Education Law

The federal government, through the Department of Education, has the main responsibility of providing public education. The government is mandated to make sure that each child, no matter where he or she is located, receives adequate and equal education. Compulsory education laws in the United States was enacted in order to increase literacy and discourage child labor. The Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974 emphasized that states are prohibited from denying education to an individual based on race, color, sex, or nation of origin. Through their different constitutions, states are mandated to maintain and operate a school system where children may receive an education. Most states delegate their power over the school system to a state board of education. Part-and-parcel of education law is the operation of schools and the management of teachers.

Parents, being the main decision-maker as to their children's education, has the right to choose private education for their children. States also regulate private schools but this power is limited because the majority of private schools are religious institutions. Education is also made available for children with special disabilities through through the Individuals with Disabilities Act, which is binding in all states. Moreover, parents also have the right to decide to homeschool their children. States do not provide many services to homeschools but they do allow the students to attend public school cases and participate in public school activities.

One of the common issues arising from education law is discrimination -- whether it is in the form of denying acceptance of a student or teacher. With respect to children, there are cases where children are not accepted in schools because of their religion. Moreover, there are also instances where parents complain of religious intolerance when schools decide to hold activities that are leaning towards one religion, while delineating one student who does practice such religion. Religion is a sensitive issue that is often tread upon in many cases relating to education law. There are also many cases where teachers allege that schools create a hostile work environment forcing them to resign. In other instances, teachers are terminated for filing suits against the school. In addition, most cases relating to teachers arise from their employment. Just like other areas of employment, teachers also suffer from sexual harassment and discrimination when it comes to promotions and wages based on gender. Another issue arising from education law would be the government's slow response or failure to respond to grievances. Court dockets are clogged with education law cases and department agencies are plagued with voluminous administrative complaints that it take time for complaints to be addressed.

Violation of education laws is not a crime, but harm arising from such may entitle the plaintiff damages, especially if such violation resulted to an individual not receive equal opportunity in education.

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Bankruptcy Law - Legal Information and Resources

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy in the United States is governed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.Different types of bankruptcy filings are governed by specificsections of the Bankruptcy Code. The types of bankruptcies are: (i)reorganization under Chapter 11 for corporations and individuals,(ii) liquidation under Chapter 7 for corporations and individuals,(iii) Chapter 13 for individuals, and (iv) Chapter 9 for municipalities. Another type of bankruptcy proceeding in the United States are proceedings under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, whichallows foreign companies, with assets located in the United States,to seek an injunction of all proceedings that would take their assets from them.

Bankruptcy can be considered a special proceeding, with the creation of aspecial set of courts and judges handling these cases. Corporations,municipalities and individuals who seek protection under the Code aregiven so-called "fresh start" by reorganizing their businesses and finances and ranking their creditors by order of priority. The goal of the Code is to allow a debtor to emerge from bankruptcy with a better business structure, or, in the case ofindividuals, a plan for a better management of finances. Bankruptcy is not adversarial in nature, although adversary proceedings may arise from issues relating to bankruptcy.

Lenders, who are often big banks and financial institutions, are firstpriority in the rank of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. There are also numerous "small" creditors who need a strong voiceto represent them in bankruptcy proceedings. These small creditorsusually include workers who lost their jobs as a result of a debtor'sfinancial difficulty or who are on the verge of losing their jobswhen a debtor decides to halt their operations. The recent decline inoil prices resulted to the bankruptcy filings of numerous oil and gas companies, resulting to the retrenchment of hundreds of workers. Workers file claims for unpaid wages and benefits and retirees.Workers also seek compensation for damages arising from death orpersonal injury as a result of exposure to toxic minerals orchemicals used by bankrupt companies in the operation of their business. Moreover, small creditors include retirees, whose benefitsare often cut or terminated within the course of the bankruptcy proceeding as a cost-saving strategy for the ailing debtor. Retirees,old but have contributed significantly to the company, join the ranksof lenders to seek to have their benefits reinstated and continued.If not represented by a bankruptcy specialist, these small creditors may find their voices lost among the big corporate lenders.

Divorce,illness, student loan debt, and unpaid mortgages are some of thecommon reasons why individuals seek bankruptcy protection, either under Chapter 11 or Chapter 13. When the individual's bankruptcy proceeding is caused by divorce, the individual debtor needs expert representation by a bankruptcy attorney who is not just knowledgeableof the bankruptcy law but also of divorce law, child support andchild custody. In instances when an individual seeks bankruptcy proceeding as a result of staggering student loan debt or unpaid mortgage, the debtor's attorney also need to match the skills of attorneys representing the student loan provider or the mortgagee, which are often big companies equipped with a legal team ready to quash a creditor.

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