The Fordham Urban Law Journal will kick off this year’s spring symposium season by bringing attention to admission practices found in urban public schools across the country. The symposium will be held in a hybrid format from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11.
Critics in local communities, the courts, and media have raised challenges over the racial composition of student populations at public K-12 schools that admit students solely on the basis of an academic examination. In New York City, Black and Latino students, who constitute 67 percent of the overall public school population, made up only 10 percent of those admitted to the specialized public high schools that require a standardized test in 2018.
In response, some policymakers have begun to challenge existing legislation and are considering proposals that could alter schools’ admissions practices. Underlying the debate over whether admission by test is an appropriate or desirable policy for urban public schools are deeper questions about merit and equity through an education lens.
“I’m not sure there is an obvious solution, but I hope attendees come away with some new ideas about why this is such a hard question and how it might be solved,” says symposium editor Stephen Rutman ’22.
The goal of the symposium, as further explained by Rutman, is to explore the potential legal challenges to and defenses of admissions tests, as well as representation in selective schools. Fundamental questions regarding the financial obstacles families face when preparing for these tests, who should create such tests, and what metrics should be used in assessment will also be topics of discussion.
What to Expect
More than a dozen scholars, attorneys, economists, parents, and advocates of different backgrounds and expertise from across the country have been invited to participate in the program. Fordham Law Professors Tanya Hernández, Tracy Higgins, and Aaron Saiger as well as Karuna Patel, deputy director of the Feerick Center for Social Justice, will each lead 70-minute-long discussions throughout the day.
“I think [that Fordham Law]students, especially, will be excited to see our professors talking about issues that they really care about, study all the time, and have talked to us about,” Rutman says.
Though each of the four scheduled panels will address different aspects related to admission exams, Rutman expects there will be some degree of overlap, given how intricate the symposium’s overall theme is and how multifaceted and intersectional the panel topics are.
Symposium Panel Line-Up
Welcome Remarks
Aaron Saiger, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
Panel 1: Representation in Exam Schools
Moderated by: Tanya Hernández, Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
- Robert Garda, Jr., Fanny Edith Winn Distinguished Professor of Law, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
- Janel George, Associate Professor of Law; Director of the Racial Equity in Education Law and Policy Clinic, Georgetown Law
- Osamudia James, Professor of Law, UNC School of Law
- Ian Rowe, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Panel 2: The Socioeconomics of Admissions by Test
Moderated by: Karuna Patel, Deputy Director, Feerick Center for Social Justice, Fordham University School of Law
- Ray Domanico, Senior Fellow and Director, Education Policy, Manhattan Institute
- Chris Kwok, Board Director, Asian American Bar Association of New York; Adjunct Faculty in Asian American Studies, CUNY Hunter
- Lucas Liu, Co-President, Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education
- Raquel Muñiz, Assistant Professor, Boston College, Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education and Human Development & School of Law
- Charles Russo, Director, Ph.D. Program in Educational Leadership; Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton
Panel 3: Defining and Measuring Merit in Urban Public Schools
Moderated by: Aaron Saiger, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
- LaToya Baldwin Clark, Assistant Professor of Law, UCLA Law
- Preston Green III, John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Educational Leadership and Law, University of Connecticut
- Richard Kahlenberg, Director of K–12 Equity and Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation
- Kevin Welner, Professor, University of Colorado Boulder, School of Education; Director, National Education Policy Center
Panel 4: Lessons from Higher Education for K-12 Admissions
Moderated by: Tracy Higgins, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
- Jonathan Glater, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- Chris Kieser, Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
- Rachel Moran, Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law
- Maimon Schwarzschild, Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law
How to Attend
The Fordham Urban Law Journal’s “Testing the Limits: Admissions Exams in Urban Public Schools” Symposium will be held virtually and in person on Friday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration is still open.
