In recent years, higher education administrators and professors have come under intense pressure to ban certain disfavored initiatives on their campuses (e.g., DEI) and censor their speech inside and outside of the classroom to avoid certain subjects related to race, gender, anti-LGBTQ+, and other controversial subjects. The enactment of laws and other measures in more 30 states seeks to reduce alleged liberal bias on college and university campuses and promote more "alternative" viewpoints by contracting free speech rather than expanding it. These efforts to censor and punish those in the academy for their teaching, scholarship or speech on so-called "divisive issues" have caused many administrators and professors to resign or retreat into silence. Moreover, the movement has triggered a wave of investigations and lawsuits over free speech on a scale unparalleled since the era of McCarthyism during the 1950s. This article explores the legal implications of the recent political crackdown in higher education and its meaning for academic freedom under the law. By tracing the legal history of how U.S. courts have treated the concept of academic freedom from the McCarthy era to the present, this article seeks to shed light on the current state of the law, the ambiguities created by a split in federal circuits overtime, and how the courts are treating this new wave of discriminatory, censorship restrictions thus far. For example, an important federal appellate court case, Pernell v. Lamb, examining the constitutionality of Florida's law banning "divisive concepts" in the classroom, is expected to impact the political and legal landscape of similar laws nationwide. This article delves into this case and others to provide a glimpse of where the courts may be headed concerning the limits of government intrusion in higher education.
Most of public school operational budgets are dedicated to compensating staff, and school staff are important for schools and students. Yet discussions about teacher shortages and teacher quality have tended to ignore many important aspects of school staff compensation beyond broad generalizations about average teacher salary levels. Consequently, these discussions are often muddled. In this essay, I highlight five important choices about school staff compensation faced by school district boards and other policymakers that are commonly neglected: (1) to hire more staff rather than to pay staff more (2) to replace salary with benefits (3) to backload rather than frontload compensation (4) to make compensation contingent on education (5) to compensate staff uniformly rather than to strategically differentiate compensation How school systems navigate these choices, and their trade-offs, has implications for their ability to recruit and retain high quality staff. Rather than taking for granted the decisions of stakeholders in the past-which has tended to obscure potential solutions to staff recruitment and retention problems-school leaders and policymakers should make these choices actively and explicitly on an ongoing basis. Additionally, researchers should do more to inform their decisions.
This reflective essay recounts a period of time when school finance and law research emphasized the central core of statewide funding for common schools. Abrief survey of articles appearing in the flagship Journal of Education Finance demonstrates that less than seven percent of research capacitybrings to light the status and need for centralized government common school funding. This observation is a source of concern for the sustainability of common schools for the common good. For if there is no scholarly press for statewide school funding, what will fuel economic, political, and legal thrusts to fund common schools? The observation and question are particularly important in this era of defunding traditional public school systems. Collateral damage caused by school choice options is noted as well as the extension of micro market theory to local schooling communities. A conceptualization of the commodification of residential real estate is also introduced. Understanding micro markets and the commodification of residential real estate are important because when pullbacks in central government funding occur, financial burdens increase locally where residential property valuation and ownership are proxies for common school economic and political support.
The landscape of college athletics is undergoing significant transformation due to ongoing antitrust challenges and the professionalization of the NCAA's traditional amateurism model. This paper provides a historical analysis of past and ongoing legal battles that have reshaped college sports, focusing on key cases that culminated in the $2.776 billion settlement agreement of House v. NCAA (2020). The settlement addresses damages for NIL broadcast media rights, video game NIL, lost NIL opportunities, additional compensation for student-athlete's athletic services, and missed Alston Awards for academic achievement. The analysis highlights the implications of these antitrust challenges on student-athletes and athletic departments. The paper explores the evolution of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights, revenue sharing, and the dismantling of eligibility rules that have historically been a major component of the NCAA's amateurism model. It also examines the financial challenges athletic departments face, including the need for new revenue generation and cost containment strategies. Looking ahead, there is a growing belief that collective bargaining with student-athletes is essential to address the flood of antitrust lawsuits facing the NCAA. The future of college sports will be shaped by ongoing legal challenges, potential legislative changes, and the ability of athletic departments to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
This research study focuses on the impact of state budget appropriations on the public 4-year higher education institutions in the USA, using full-time equivalent (FTE) as the metric. This is important particularly amid broader economic shifts such as the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify the research gap and to select variables for investigation. Five independent variables were chosen to capture key student outcomes: state higher education appropriations per FTE (SHEA), average undergraduate charges per FTE (AUGC), student tuition share as a percentage of per capita income (STSPCI), state higher education appropriations as a percentage of GDP (SHEAGDP), and state financial aid (SFA) per FTE. Dependent variables were full-time equivalent enrollment (FTEE) and graduation rate (GR) at 4-year US public higher education institutions. Historical data for 50 years (each year as one dataset, n = 50) between 1971 and 2020 were collected and analyzed. A multiple linear regression model in open-source data analytics and machine learning software was employed to test the hypotheses. For FTEE, three variables, SHEA, AUGC, and SFA, were found to be significant. For GR, two variables, SHEA and STSPCI, were significant. Accordingly, two data analytical models were developed involving these significant independent variables. Results of the first model show that if SHEA funds grow, AUGC goes down, there is more SFA and FTE enrollment increases. The results of the second model revealed that when SHEA funds grew and STSPCI went down, graduation rates rose. These findings underscore how state appropriations and tuition policies shape student outcomes, this is especially relevant in times of economic uncertainty. Policymakers and university administrators can use the results to make informed decisions about budget spending, tuition fees, and financial aid strategies, thereby promoting institutional resilience and student success.
