On November 6-9, 2024, Loyola University Chicago School of Law Students and ChildLaw Fellows Jordan Hager and Nate Weaver attended and presented at the Education Law Association’s (“ELA”) 70th Annual National Conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference brought together legal professionals, law and education professors, law and education students, and education professionals from around the country and the globe.
The 2024 Conference focused on the historic 70th Year Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In particular, the discussion of Brown focused on the continuing efforts to ensure the promise of Brown in the face of massive resistance efforts which have tried to subvert the landmark case’s mandate, including San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez (1973). Additional topics which were explored included: Student Discipline, Labor & Employment in Education, Legal Literacy for Educators, 1st Amendment Rights & Teacher and Student Expression, 4th Amendment Rights & Student Policing, Title IV protections, and much more.
Charter Management Organizations
The conference had several sessions addressing charter funding, authorization, and management. Specifically, a session hosted by directors of state charter boards, Tom Hutton, Stephanie Klupinski, & Marianne Blaire, addressed the loopholes through which some charter programs can avoid oversight in receiving their charter and the ways in which charter authorization dictates the quality of charter programming. Additionally, several sessions addressed the all-charter network of New Orleans and the challenges in navigating the landscape of an all-charter city. In particular, Senior Director of Strategy and Impact at the Center for Learner Equity, Jennifer Coco, and Professor Robert Garda from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, presented their efforts to address the challenges faced by New Orleans’ charter management organizations, including the development of an education service agency (“ESA”) designed to enhance their capacity to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The ESA would create a centralized network of services available to participant schools, creating increased economies of scale for services which may have been unattainable without this infrastructure solution.
Religion and Public Education
Several conference sessions were dedicated to the growing issue of the injection of religion and religious liberty into public education. Multiple sessions discussed the recently passed legislation in Louisiana and Oklahoma mandating Christian material and symbolism’s presence in public schools. Specifically, in the session “Significant Education Law Developments”, Mark Paige, Tom Hutton, Jon Anderson, & Lynn Rossi-Scott addressed the growth of state legislation aimed at increasing religious symbolism in schools in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and beyond. Additionally, a session hosted by Professor Spencer Weiler and undergraduate students at the University of Utah reviewed the recent legal landscape and the Supreme Court case Bremerton v. Kennedy. The session looked at how Bremerton enabled school personnel to express their personal faith in the context of their employment and how school districts have revised their board policies to address employees’ religious expression. The “U.S. Supreme Court Update” with Mark Walsh addressed the recent Oklahoma case of a religious school, St. Isadore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, applying for a public charter and the possibility of the Supreme Court granting certiorari to review the Oklahoma’s Supreme Court’s decision ordering rescission of the school’s charter.* Finally, Professor Jeffery Dodge from Penn State School of Law, examined a religious liberty challenge to a social emotional learning curriculum and how the insuring settlement has had a chilling effect on social emotional learning opportunities in schools.
Voucher Programs
At the session “Significant School Law Developments in State Legislatures,” Mark Paige, Tom Hutton, John Anderson, and Lynn Rossi-Scott explored the growth of voucher programs around the country. This session and various other discussions addressed the initiatives taken by state legislatures to provide tax breaks and financial compensation for families that choose to opt out of public schools. The recent voucher program in Texas operates through cash compensation to families, which allows parents to spend money on private and home school education without these institutions having to comply with federal and state discrimination laws.
Loyola Roundtable Presentation
We were honored to present at a roundtable discussion on the impactful work of the LUC ChildLaw Center’s Legislation and Policy Clinic regarding the practice of issuing municipal tickets to students for school-based behaviors. Between 2018 and 2021, nearly 12,000 municipal tickets were issued for school-based behaviors across 199 Illinois school districts, and the Clinic has been working with a coalition of student advocates since Spring 2023 to address the issue. Jordan and Nate provided an overview of “SB-100” (PA-099-0456), which required progressive discipline in Illinois’ schools prior to the use of exclusionary discipline, as well as the ProPublica investigative report into the practice which has a disparate impact on minority and disadvantaged communities.
Supreme Court Updates
Mark Walsh, Supreme Court reporter for SCOTUSBlog and education contributing reporter for Education Newsweek, presented his annual “U.S. Supreme Court Report Update” where he shared the relevant education related cases from the Supreme Court in the past year. Mark spoke about Lindke v. Freed which discussed whether a government employee’s use of social media constituted state action. He also addressed the implications of the Court’s decision for educational institutions. Specifically, Mark showed how the Court’s opinion now requires multiple factors be considered when determining whether an employee’s speech on personal social media site constituted speech representing their school district. Mark also addressed Muldrow v. St. Louis, a case addressing job transfers in public entities. The Court ruled that job transfers must show some harm to argue discrimination has occurred when a public employee is moved to a new position. This standard applies to transfers for educators and employees of school districts.
The 70th annual ELA conference provided an enriching learning opportunity where we were able to engage with a wide range of education law topics including Brown v. Board of Education, Charter Schools, Religion and Public Education, Voucher Programs, recent developments in Supreme Court jurisprudence and much more. We were also able to present on the work of LUC ChildLaw Center’s Legislation and Policy Clinic regarding municipal ticketing in Illinois and lead an engaging discussion regarding how to reform municipal ticketing and other forms of exclusionary discipline nationwide. Conference-goers were also able to explore Orlando’s food-scene with “Dine Arounds” each evening and a night out at Disney’s Epcot! ELA’s 2025 Conference is anticipated to be hosted in Kansas City, Missouri in Fall 2025.
Jordan Hager and Nate Weaver are law students and ChildLaw Fellows at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Prior to Law School, both Jordan and Nate were classroom teachers. Additionally, Jordan has served as an Elementary School Assistant Principal, and Nate has served as a Special Education Coordinator. Both Jordan & Nate will graduate in May 2025, and they plan to represent school districts post-graduation.
*On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, No. 24-394.
