1. United Nations. 1999.  “General Comment 13.” (UN Doc E/C.12/1999/10).  UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.  8 December 1999.  Accessed June 2007 http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(symbol)/E.C.12.1999.10.En?OpenDocument.

2. “Human Right to Education Info Sheet no. 1.” National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI).  Accessed August 2007 http://www.nesri.org/fact_sheets_pubs/Right%20to%20Education.pdf.

3. United Nations. 1999. “Press Release, HR/4445”. Concluding Session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, New York, 3 December 1999. Accessed November 2007 at http://www.un.org/news/Press/docs/1999/19991203.hr4445.doc.html.

4. Answers.com “State Constitutions and Individual Rights.” Accessed August 2007 at http://www.answers.com/topic/state-constitutions-and-individual-rights.

5. Institute of Educational Sciences National Center for Education Statistics.  2004.  “Enrollment in Formal Education: 2004.” Education Indicators: An International Perspective.  Accessed November 2007 at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/IntlIndicators/index.asp?SectionNumber=1&SubSectionNumber=2&IndicatorNumber=102.

6. United States Central Intelligence Agency.  2007. “The World Factbook: United States.” 31 March 2007.  Accessed June 2007 at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html.

7. Children’s Defense Fund. 2005. The State of America’s Children.

8. Institute of Educational Sciences National Center for Education Statistics.  2004.  “Enrollment in Formal Education: 2004.” Education Indicators: An International Perspective.  Accessed November 2007 http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/IntlIndicators/index.asp?SectionNumber=1&SubSectionNumber=2&IndicatorNumber=102.

9. Full-day child care can costs between $4,000 and $10,000 a year while ¼ of working families with young children earn less than $25,000 a year.  Children’s Defense Fund. 2005. The State of America’s Children.

10. Blank, Helen.  “Head start under assault: the flaws in the administration's misguided plan.” The American Prospect.  November 1, 2004.              Accessed November 2007 at http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-2376392/Head-start-under-assault-the.html

11. Children’s Defense Fund. 2005. The State of America’s Children.

12. Learning First Alliance. 2005.  “A Shared Responsibility: Staffing All High-Poverty, Low-Performing Schools with Effective Teachers and Administrators, A Framework for Action.” Accessed November 2007 at http://www.learningfirst.org/lfa-web/rp?pa=doc&docId=76.

13. Wiener, Ross and Eli Pristoop. 2006. “How States Shortchange the Districts That Need the Most Help” Funding Gaps 2006. The Education Trust.

14. Building Educational Success Together (BEST).  2006.  “Growth and Disparity: A Decade of U.S. Public School Construction.” Accessed November 2007 at http://www.21csf.org/csf-home/publications/BEST-Growth-Disparity-2006.pdf.

15. National Science Board. 2006. “America’s Pressing Challenge – Building a Stronger Foundation.’  Accessed November 2007 at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsb0602/#compensation

16. Southern Education Foundation.  2001.  “Teacher Salaries in Southern Education States (K-12) 1990-2001).” Accessed November 2007 at http://www.sefatl.org/pdf/average_teacher_salary_brief.pdf

17. Education Trust.  2006. “EdTrust Releases Funding Gaps 2006.” Press release.  December 20, 2006.  Accessed November 2007 at http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Press+Room/Funding+Gap+2006.htm.

18. Learning First Alliance.  2005.  “A Shared Responsibility: Staffing All High-Poverty, Low-Performing Schools with Effective Teachers and Administrators – A Framework for Action.” Washington DC:  Learning First Alliance, 2005.  Accessed June 2007 http://www.learningfirst.org/publications/staffing/.

19. Children’s Defense Fund. 2005. The State of America’s Children.

20. Education Trust. 2003. “African American Achievement in America.” Accessed November 2007 at http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/9AB4AC88-7301-43FF-81A3-EB94807B917F/0/AfAmer_Achivement.pdf

21. American Council on Education.  2006.  "Minorities in Higher Education Twenty-second Annual Status Report”  in “Students of Color Make Dramatic Gains in College Enrollment but Still Trail Whites in the Rate at Which They Attend College"  Accessed August, 2007 at http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Publications_and_Products&CONTENTID=18725&TEMPLATE =/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm.

22. Education Trust. 2003. “African American Achievement in America.” Accessed November 2007 at http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/9AB4AC88-7301-43FF-81A3-EB94807B917F/0/AfAmer_Achivement.pdf.

23. Education Trust. 2007 “Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness: The State of Higher Education: How Students Access and Finance a College Education Statement of Ross Wiener.” Press release.  March 8, 2007.  Accessed November 2007 at http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Press+Room/Ross+Higher+Ed+Testimony.htm.

24. Biswas, Radha Roy.  2005 “Access to Community College for Undocumented Immigrants:  A Guide for State Policymakers.”  Achieving the Dream. Accessed February 2006 at http://www.jff/PDFDocuments/AccesstoCCUndoc.pdf.

25. FinAid. 2006 “Financial Aid and Scholarships for Undocumented Students.”  FinAid Page.  Accessed November 2007 at http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/undocumented.phtml.

26. Darling-Hammond, Linda. 2007. “Evaluating No Child Left Behind.” The Nation 21 May 2007. Accessed June 2007 at http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070521/darling-hammond.

27. Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics.  2003.  “Average TIMSS Mathematics Scores of 4th- and 8th-Graders, by Country: 2003.” Table.  The Condition of Education.   Accessed June 2007 at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2006/analysis/tables/tab05.asp.

28. Global Rights U.S. Racial Discrimination Program.  2004. “The Justiciability of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in the U.S.: Domestic Implementation of the Right to Equal Education, A Plan for Action.” Global Rights.

29. 1 in 12 teachers in high-poverty districts are teaching under a waiver of certification compared to 1 in 20 in other districts. Learning First Alliance. 2005.  “A Shared Responsibility: Staffing All High-Poverty, Low-Performing Schools with Effective Teachers and Administrators, A Framework for Action.” Accessed November 2007 at http://www.learningfirst.org/lfa-web/rp?pa=doc&docId=76.

30. Ibid.

31. During the 1999-2000 school year, 34% of math, English, social studies, and science classes in high-poverty secondary schools were taught “out of field” by a teacher who had not completed a college major or minor in the subject. In more affluent districts, the number is around 20%. In high-poverty middle school math classes, the situation is even more extreme: 70% of math classes are taught “out of field.” Learning First Alliance. 2005.  “A Shared Responsibility: Staffing All High-Poverty, Low-Performing Schools with Effective Teachers and Administrators, A Framework for Action.” Accessed November 2007 at http://www.learningfirst.org/lfa-web/rp?pa=doc&docId=76.

32. Children’s Defense Fund.  2004.  “Educational Resource Disparities for Minority and Low-Income Children – Quick Facts.” January 2004.

33. Sullivan, Liz. 2007. “Reframing School Discipline through Human Rights Standards” Children’s Rights. Vol. 9 Issue 2. Children’s Rights Litigation Committee, American Bar Association.  

34. The Advancement Project and the Civil Rights Project. 2000.  “Opportunities Suspended: The Devastating Consequences of Zero Tolerance and School Discipline Policies. “ Report from a National Summit on Zero Tolerance. Washington, DC, June 15-16, 2000.  Accessed November 2007 at http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED454314&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED454314.

35. Ibid.

36. Sullivan, Liz. 2007. “Reframing School Discipline through Human Rights Standards” Children’s Rights. Vol. 9 Issue 2. Children’s Rights Litigation Committee, American Bar Association.

37. The Advancement Project and the Civil Rights Project. 2000.  “Opportunities Suspended: The Devastating Consequences of Zero Tolerance and School Discipline Policies. “ Report from a National Summit on Zero Tolerance. Washington, DC, June 15-16, 2000.  Accessed November 2007 at http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED454314&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED454314.

38. IDEA was passed as federal law in 2004. Part of the law included a commitment to pay 40% of the average per student cost for every special education student ($16,921). However, in the first year of IDEA, the federal government provided local school districts with only 20% instead of the promised 40%.  National Education Association.  2007.  “Special Education and the Individuals with Disabilities Act.” Washington DC: National Education Association.  Accessed June 2007 at http://www.nea.org/aboutnea/contact.html.

39. In 2001-2002 47.6% of students with disabilities ages 14 and older exited school with a regular high school diploma and 41.1% dropped out. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Special Education Programs, “25th Annual (2003) Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,” Vol. 1, Washington,D.C., 2005.

40. Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics. 2006 Disability Status Report. Cornell University.

41. National Coalition for the Homeless. August 2007. Fact Sheet #10 “Education of Homeless Children and Youth.” Accessed November 2007 at http://nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/education.html.

42. Ibid.

43. 42% of homeless children transfer at least once and 51% transfer twice or more. National Coalition for the Homeless. August 2007. Fact Sheet #10 “Education of Homeless Children and Youth.” Accessed November 2007 at http://nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/education.html.

44. National Coalition for the Homeless. August 2007. Fact Sheet #10 “Education of Homeless Children and Youth.” Accessed November 2007 at http://nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/education.html.

45. Cosentino de Cohen, Clemencia and Beatriz Chu Clewel. May 2007. “Putting English Language Learners on the Educational Map: The No Child Left Behind Act Implemented” Education in Focus, Urban Institute Policy Brief. The Education Policy Center.

46. Smith-Davis, Judy. April 2004. “The New Immigrant Students Need More than ESL” Principal Leadership.

47. Fix and Ruiz de Velasco.  April 2001.  “Challenges Facing High Immigrant-Serving Secondary Schools in the Context of Standards Based School Reform.”  The Urban Institute. 

48. Ibid.

49. Cosentino de Cohen, Clemencia and Beatriz Chu Clewel. May 2007. “Putting English Language Learners on the Educational Map: The No Child Left Behind Act Implemented” Education in Focus, Urban Institute Policy Brief. The Education Policy Center.

50. Fix and Ruiz de Velasco.  April 2001.  “Challenges Facing High Immigrant-Serving Secondary Schools in the Context of Standards Based School Reform.”  The Urban Institute. 

51. Ibid.

52. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 1990. ”General Comment 3 (UN doc. E/1991/23).”   12 December 1990. 
Accessed August 2007 at http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/94bdbaf59b43a424c12563ed0052b664?Opendocument.