Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and Equal Educational Opportunities

In May 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ushered in an era that would end the rights of states to mandate the separation of the races in public education.

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Dual and Unitary Systems

Based on precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, dual systems of public education were those that operated separate and distinct schools for students who were White and children who were African American or other minorities such as Mexican American.

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English as a Second Language

Over the past four decades, numerous federal policy initiatives and judicial decisions have emerged to address the education of students with limited English language skills.

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Equal Protection Analysis

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that no state may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

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Free Speech and Expression Rights of Students

There has always been a fundamental tension between public school students and educational authorities in determining the parameters of acceptable student behavior.

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Hostile Work Environment

Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as it applies to employees, and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, as it applies to students.

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League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Responding to a long history in which their people have been at best ignored and at worst suffered discrimination, Mexican American citizens have formed numerous civil rights organizations, typically in cities, to work to improve the conditions facing them.

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Limited English Proficiency

All demographers have noted that the United States is clearly experiencing a high growth in students who are English language learners (ELLs).

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