Education: Policy, Law, and the Fourth Estate (C. Edl*y)

For nearly two centuries, America’s leaders have viewed public education as a cornerstone of democracy. Over the past two decades, however, debate has intensified over whether and how the nation’s schools can more successfully fulfill their modern mission. Despite years of education reforms, all schools are still not created equally. In an ironic twist on Brown v. Board of Education (1954), America’s public schools are becoming resegregated. In California, a sweeping series of 2007 research reports indicated that the state needs a complete overhaul of public education and financing. These studies are playing out against the backdrop of reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in Congress. This national debate is driven by journalists reporting on research, ideological battles, litigation, and lobbying by advocates.

This course will examine the historical, political and social forces that shape education policy and law, with a particular look at how media coverage influences the debates and decisions. The goal is to build a bridge connecting the world of researchers, lawyers and policy experts to the world of parents, teachers, lawmakers, and the public on the other side. Specifically, all students will contribute to a significant multimedia research and reporting project.