Unlock the Power of Online Signature Lawfulness for Higher Education in the United States

How to eSign a document: online signature lawfulness for Higher Education in United States

I think it's very possible that we will see litigation at the United States Supreme Court on a federal right to education in our lifetime. So, cases already now in the lower federal courts -- one is actually already on its way in a court of appeals about a federal right to education. And so litigators are weaving their way through the court system to get back to the United States Supreme Court in the hopes that they will recognize a federal right to education. Whether or not the current Court, given that it's a fairly conservative court, would actually guarantee a right to education: that is a harder sell, in part because they will continue to likely be concerned about issues of federalism and the concern of maintaining state and local control over education. However, what's important to remember when you think about that argument is federalism is not sort of an end of itself, it's actually a means to achieve the most effective and efficient outcomes. And so what we need is a thoughtful approach to federalism that says, here is the balance of power that would help us to get to the most equitable and excellent schools in the United States. And right now, we have significant state and local control, very limited federal influence and we have a large opportunity gap. And so what my scholarship has shown is that we need to shift our understanding of education federalism in ways that would have a far more effective partnership between the federal and state governments. And so that would be part and parcel of a federal right to education but the Court would have to be convinced that it's willing to have some federal court involvement in school finance litigation. Fortunately, they can now draw on over four decades of litigation in state courts on school funding So when the 1973 Rodriguez decision was decided, there was not this robust body of case law to draw upon and looking at how courts deal with these issues. But now the United States Supreme Court can see how the courts have been wrestling with these issues and how the courts have consistently found that investing more in education does matter when you invest wisely. It makes a difference. And so that was also one of the questions that was left open in Rodriguez. So they would have some answers to questions that they said were unanswered or that they did not want to address in Rodriguez. They now have some answers to those questions. But you still have a fairly conservative Court that might reject that. The other way we could get there is have Congress recognize a right and that is, I think, an even more fertile ground if you had it controlled by those who were deeply committed to reforming our education system.