Fraga, Luis Ricardo, Kenneth J. Meier, and Robert E. England. 1986. Hispanic Americans and Educational Policy: Limits to Equal Access. The Journal of Politics 48(4, November), 850-876.

I. Hispanics have been denied equal access to educationa. major areas of concern•ability grouping•suspensions•tracking•more likely to be assigned to EMR (educable mentally retarded)•higher drop outs•less teacher ratio•less likely to be in advanced classes

b. solution - more Hispanics on school boards - why?

•leads to more Hispanic teachers•this leads to more Hispanics graduating and going to college

c. which form of electoral structure produces fewer Hispanic school board members?

Roscigno, Vincent J. 1998. Race and the Reproduction of Educational Disadvantage. Social Forces 76(3, March): 1033-

1061.

II. What explains poor performance of blacks in high school?•a. family/peer structure•b. educational institutional structure - reproducing or reinforcing disadvantages•c. segregation, teacher expectation, academic track.•d. income and class matter, books in household, •e. but single parent, peer group may washout once school factors are included

EDUCATION POLICY SOLUTIONS

1.SCHOOL CHOICE2.SMALLER DISTRICT3.NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND4.STANDARDIZED TESTING5.SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS6.MERIT/INCENTIVES/BETTER PAY7.DIVERSE SCHOOL BOARDS8.AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Immigration

What are the issues? Anti-immigrant sentiment; xenophobia; underground labor markets; burden on state & local services

What are the solutions? Supply-side vs. Demand side policies; policies that discourage immigration; A wall; change constitutional definition of citizenship; criminalization; Amnesty

Immigration

1. Does the U.S. have liberal immigration policies?

2. How so?

3. Why?

Federal Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986

• law enforcement provisions (largely ignored)• stipulated sanctions against employers • granted amnesty to the 5 or 6 million

immigrants who had entered the country illegally

• said to have increased immigration both legally and illegally.

• 2001 - Bush considered granting amnesty to as many as 3 million illegal immigrants

• January 2004- Bush guest worker program.• 2006: U.S. House passes bill to make illegal

immigrants felons and authorize 700 miles of border walls. Amid widespread protest rallies, Senate considers different approach, focused on legalizing undocumented immigrants, but discussions break down amid partisan recriminations.

Why do we need to do anything about immigration?

•Costs?•"The persistence of Mexican Immigration into the US reduces the incentives for cultural assimilation.“•Benefits?