The expansion of the university footprint into the residential neighborhoods has been transforming the fabric of the adjoining communities into a more student-centric one. This paper provides an overview of the legal framework for land development that defines the parameters of campus expansion in the United States and the closely associated housing factors that restructure the surrounding communities. Lessons are drawn from considering recent law cases on matters relevant to the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause, eminent domain, and the enforcement of zoning regulations.
With race-based admissions in higher education eliminated by recent SCOTUS rulings, we argue for a judicial remedy that focuses on equity of educational opportunity by overhauling the K-12 education system. We analyze case law, along with statistical evidence of continued de facto segregation in the United States public school system, and offer policy recommendations for how the U.S. Congress can mandate states to fund public school districts equitably.
Purpose: Given ongoing discussions about salary disparities in various industries, this study examines compensation trends among teachers, building principals, and superintendents within the same school districts from 2000 to 2021. The following research questions guided our analysis: How has the compensation for teachers, building administrators, and superintendents changed over time relative to the rate of inflation? How have the comparative differences in compensation for teachers, building principals, and superintendents changed over time? Research Methods: Using 20 years of salary data from California, we examined changes in teacher, principal, and superintendent compensation. We applied least squares regression to assess salary trends and conducted hypothesis testing on the ratio of teacher-to-superintendent pay over time. Findings: Our analysis indicates that while superintendent salaries may reach a ceiling in relation to teacher pay, smaller school districts exhibit a salary floor effect, potentially constraining administrative salary growth. Implications: These findings suggest that increases in superintendent salaries are directly linked to teacher pay adjustments. Policymakers should consider strategies for raising teacher compensation to ensure equitable and competitive salary structures across all roles.
This article explores the potential benefits and ethical and legal challenges associated with the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in academia, particularly in higher education. The authors examine how AI functions, its various applications in academic settings such as admissions, research, and writing, and the potential biases inherent in AI systems. They also discuss the legal issues surrounding copyright and patent protection in the age of AI, particularly in light of the current debate regarding human authorship and AI-generated content. The authors ultimately argue that greater transparency, ethical training, and law and policy changes will be needed to ensure that AI is used in higher education in a way that is both beneficial and fair.
A substantial body of literature has examined factors related to levels of public funding of higher education and to changes in public funding of higher education over the last few decades. Volatility in funding for higher education has not been examined in as much detail. Given the positive externalities associated with increasing the college educated population, volatile funding for higher education has the potential to hurt long-term economic and sociocultural development. In this studywe seekto (1) propose different measures of volatility in state funding for higher education and (2) to establish which institution-and state-level factors are associated with higher levels of volatility in higher education funding. Our theoretical framework, derived from earlier work in this area, focuses on four broad areas that can drive volatility in funding: economic forces, political changes, governance arrangements, and institutional factors. In our preferred models, we find that, for unit-specific trends, two-year institutions experience substantially higher levels of volatility than four-year institutions, unemployment rates are associated with higher volatility, and higher tuition is associated with lower levels of volatility. When considering variation from the state-specific trend, governance arrangements may play some role in "buffering" institutions from volatility in spending, particularly if the governor appoints the State Higher Education Executive Officer.
