UW-Madison’s Julie Underwood authored another “Under the Law” column for Phi Delta Kappan magazine, with her latest report examining education as an American right.

Underwood is the Susan Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy, and Practice at UW-Madison, and the former dean of the School of Education.

In “Education as an American right?,” Underwood unpacks how although the right to education is listed as international law in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Supreme Court have recognized such a law. The article explores how a federal right might impact future educational opportunities and legal protections.

“In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms,” Underwood writes.

To read Underwood’s full breakdown of the policy surrounding this issue, visit this Kappan magazine web page: “Education as an American right?”