Law & Courts

Education news, analysis, and opinion about court cases, lawsuits, and regulations affecting schools.
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    Law & Courts Court Revives Asian-American Groups' Challenge to New York City Selective Admissions
    New York's program has sought to increase representation of Black and Latino students in its selective high schools.
    Mark Walsh, September 24, 2024
    5 min read
    Claudia Carranza, of Harlingen, hugs her son, Laur Kaufman, 13, at a rally against House Bill 25, a bill that would ban transgender girls from participating in girls school sports, outside the Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.
    Claudia Carranza, of Harlingen, Texas, hugs her son, Laur Kaufman, 13, at a rally for transgender rights in Austin on Oct. 6, 2021. The U.S. Department of Education's new Title IX regulation, which adds gender identity and sexual orientation to the definition of sex discrimination, has been challenged in multiple lawsuits and blocked in 26 states and at individual schools in other states.
    Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP
    Law & Courts The New Title IX Regulation and Legal Battles Over It, Explained
    The Biden administration's regulation that interprets Title IX to protect LGBTQ+ students faces multiple legal challenges.
    Mark Walsh, September 12, 2024
    5 min read
    Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, left, a Republican, takes the ceremonial oath of office from Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, right, as wife Carmen Horne, middle, holds the bible in the public inauguration ceremony at the state Capitol in Phoenix, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023.
    Arizona schools chief Tom Horne, left, takes the ceremonial oath of office at the state Capitol in Phoenix in January 2023. The Republican is the lead defendant in a lawsuit filed by two transgender girls challenging the Save Women's Sports Act, which bars transgender women and girls from female sports.
    Ross D. Franklin/AP
    Law & Courts Court Upholds Injunction on Arizona Transgender Sports Ban for Young Athletes
    A federal appeals court upholds an injunction against an Arizona law, allowing two transgender girls to compete on female teams.
    Mark Walsh, September 9, 2024
    3 min read
    Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Moms for Liberty annual convention in Washington, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024.
    Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump addressed the group's annual convention in Washington on Aug. 30. One popular session was about Moms for Liberty's lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's Title IX regulation.
    Mark Schiefelbein/AP
    Law & Courts How Moms for Liberty's Legal Strategy Has Upended Title IX Rules for Schools
    The grassroots group's tactic is confounding schools across the country trying to keep up with which Title IX rules apply to them.
    Mark Walsh, September 5, 2024
    7 min read
    The Supreme Court building is seen on Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Washington.
    The Supreme Court building is seen on Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Washington.
    Mark Schiefelbein/AP
    Law & Courts Supreme Court Leaves Biden's Title IX Rule Fully Blocked in 26 States
    The court's action effectively leaves in place broad injunctions blocking the entire regulation in 26 states and at schools in other states.
    Mark Walsh, August 16, 2024
    5 min read
    An LGBTQ+ related book is seen on shelf at Fabulosa Books a store in the Castro District of San Francisco on Thursday, June 27, 2024. "Books Not Bans" is a program initiated and sponsored by the store that sends boxes of LGBTQ+ books to LGBTQ+ organizations in conservative parts of America, places where politicians are demonizing and banning books with LGBTQ+ affirming content.
    An LGBTQ+ book section is seen at Fabulosa Books, a store in San Francisco, on June 27, 2024. A federal appeals court has reinstated an Iowa law that prohibits books depicting sex from public school libraries. Challengers claim the law has led school districts to remove scores of books out of fear of violating the law.
    Haven Daley/AP
    Law & Courts Iowa's Book Ban Is Reinstated by Appeals Court But Case Against It Will Continue
    The Iowa law bars books depicting sex in school libraries and discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in preK-6.
    Mark Walsh, August 9, 2024
    4 min read
    Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, right, speaks alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry during a press conference regarding the Ten Commandments in schools Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. Murrill announced on Monday that she is filing a brief in federal court asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s new law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.
    Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, right, speaks alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry during an Aug. 5, 2024, press conference in Baton Rouge, La., on the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Murrill is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit aiming to overturn the state’s law requiring that they be posted in every classroom.
    Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP
    Law & Courts Louisiana Uses History, Pop Culture to Defend School Ten Commandments Mandate
    Suggested options pair the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, Martin Luther King Jr., and Regina George of "Mean Girls."
