Suchergebnisse

Secrecy has unintended consequences. The release on 9 December 2014 of the US Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the torture of terrorism detainees focused public attention on the secret activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Regrettably, lost amidst debate over justifying or condemning state-sponsored torture is a more basic concern, the issue of state secrecy, which underlies the discussion of how governments promote national ends. Only two days after the issuance of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report, the US House of Representatives adjourned without taking action on the Freedom of Information Act reform bill – despite receiving unanimous approval in both houses. This bill would not have required complete openness, but it would have eliminated many of the arbitrary mechanisms that enable the CIA and other governmental agencies to suppress requests for information. Although the House Republican leadership failed to put the act on the legislative calendar, the Obama administration's Department of Justice also deserves opprobrium for surreptitiously opposing the act behind the scenes. The US government's disregard for establishing reasonable rules of transparency virtually guarantees that the CIA will continue to suppress its records, and thus public scrutiny of its unchecked activities, for a very long time to come.

Recent efforts to change the teaching profession and teacher preparation include a number of innovations to use portfolio assessment, value added measures (VAM), accountability metrics and other corporate education reform ideas. These approaches may provoke considerable potential legal consequences. Traditional constitutional and civil rights issues will continue to be important considerations. In addition, because education is increasingly seen as a consumer product, new types of legal issues are arising from the way evidence about performance is gathered and used and about the privacy of data. Legal claims more familiar to a business context are being asserted and can be expected to increase. Whistle-blower claims concerning fraud in government-funded programs have been filed, as well as claims of breach of contract and defective products. Finally, criminal prosecutions are being utilized to address systemic cheating in evaluation systems. ; Los recientes esfuerzos para cambiar la profesión docente y formación del profesorado incluyen una serie de innovaciones como la utilización de evaluación de portafolios docentes, medidas de valor agregado (VAM), métricas de rendición de cuentas y otras ideas de reforma de la educación corporativas. Estos enfoques pueden provocar potenciales consecuencias legales de gran consideración. Además, dados que la educación es vista cada vez más como un producto de consumo, nuevos tipos de problemas legales surgen de la forma en la evidencia sobre rendimiento es recogida y usada y cuestiones sobre la privacidad de los datos. Las demandas legales más familiares en un contexto de negocios se están afirmando y se puede esperar que aumenten. Reclamos relativos a fraudes en programas financiados por el gobierno se han presentado, así como las reclamos de incumplimiento de contrato y productos defectuosos. Por último, se están utilizando los procesos penales para hacer frente a las trampas sistémicas en los sistemas de evaluación. ; Os recentes esforços para mudar a profissão docente e a formação de professores incluem uma série de inovações, tais como a utilização de carteiras de avaliação de professores, as medidas de valor agregado (MVA), métricas de prestação de contas e outras ideias para reformar a educação corporativa . Estas abordagens podem causar potenciais consequências jurídicas de uma abrangência séria. Além disso, dado que a educação é cada vez mais vista como um produto de consumo, novos tipos de problemas jurídicos surgem da forma como evidências sobre o desempenho é recolhida e usada e sobre a privacidade dos dados. As demandas judiciais mais familiares a um contexto de negócios estão sendo afirmadas e pode ser esperado um aumento. Créditos sobre a fraude em programas financiados pelo governo foram apresentados, bem como as reivindicações de violação de contrato e produtos com defeito. Finalmente, demandas judiciais estão sendo usadas para resolver fraudes sistêmicas dos sistemas de avaliação.

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 and the decisions of the State's highest court interpreting the state constitution's education clause are benchmarks in efforts at law-based education reform. This article discusses the implications of legislative and judicial mandates concerning the provision of education and the extent to which these mandates fail to ensure a fair and meaningful opportunity to learn for all students. It contrasts the legal mandates with evidence from social science literature concerning the conditions that must exist in order to create appropriate learning opportunities, particularly for the most at-risk student populations. It concludes that law can play a role in creating the conditions in local schools for implementing meaningful education reform, but that the present statutory requirements are insufficient and judicial deference to the legislative branch may result in ongoing achievement deficits for the State's most vulnerable students.