The assignment rests on the premise that laws, court cases, and philanthropic programs in the arena of education frequently, if not always, are built upon an underlying assumption about the role of public schools in a democracy. In such instances when public schools are not fulfilling this role, lawsuits are initiated or laws are passed to change the ways schools function, or philanthropic programs are started to ameliorate this failing.

You will review a public educational law or court decision that attempts (attempted) to redress—either explicitly, or in your opinion— a failure of public education to fulfill its role. Of course, this means you must first identify the role of public education in the minds of the individual or group involved in your chosen area of focus. Once done, you will analyze the view and evaluate the law/case.

Here are the logical steps of this assignment:

Review laws and court cases of interest until you find one that, in your opinion, presents a clear view of the role of public schools as well as a clear view of public schools to fulfill that role. (You cannot choose Brown v. Board OR San Antonio Independent Schools v. Rodriguez)
Research your chosen law/case.
Analyze the view of the role of public schools that is represented
Evaluate the case/law against your own views of the role of public schools.
A few caveats:

For federal laws, such as Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), you must choose a section, state, and a date – e.g., Washington’s implementation of part C of the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA.
For cases, you will need to review the argument made by the plaintiff as well as the decision (called “opinion” made by the highest court that heard the case (e.g., state Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court, a local Superior Court, or a court of appeals), unless you have a specific reason for reviewing a lower court’s ruling.

What is needed for the paper

Introduction
Here you will give a brief summary (2-3 sentences) of the case/law, as well as a summary of your evaluation. Speak in broad terms; leave the data for the body paragraphs.
Description of the law/case (½ page)
Note and adhere strictly to the page limit for this section. In order to comprehensively analyze and evaluate the program, you will need to have a good deal more information about the program than you share with me. What you share with me should:
For laws: give me a good summary of the law itself
For cases: give me a good summary of the plaintiffs original complaint
Description of the problem the law/case attempts to address (1 ½ -2 pages)
You will describe the law/case as well as problem the law/case attempts to address. I will be looking for quantitative as well as qualitative data to support the assertion of a problem. Most of this information should be found within the law/case information, but you may have to dig. Do not accept and repeat the assertions made at face value—find the data they are using to support the assertions. Here are examples of what I mean.
No: Teacher quality is low.
Yes: Teacher quality in high minority schools is lower than their low-minority counterparts. Students in high minority schools report more drilling and repetition while students in high-minority schools report more critical thinking and analysis. (Qualitative)
No: Schools are failing children.
Yes: Schools are failing to prepare American children to be globally competitive. On the last TIMMS assessment American fourth-graders ranked 10th, and American fourth-graders in Mississippi and Washington, D.C. scored lower than students in war-torn countries. (Quantitative)
For laws, give me the qualitative and, if available, quantitative data the plaintiff used to support their case. If you are unable to find quantitative data, please contact me so I can verify this and give you a different area of focus for this area in the rubric.
Analysis and Evaluation Law/Case (1 ½ to 2 pages)
Analyze: you will use readings, texts, and information from at-home and in-class assignments as well as outside research to categorize the view(s) of the role(s) of public schools in a democracy that are espoused and expressed. You will use specific evidence from the information presented and specific ideas and quotes from class readings and assignments to support your analysis.
Evaluate: you will evaluate either or both of the following: the view of the role of public schools or the attempt to ameliorate the perceived failure of public schools to fulfill it’s perceived role. In other words, you might agree with the view, but not the program, disagree with the view and the program, or agree with both. You must use readings and assignments from in-class and at-home, as well as other outside research, to support your evaluation.
Conclusion (½ page)
Sum it all up

Sources

Use the citation convention of your chosen major/program. APA will be what most of you use. Those of you in STEM/STEAM fields will most likely use MLA. Practice is practice. Since you will need to keep using this system you might as well keep on using it.

In addition to the law/case/program itself, you must use at least 5 sources total including:

3 readings from class. These can be any of the readings that you find connect to and support your analysis and evaluation of the law/case.
At least two out-of-class readings
one reputable outside source (not a class reading) that is critical of the law/case
one reputable outside source (not a class reading) that is supportive of the law/case.
YOU MUST CITE. There are links to citation guides and writing support on the syllabus.
YOU CAN USE MORE SOURCES IF YOU LIKE!