Maria M. Lewis’s research while affiliated with Pennsylvania State University and other places

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Publications (14)


A Call for Research on the Role of Legal Counsel in Promoting (In)Equitable Educational Policies in a Hostile, Anti-DEI Sociopolitical Climate
  • Article

October 2024

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1 Read

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1 Citation

Educational Researcher

Maria M. Lewis

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Raquel Muñiz

The current climate reflects not only a hostile politicization of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work but also an institutionalization of anti-DEI sentiments through legislation and litigation, leaving educational institutions to operate within a hyper-legalistic environment. Although there are a large number of education attorneys who interface regularly with educational institutions, the field of education knows very little about contemporary models of collaboration between attorneys for educational institutions and the values that inform these collaborations. In this article, we aim to illustrate the significant role of attorneys for P–20 educational institutions, the need for more research to help us better understand existing strengths and limitations, and ways to harness this role in meaningful ways to further DEI commitments.



The Rise of the School District Chief Equity Officer: Moving Beyond Mimetic Isomorphism and Promoting Anti-Racist Systemic Change
  • Article
  • Full-text available

February 2023

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67 Reads

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10 Citations

Educational Administration Quarterly

Purpose: A growing number of school districts have recently added a position to the superintendent's cabinet, often titled chief equity officer. While the chief equity officer position is still in its early stages, we have an opportunity to examine insights from this work in the higher education context—both to support the adoption and implementation of the position, and the change work the chief equity officer will lead throughout the organization. The following conceptual question guides our analytical review: How can the role of chief equity officer be meaningfully and thoughtfully adapted for K-12 schools and districts in a critical anti-racist manner? Moverover, how might insights from higher education and scholarly knowledge on the nature of educational institutions, change within organizations, leadership practice, and learning inform the development of this role? Proposed Conceptual Argument: While the chief equity officer position was initially developed in response to historic and systemic inequities, over time, as this position becomes standardized through a process scholars call mimetic isomorphism, it runs the risk of becoming symbolic, only serving to signal an organization's commitment to equity-oriented work without meaningfully attending to its structures for learning, policies, or practices. Implications: Chief equity officers have a formal role within the district; however, their work requires an organizational commitment, from educators and educational leaders, for anti-racist systemic change. Structural, financial, and personnel-oriented supports are critical. Training programs for educators and leaders should thoughtfully prepare future chief equity officers, and continue to extend existing efforts to prepare anti-racist, equity-oriented principals, superintendents, teachers, and other educational leaders.

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K-12 Civil Rights Complaints: A Nationwide Analysis

September 2022

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25 Reads

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1 Citation

Educational Researcher

Very little is known about the Office for Civil Rights’ complaint investigation process despite its scope and reach. We examine key parameters (number and types of complaints received, types of resolutions, average time of resolution) of civil rights complaints nationwide over a 20-year period (1999-2019). We find that almost 41 percent of all districts receive at least one discrimination-related complaint. We also find that complaints are filed at significantly higher rates in large districts and districts with a high percentage of Black students even after controlling for other structural factors—such as average socioeconomic status, locale, and others.




Figure 3. Topics of Articles Addressing Sex
Characteristics of Peer-reviewed Research Cited in OCR Guidance
Overview of OCR Guidance Citations
Characteristics of Peer-reviewed Research Citing OCR Guidance
An examination of the bidirectional relationship between federal civil rights guidance and research

July 2020

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84 Reads

Education Policy Analysis Archives

As the primary agency responsible for enforcing federal civil rights laws in the educational context, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issues policy guidance to help ensure that school districts and universities understand their legal obligations. These policy guidance documents have direct connections to topics studied by educational researchers (e.g., disproportionality in special education, race conscious admissions policies in higher education, transgender student inclusion, etc.). However, we do not have an empirical understanding of how this guidance is used by the research community. Nor do we have a strong grasp on the extent to which this guidance is explicitly informed by research. It is important to acquire an empirical understanding of the bidirectional relationship between research and educational policy in the context of civil rights enforcement in order to determine areas of strength and those in need of improvement. Specifically, this study poses the following research questions: 1) How often and in what ways do scholars explicitly use OCR policy guidance to inform their research? What are the characteristics of this research? 2) Conversely, how often and in what ways does OCR explicitly use research to inform policy guidance? What are the characteristics of research cited in OCR guidance?


