An Outcomes Analysis of Education Litigation

Abstract

Based on a random sampling of reported court decisions, the primary purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant difference between the overall outcomes of education litigation from the mid-1970s and that from the mid-1990s. The secondary purposes were to determine if there were significant differences in the outcomes between the two time periods for the three plaintiff categories (students, employees, and others), the judicial forum (state and federal courts), and the interaction of these three variables (time period, category, and forum). Based on a 7-point outcome classification system ranging from a score of “7,” designating a conclusive decision completely favoring school authorities, to a “1,” representing a conclusive decision completely favoring plaintiffs, ANOVA revealed that the only significant difference between the two time periods was in the “suits by students” category and that the direction of this difference was in favor of school authorities.