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Here is a thought that must occur to reporters who cover K-12 and higher education for any length of time: “Holy heck, there’s a lot of suing going on.”

There’s an important knock-on question, at least for me: “What is all of this costing?”

How much is it costing in legal fees, for the school districts and for the plaintiffs, for one?

How much are public interest law firms and civil rights groups raising from donors to press their own claims, for another?

How much money is being spent directly on settlements?

How much money is indirectly being spent, to uphold the terms of agreement and to lawsuitproof the schools’ actions?

Let me show you why I ask these questions. Here are some highlights, just from the last day of searching Google for “school + lawsuit.”

I’ll limit the list to 10 stories to spare your poor brains:

1. Alpine High graduate sues school claiming GPA may have been miscalculated, costing her a valedictorian seat

2. U.S. judge dismisses antitrust lawsuit over college textbooks

3. Vt. teacher files racial discrimination lawsuit against school, district

4. Lawsuit Accuses Former Cheshire Academy Teacher Of Sexual Assault

5. Discrimination lawsuit by ex-coach against South Bend schools is dismissed

6. Rowan University professor’s rants against Black academic advisor were racially-motivated, lawsuit says

7. Supreme Court effectively delays challenge to Harvard affirmative action policies for several months

8. MSU seeks dismissal of lawsuit asking for reimbursement of tuition, fees

9. Prichard Committee board votes to support lawsuit challenging use of tax credits for nonpublic schools

10. Institute for Justice joins fight defending state’s school choice program on behalf of NKY family

Again, these are all stories of lawsuits just from the last day and change.

Which of course brings to mind comedian and Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais’s crack about bad boy actor Charlie Sheen’s substance-fueled tabloid antics.

“And that was a Monday,” Gervais said at the awards. “What does he do [for] New Year’s Eve?”

There’s an unbelievable amount of suing over education that goes on in this country. Any insights that readers have to help us all understand why this is happening better, what this is all costing, and if anything can be done about it, would be greatly appreciated.

Drop a line to me at jlott – at – go away spammers – no, I mean it – the college fix dot com with the subject line “Sue you want to understand?” I’ll publish the best insights of the bunch in an upcoming column.

I will assume The College Fix can use your name unless you state otherwise.

Please fire them in here, folks. Let’s figure out this huge issue together.

MORE: Boeing finds COVID-fighting air devices in some schools ineffective, lawsuits follow

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