Storytelling, Leadership, and the Law: Using Amicus Briefs to Understand the Impact of School District Policies and Practices Related to Transgender Student Inclusion

April 2019

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57 Reads

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16 Citations

Educational Administration Quarterly

Purpose: In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a highly publicized case brought by a transgender student, G.G., who was denied access to the bathroom that corresponds with his gender identity. Ultimately, the Court never heard this case, but the documents submitted to the Court remain a part of the historical record, worthy of examination beyond their legal value. In this study, we analyze the first person accounts presented in the “friend of the court” (amicus) briefs to better understand the human impact of policies and practices related to transgender student inclusion. Method: This research utilizes legal research methods to bound the study design. We draw from legal storytelling, which originates in law, and narrative inquiry, which can be found in educational research. In doing so, we provide a synthesis of all amicus briefs submitted in the G.G. case that include personal, firsthand accounts, stories, and experiences. Findings: Overall, the personal stories highlight the implications of inclusive and noninclusive policies and practices. Where noninclusive policies were in place, individuals shared experiences of bullying, academic harm, medical concerns, and inconsistencies in implementation. On the other hand, inclusive policies were associated with confidence building and academic engagement, and a benefit to all students. Stories also reveal that common fears such as safety or privacy did not materialize in the experiences of individuals represented in the briefs. Implications: Informed by these stories, we present implications for research, policy, and practice. Stories reveal the importance of leadership, communication, and professional development.


A Call for Amicus Briefs as a Means to Influence Special Education Policy: Lessons Learned From Endrew F.:

March 2019

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28 Reads

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6 Citations

Journal of Disability Policy Studies

Given the legal nature of special education, a particularly promising avenue for infusing research into practice is through court cases. Recent work has illuminated the influence of amicus briefs in court decisions. An amicus brief is a nonparty brief submitted by a person, group of people, or organization that provides insight and expertise on issues presented in a case. In this exploratory study, we examined how interest groups, through the amicus brief process, used research in a recent Supreme Court case, Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. The case focused on a fundamental principle at the heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the definition of a free appropriate public education, an issue in which researchers, practitioners, and policymakers alike should be interested. Our findings indicate that researchers and research played a limited role in the briefing process. We conclude with a discussion of potential reasons for the lack of research in the briefing process, as well as a call for the field to use amicus briefs as a means to influence special education policy and practice.


Transgender and Gender Expansive Students

December 2018

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3 Reads

The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Education Law contains thirty-seven chapters written by an interdisciplinary group of leading education law and policy scholars that both present a comprehensive description of the law that regulates public K-12 education in the United States and suggest legal and policy changes for the future. Chapters cover an exceptionally wide range of topics, from virtual schooling to civil rights, student privacy and safety to education federalism, and school choice to special education. Several foundational chapters present a synthesis of a general area of law for those who seek an introductory text, while dozens of other chapters build on those foundations, diving into various topics in a nuanced way that will be valuable for those who seek to deepen or reframe their knowledge of specific issues. Throughout the volume, and especially in the last section, the authors also look to the future and thus help to shape the direction of the field.


Citations (9)


... hat mediates disciplinary inequities. Likewise, hiring Chief Equity Officers, or other synonymous positions such as Coordinator of Diversity and Equity and Director for Equity and Excellence, to support the design and implementation of equity-oriented policies and practices across districts have gained prominence in recent years (Irby et al., 2022;M. M. Lewis et al., 2023;Mattheis, 2017). ...

Reference:

Conceptualizing District COVID-19 Response as a Portal for Increasing Equitable Access
The Rise of the School District Chief Equity Officer: Moving Beyond Mimetic Isomorphism and Promoting Anti-Racist Systemic Change

Educational Administration Quarterly

... The reality is that ongoing sociopolitical and sociocultural divisions are being amplified in American life at unprecedented rates. For example, Lewis et al. (2022) noted that the current sociopolitical climate and the sheer amount of litigation across these challenges make it even more essential to consider specific aspects of education law in this regard. Due to the implications of public higher education policy that stem from active legislative outcomes for P12 education and public libraries, this analysis was explicit and focused on only established higher education policy. ...

