Illustrates how the Supreme Court has been divided in its 1989 decisions on affirmative action. Reviews the following cases: City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co.; Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins; Wards Cove Packing Company, Inc. v. Antonio; Martin v. Wilks; Lorance v. AT&T Technologies, Inc.; Patterson v. McLean Credit Union; and Jett v. Dallas…

Discusses cases involving a nontenured high school coach's firing, state-mandated competency testing, and civil rights of public employees. (KS)

Since 1970 approximately half of the states have challenged the constitutionality of state educational funding methods under equal protection or educational adequacy grounds. A review of court cases finds no clear trend towards acceptance or rejection of state provisions for school financing but does reveal a heightened awareness of inequity in…

The section of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142) detailing "appropriate education" as a function of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) regulates a variety of educational considerations. Arguing that the IEP is in fact "the hub of the special education wheel," the authors of this document begin…

The 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" decision laid the basis for dismantling de jure racial segregation of schools and resulted in a 50 percent reduction in the number of schools in which black students composed 90 to 100 percent of the enrollment between 1968 and 1980. "Brown" represented a significant shift in the national…

The effects of bilingual education and programs for students who are not native speakers of English have not been researched thoroughly enough to provide sufficient, accurate, and meaningful evidence that will support litigation. Accordingly, this paper provides a historical review of the role of litigation in obtaining educational equity for…

This book is a compilation of the presentations delivered at the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Council of School Attorneys Annual School Law Seminar on March 22-24, 2001, in San Diego, California. Presentations include: (1) "Religion and the Public Schools--What Hath the Supreme Court Wrought?" (Jay Worona and Patricia H. Gould); (2)…