Century Foundation
Senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a progressive think-tank, author of The Remedy: Class, Race and Affirmative Action, Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy, and All Together Now: Creating Middle-Class Schools through Public School Choice
Does Affirmative Action Have a Future? Tomorrow, the US Supreme Court will take another look at making race and ethnicity part of admissions to elite public colleges and universities. It's the second time the court will review the claim of a white woman, Abigail Fisher , who in 2008 sued the University of Texas at Austin for racial discrimination — claiming that she was rejected in favor of minority applicants less academically qualified. The justices have a history of eroding affirmative action, and supporters of partially race-based admissions are not expecting good news. Are there other ways of creating the campus diversity regarded as essential to higher education?
Do Public School Teachers Deserve Failing Grades? A judge in Los Angeles made national headlines last week when he ruled that tenure and seniority rules protect bad teachers and make them almost impossible to fire. He found that ineffective teachers end up in troubled neighborhoods, where they deprive poor and minority children of their constitutional right to an equal education. He said, “the evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience.” Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and other “reformers” are celebrating a victory for the “rights of students.” Teachers’ unions insist they're not the real villains, calling it “another attempt by… special interests to privatize public education.”
Affirmative Action in College Admissions and the US Supreme Court In the Grutter case almost 10 years ago, a divided US Supreme Court rejected racial quotas in college admissions. But it said race could be one factor in the effort to diversify student bodies and make up for the history of racial discrimination. It was a divided decision, and the court said it would take up the issue again. Today, in the case of Abigail Fisher , a white student rejected by the University of Texas, it made good on its promise. We hear what the Court heard about race-based and race-neutral strategies.
Affirmative Action in College Admissions and the US Supreme Court In the Grutter case almost ten years ago, a divided US Supreme Court rejected racial quotas in college admissions. But it said race could be one factor in the effort to diversify student bodies and make up for the history of racial discrimination. It was a divided decision, and the court said it would take up the issue again. Today, in the case of Abigail Fisher , a white student rejected by the University of Texas, it made good on its promise. If not affirmative action based on race, then what? What about economic class? Or should academic merit be the only standard for deciding who gets in, especially to more selective institutions? We hear arguments with far-reaching implications about guaranteeing equal opportunity in an increasingly diverse society.
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?