School finance litigation: a neverending play

I was going to post a reply to Greta’s post, but then realized I’ll just write another post elaborating a little more on the important issue of school finance litigation. Greta is correct in pointing out the three waves of finance litigation. The literature is unanimous on the development of these cases and on the [...]

Suing the state for inadequate schools: a drama in 3 acts

My co-blogger Adam will surely disagree with me, but I was intrigued and excited by last week’s decision by the Colorado Supreme Court in Lobato vs. Colorado. The decision held that the lawsuit, which challenges the adequacy of funding for the public schools in the state, could go forward.  The full opinion of the court is here. [...]

Is higher education a luxury good?

My post about merit scholarships and how they reflect on our notion of higher education got me thinking: do we in fact treat higher education like a luxury?  In economics, a “luxury” good is defined as a good for which demand rises disproportionately when income rises, and decreases disproportionately as income decreases.  In economic lingo, a [...]

Duly noted: Oct 19 – 25, 2009

Public colleges tuition rose 6.5% last year, and private college tuition rose 4.4%, although consumer price index had a negative growth.  Private student loans declined by 52% in 2008 to 2009 as lenders, hard-hit by the recession, tightened credit standards. The most expensive college in the US is Sarah Lawrence College, at $54,410 for room/board [...]

What merit scholarships say about us

The College Board released data on Tuesday that shows substantial increases in tuition at public colleges in the country last year.  Prices increased by an average of 6.5% last year, despite low inflation rates and a negative consumer price index.  The tuition hike is yet another symptom of the state budgetary crisis, which have resulted [...]

Politics, political science, and the production of knowledge

My last post discussed the costs associated with judicial supervision of the academic system, where I argued that such intervention undermines the purpose of a university. Today, however, I learned of a different kind of intervention. In a recent proposal, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), suggested that the National Science Foundation, the federal agency in charge [...]

Duly noted: Oct 12-18, 2009

Greta’s note: Duly noted will be a regular feature of the Law and Education Blog.  It will be a compilation of notable news, opinion articles, and essays about law and education during the past week that we want to share with our readers.  It will appear on Sunday evenings. Math scores in the U.S. plateaued.  [...]

Too focused on the racial achievement gap?

Given so many other achievement gaps that the NAEP revealed in our education system, why are we so fixated on racial achievement gaps?

Is nothing sacred?

Reading Stanley Fish’s essay, one gets the sense that the answer is no. Judicial intervention in academic proceedings is on the rise, and it poses a threat to academic freedom. More importantly, it calls into question the longstanding and venerable traditions of academic practices. In her post, Greta critiques Fish’s concerns and, with some reservations [...]

The costs of academic freedom

Say what you want about Stanley Fish, the professor knows how to write a provocative essay.  In “The Rise and Fall of Academic Abstention“, published in the New York Times today, Fish laments what he believes to be an erosion of academic freedom by the meddling courts.  He argues that, although courts have traditionally practiced [...]