Understanding Legal Challenges to Tracking for District Leadership

• In Event: Tracking and Detracking Roundtable

Abstract

This legal analysis attempts to understand legal challenges to tracking in the United States. It is critical at this juncture to analyze legal challenges because there has been an increase in tracking over the last 20 years (Loveless, 2013) which some argue is due to principals attempting to close the achievement gap. Unfortunately, due to this resurgence more students are in tracked settings which can negatively impact their success in college (Klugman, 2012) and has multiple negative impacts on students in the lowest tracks. An understanding of the existing legal precedents can help leaders to better understand the legal landscape and serve their students in an equitable manner.

Authors

• Margaret Thornton, Princeton University

• Shannon Holder, Central Connecticut State University

• Nathan Bart Reeder, Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.