    Evie Blad, August 7, 2024
    6 min read
    The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Washington.
    The Biden administration's new Title IX regulation was set to take effect Aug. 1, but only in parts of the country as court injunctions block it in 26 states and the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a request to step into the debate.
    AP
    Law & Courts Biden's Title IX Rule Takes Effect Amid a Confusing Legal Landscape
    The rule that expands protections for LGBTQ+ students is effective Aug. 1, but injunctions currently block it in 26 states.
    Mark Walsh, July 31, 2024
    7 min read
    Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse, Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, July 17, refused to lift a judge's order temporarily blocking the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule meant to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students
    Supporters of transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court has refused to block an Ohio school district's policy that bars students from intentionally misgendering classmates by using pronouns that don't align with students' gender identity.
    Patrick Orsagos/AP
    Law & Courts A District's Rule Against Misgendering Students Is Likely Constitutional
    A federal appeals court did not block a policy barring students from using pronouns that don't align with a classmate's gender identity.
    Mark Walsh, July 30, 2024
    4 min read
    The Supreme Court is seen, April 21, 2023, in Washington.
    The Supreme Court is seen, April 21, 2023, in Washington. A recent decision from the high court overruled a longtime precedent that called on courts to defer to federal agencies' reasonable interpretations of federal laws. The decision could lead to more challenges to U.S. Department of Education regulations, legal experts say.
    Alex Brandon/AP
    Law & Courts Not Just Title IX: How the Chevron Decision Could Affect Education Regulations
    The Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision could have an impact on Education Department rules interpreting multiple federal laws.
    Mark Walsh, July 25, 2024
    7 min read
    The Supreme Court building is seen on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Washington.
    The Supreme Court building is seen on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Washington. The Biden administration on July 22 asked the justices to allow parts of the new Title IX regulation to go into effect even as provisions on gender identity remain blocked.
    Mark Schiefelbein/AP
    Law & Courts Biden Admin. Asks Supreme Court to Allow Part of Title IX Rule to Take Effect
    The solicitor general asks that most of new Title IX rule be allowed to go into effect, even as gender-identity provisions remain blocked
    Mark Walsh, July 22, 2024
    3 min read
    Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan.
    Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Two federal appeals courts have denied requests by the Biden administration to put aside injunctions blocking a new Title IX regulation that includes protections for transgender students.
    John Hanna/AP
    Law & Courts Two Appeals Courts Won’t Block Injunctions Against Biden's Title IX Rule
    As the Aug. 1 date approaches for the broad new regulation to take effect, courts have blocked it in much of the country.
    Mark Walsh, July 19, 2024
    4 min read
    Education Week opinion letters submissions
    Gwen Keraval for Education Week
    Law & Courts Letter to the Editor Religion in the Classroom May Be Legal, But Is It Just?
    A teacher responds to Louisiana's Ten Commandments law.
    July 16, 2024
    1 min read
    Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signs bills related to his education plan on June 19, 2024, at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, La. Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, the latest move from a GOP-dominated Legislature pushing a conservative agenda under a new governor.
    Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, signs bills related to his education plan on June 19, 2024, at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, La. One of those new laws requires that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, but the law is similar to one from Kentucky that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 1980.
    Brad Bowie/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP
    Law & Courts Posting Ten Commandments in Schools Was Struck Down in 1980. Could That Change?
    In 1980, the justices invalidated a Kentucky law, similar to the new Louisiana measure, requiring classroom displays of the Decalogue.
    Mark Walsh, July 11, 2024
    13 min read
    Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. On Tuesday, July 2, a federal judge in Kansas blocked a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students from being enforced in four states, including Kansas and a patchwork of places elsewhere across the nation.
    Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. On Tuesday, July 2, a federal judge in Kansas blocked a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students from being enforced in four states, including Kansas, and a patchwork of places elsewhere across the nation.
    John Hanna/AP
    Law & Courts Biden's Title IX Rule Is Now Blocked in 14 States
    A judge in Kansas issued the third injunction against the Biden administration's rule granting protections to LGBTQ+ students.
    Libby Stanford, July 3, 2024
    4 min read