This article presents a sample legal battle that illustrates school officials' "reasonable forecasts" of substantial disruption in the school environment. In 2006, two students from a Texas high school came to school carrying purses decorated with images of the Confederate flag. The school district has a zero-tolerance policy for…

In the last decade, the number of children diagnosed with food allergies has increased significantly--to an estimated 3 million affected in the United States alone (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, n.d.). As that number increases, so do the articles, legislation, and policies that are designed to address how to best deal with peanut allergies…

The 2008 presidential campaign has, by all accounts, been extraordinary. Record numbers of voters expressed their views in historic primaries, and citizens across the country have been invigorated by debate about what policies and which politician will be best for this country. Equally noteworthy is the fact that young people have not been absent…

In fall 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado accused Colorado school officials of committing felonies and violating students' privacy rights. The controversy stemmed from allegations that a high school assistant principal read and transcribed text messages from a cell phone that school officials had taken away from a…

In recent years, immigration has become a hot-button issue--so much that mere mention of the word almost guarantees an impassioned response. Whether that response generates ideas and hope, debate and frustration, or even anger, depends on seemingly innumerable factors. Everything from personal preferences, politics, and prejudices to ethnic,…

For many students in the 1990s, school is no longer a safe environment in which they feel free to learn. This brief is intended to dispel myths about peer sexual harassment and clarify the new realities of the phenomenon in schools. The brief also conveys the message that school administrators have a duty to foster a school environment based on…