The Politicization of Education Law and the Implications for Re-envisioning the Law School Curriculum for Racial Justice
  • Citing Article
  • January 2022

SSRN Electronic Journal

... A hand-search of article titles and abstracts spanning 1997-2020 in the Journal of School Psychology, School Psychology (formerly School Psychology Quarterly), School Psychology Review, Psychology in the Schools, and the Journal of Applied School Psychology resulted in no identified articles covering MDRs. Instead, MDR-related articles have historically been published in special education journals (e.g., Frick & Faircloth, 2007;Katsiyannis & Maag, 2001;Walker & Brigham, 2017), journals that review policy analysis (e.g., Bon et al., 2006;Lewis, 2017Lewis, , 2018, or publication outlets that examine legal aspects of education policies (e.g., Krewson, 2016;Zilz, 2006). While these articles clarify how teachers and school administrators view the process, they provide minimal clarity regarding the school psychologists' perceptions, training, or expertise in MDRs. ...

Navigating the Gray Area: A School District's Documentation of the Relationship between Disability and Misconduct
  • Citing Article
  • October 2018

Teachers College Record

... Many years of research support the IDEA (e.g., Hollenbeck, 2007;Lewis et al., 2021), which asserts that students must be educated in the least restrictive environment possible; nevertheless, because education falls under state jurisdiction and because funding, policies, and accountability requirements vary widely from state to state, practices vary widely. For example, in the state of Michigan, where my university is located, for the school year 2021-2022, students fell just short of the 70.78% graduation target, reaching just 68.87% and the dropout target of 22.89% or less was barely achieved. ...

The Relation between the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Special Education Research: A Systematic Review
  • Citing Article
  • April 2021

American Journal of Education

... The success and wellness of transgender teachers in schools and educational institutions depend on inclusive policies and practices (Gallardo-Nieto et al., 2021). By creating a safe and supportive workplace environment, using gender-neutral language and terminology, providing access to appropriate medical care and support, and promoting diversity and inclusivity in their curriculum, schools can help to create more equitable and accepting environments for all individuals, regardless of their gender identity (Lewis & Eckes, 2020). ...

Storytelling, Leadership, and the Law: Using Amicus Briefs to Understand the Impact of School District Policies and Practices Related to Transgender Student Inclusion
  • Citing Article
  • April 2019

Educational Administration Quarterly

... With roots in important cases such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954), connections between social science and law, are not new. Existing research explores the role of research in law, in particular (e.g., Lewis & Bray, 2019;Horn et al., 2018). Less directly, researchers can change public discourse or public opinion related to issues at the heart of legal cases (Welner, 2012). ...

A Call for Amicus Briefs as a Means to Influence Special Education Policy: Lessons Learned From Endrew F.:
  • Citing Article
  • March 2019

Journal of Disability Policy Studies

... Guidance. Issuing guidance documents, either by a single or multiple agencies, was a widely used approach during the Obama administration to advance civil rights (Lewis et al., 2019). Guidance documents are the administration/government's interpretation of the law in a given area and a signal as to how OCR would investigate complaints, but they do not involve an actual change in the underlying law. ...

A Comprehensive and Practical Approach to Policy Guidance: The Office for Civil Rights’ Role in Education During the Obama Administration
  • Citing Article
  • September 2018

Educational Researcher

... This approach often involves drafting policy proposals, lobbying lawmakers, and participating in public consultations. Successful examples include adopting inclusive education policies in Scandinavian countries, which resulted from sustained advocacy efforts emphasizing the importance of equity in educational outcomes (Lewis & Kern, 2018). ...

Using Education Law as a Tool to Empower Social Justice Leaders to Promote LGBTQ Inclusion
  • Citing Article
  • April 2018

Educational Administration Quarterly

... These consequences may lead to school-based pressures where schools use the MDR process to remove problematic students for manifestations of their disability while protecting more favorable students. Indeed, in a qualitative analysis of 80 MDR decisions, Lewis (2017) found that teams used both narrow and expansive interpretations of the phrase "directly and significantly" when conducting MDRs. Teams using the narrow interpretations required that the student's IEP explicitly and unequivocally addressed the problem behavior that resulted in the MDR. ...

Were the student’s actions a manifestation of the student’s disability? The need for policy change and guidance

Education Policy Analysis Archives