This paper analyzes the effects of enrollment rates in higher education on its external social and economic benefits across countries globally since the 1960s. Global panel data regressions over time are used. The effects of enrollment rates in higher education have a multitude of benefits to society. Highly statistically significant effects are found, such as reducing poverty rates, infant mortality rates, and fertility rates. Enrollment rates in higher education augment political rights (i.e. democratization), as well as R&D expenditures. Equivalent regressions for sample splits of developed countries and less developed countries separately indicate similar results.
Creating equitable schools by removing barriers to student engagement and achievement is a central school leadership responsibility. Using equity audits to systematically examine disparities in school resources and student outcomes can help identify and remedy them. Th is article will explain how using practical significance fi cance linked with Critical Resource Th eory's methodology can advance school leaders' equity efforts ff orts - despite today's political climate.
Comparing changes to school districts' mean math achievement from 2019 to 2022 across 5,696 public school districts and 39 states provides critical information on how historic student achievement losses attributable to disruptions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic distributed. Core fi ndings emphasize that while increased student access to in-person schooling during the 2020-2021 school year systematically corresponds with smaller student math achievement losses, per pupil spending variation does not. Student achievement losses were larger in school district's with comparatively higher percentages of URM, IDEA-eligible, and low-income students, as well as in larger districts and districts that experienced enrollment turbulence. Student achievement decay's uneven distribution raises equal educational opportunity concerns that are as troubling as they are obvious.
In this analysis, I attempt to determine the costs of an adequate education for English Language Learners [ELLs] to determine how much additional spending is required for ELLs. Th is paper uses data from the School Finance Indicators Database (Baker, Di Carlo, Srikanth and Weber, 2021) and the Stanford Education Data Archive (Reardon, Ho, Shear, Fahle, Kalogrides, Jang & Chavez, 2021) to determine the costs for ELLs to meet national average scores in standardized tests of English Language Arts and math. Using a National Education Cost Model, I find that a 10% increase in ELL concentration is associated with additional required spending between approximately $1,600 to $2,000 per pupil to meet national average outcomes, depending on the indicator used. I use estimated costs to determine the level of investments required for ELLs to meet national average outcomes. Th e range of total additional spending required ranges between $8 billion and $10 billion for an increase of 10% in ELL concentration.
Th is study's primary objective is to examine how the Chilean post-secondary system has responded to the challenge of equity in access to higher education and the influence fl uence of some institutional measures on inclusion. Access to higher education institutions (HEIs) must be equitable for applicants and institutions. Th e relationship between access and equity is examined from different ff erent perspectives on the applicant's characteristics, such as family income, secondary schooling, and gender. Th e other two views are the type of institution students select and get admission to based on the institutions' ownership (public vs private). Th e study uses data from CASEN and SIES databases between 1990 and 2017. Th e data is analyzed after ft er giving a brief theoretical foundation on equity and its importance in higher education. In the last section, based on the discussion in the previous sections, the paper analyzes the equity of access to higher education in Chile.
This study explored the implications for education funding in districts when Latinx status and language learning needs (English learner status) are conflated (i.e., when all Latinx students are assumed to be English learners), or when poverty is conflated with Latinx status. Extending Alexander and Jang's (2019) synonymization threat framework, we posited and tested three claims: (1) largely Latinx districts are not largely poor districts; (2) dollars appropriated to largely poor districts are not equivalent to dollars appropriated to largely Latinx districts; and (3) dollars appropriated to largely English learner (EL) districts are not equivalent to dollars appropriated to largely Latinx districts. We adopt cross-sectional multivariate regression analysis for the 15-year period between 2000 and 2014 to substantiate these claims. Focusing on Minnesota, we found relatively weak correlations between the percentages of poor students and the percentages of Latinx students served. Our findings also revealed that the only minoritized identity that has consistently received additional funding as their proportion of the population increases is poverty status. We discussed the implications of synonymization among three groups-Latinx, ELs, and students living in poverty-in practice and policy.
abstract:We investigate how college participation may differentially influence civic behaviors among individuals who were between 18 and 20 years old in 2012. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we consider two direct measures of civic behavior, voter registration and volunteerism. We generate our estimates with propensity forests, a machine learning algorithm that can mitigate bias when using observational data and supports investigation of heterogeneous treatment effects. Overall, we find that college-goers are more likely to register to vote and volunteer, though, conditional on volunteering at all, likely to volunteer fewer hours. We find limited evidence of heterogeneous returns across various groups, suggesting that civic returns to higher education are broadly shared by those who attend.
