

Stephen Kotok of St. John's University reviewed The Cost-Effectiveness of Wisconsin's Private School Choice Programs, and identified substantial methodological shortcomings that undermine its conclusions, including reliance on biased comparisons and limited financial accounting.

WHAT IS THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE, AND HOW DO WE DISRUPT IT?

By: Learning For Justice

Learning for Justice offers a new resource page that highlights LFJ articles and content to open dialogue, shift practices and foster change to benefit all young people. Educators, parents and caregivers can help to change this harmful system by advocating for and implementing practices that prioritize mental health and well-being.

GreatLakesCenter.org