Issues and recent events concerning censorship of the arts in the United States are examined, and the threat to artistic freedom posed by recent Supreme Court decisions is examined. Focus is on erosion of the actual or imminent harm requirement of the law and on the court's class-based approach to free speech. (MSE)

Analysis of a Supreme Court case, in which university use of academic freedom as a basis for protecting confidential peer-review documents was rejected, explores the general development and this application of academic freedom doctrine. Individual academic freedom is distinguished from institutional autonomy in protection of the free exchange of…

Federal Supreme Court and appellate court decisions in 1996 concerning discrimination against college students are reviewed. Several decisions deal with diversity and the lawfulness of excluding applicants under a diversity rationale or extending preferences to certain classes of applicants to enhance diversity. Other cases of discrimination based…

In "Castorina," the Sixth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling that had dismissed a suit by two high school students challenging their suspension for wearing T-shirts adorned with the Confederate flag. Reviews three Supreme Court decisions about the regulation of student expression. Concludes that a consensus for the regulation of…

The author traces the history of the applicability to students of the Fourth Amendment, which defines search and seizure of person or property to be illegal without a valid search warrant supported by probable cause. Various court decisions have affirmed students' constitutional rights, but Louisiana is the only state that has held, in a decision,…

Discusses (1) a Michigan court decision concerning reverse discrimination and voluntary affirmative action policies; (2) the Massachusetts Supreme Court's rejection of the work-to-rule strategy; and (3) an Arkansas law that will allow teachers failing a basic skills and literacy test to be fired only when their state certification expires. (MLF)

Reviews recent developments in education law related to teachers' classroom academic freedom in the public schools and discusses the implications for both teachers and administrators. Available from West Virginia Law Review, W.V.U. Law Center, Morgantown, WV 26506. (Author/MLF)

In "University of Pennsylvania," the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a privilege protecting the confidentiality of material assembled for tenure decisions. Focused on sex discrimination complaints, this article addresses how tenure committees can prevent "smoking guns" from getting in tenure review files and who can look in…

This article examines major court decisions and provides guidelines for determining program appropriateness for individual students with disabilities. Specific decisions reviewed include the 1982 Board of Education v. Rowley case, Diamond v. East Windsor Regional School District (1986), Russell v. Jefferson School District (1985), and Tolland v.…

Provides a moot court activity in which secondary students re-enact the U.S. Supreme Court case "California v. Greenwood," concerning the exclusionary rule and the privacy of a citizen's trash. Students role-play Supreme Court justices and attorneys to gain an understanding of how appellate courts operate. (LS)

Three recent federal court decisions dealt with the use of public university and public school facilities by student groups for religious activities. In "Widmar v. Vincent," the United States Supreme Court decided that the University of Missouri at Kansas City was not justified in its denial of permission to a registered student…

Examines a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Bethel, Washington, school district in disciplining a student for giving a sexually provocative speech. Cautions against a possible trend toward renewed school emphasis on dress codes and other issues of decorum. (IW)

The O. J. Simpson trials taught much of the United States a basic lesson in the difference between criminal law and civil law. Many students learn in their government classes that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. A person found innocent in a criminal trial, however, can be sued under civil law procedures for damages. It is…

Filing a lawsuit against a school district often means challenging the core values of a community. Cases discussed include a suit to prevent the broadcasting of morning prayers in school ("Herdahl"), a suit over the singing of a religious song ("Bauchman"), and drug-use testing for student athletes ("Acton"). (MLF)

An examination of the constitutionality of team prayer shows that pregame prayers violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, and their use can lead to liability problems for both coaches and school boards. Advises school boards to adopt policies specifically prohibiting team prayers. (MLF)