This article summarizes the applicable judicial analysis for cases in which special education personnel claim that their employing district retaliated against them for advocacy on behalf of students with disabilities. Providing examples of recent relevant court decisions, it traces the applicable essential elements and likely outcomes for such…

Background/Context: In the 1973 "Rodriguez" decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not guarantee a substantive federal right to education. So far, this holding has not been adequately contextualized with many other statements the Court has made concerning the nature of education in the constitutional order. For…

Some student affairs professionals who are employed at public colleges and universities feel conflicted about the degree to which they should or should not discuss their religious and/or spiritual beliefs at work. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of legal, developmental, and ethical considerations that should be factored into…

Monica Williams, a beloved counselor of an urban middle school, is shocked to learn that she is being terminated for a comment she made on Facebook. This case was developed for use in an educational leadership course for students to evaluate an educator's right to freedom of speech in relation to social media. Instructors can use the case to…

Teacher use of social networking sites such as Facebook has presented some ethical dilemmas for policy makers. In this article, we argue that schools are justified in taking action against teachers when evidence emerges from social networking sites that teachers are (a) doing something that is illegal, (b) doing something that reflects badly on…

This paper examines the use of cameras in self-contained special education classrooms. It begins with an examination of the legal framework used when administrators are contemplating the implementation of video surveillance within the classroom. It gives a brief summary of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Individuals with…

Music with sacred texts is integral to the historical and modern development of the music education field, yet many who teach in public schools find themselves limited or banned from using sacred music. School divisions do not have a consensus opinion on how to handle this sensitive topic, and the law is not explicit. In this article, I provide an…

In today's urban schools, foreign-born children and children of immigrants are the fastest growing sector of the student population and as a result of this changing demographic, our schools are more ethnically, racially and religiously diverse than they have ever been (Suárez-Orozco et al. in "Thriving and spirituality among youth:…

In 2 recent legal cases, graduate counselor education students challenged the imposition of remediation plans as violating their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and religion. With special emphasis on this recent litigation, the article examines the legal standards governing the authority of counselor educators at public colleges and…

Non-individualized (so-called "random") drug testing in public schools presents issues of Constitutional law on both the federal and state levels, particularly with regard to citizens' freedom from "unreasonable searches and seizures." The trend toward increasing acceptance of such testing by the courts (and particularly the U.S. Supreme Court)…

History has placed the stamp of approval on the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the top-secret history of the Vietnam War. If WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange is another Daniel Ellsberg, then it is possible the website's disclosures will be viewed over time as similarly in the public interest. A classroom discussion on the release of…

This case study focuses on issues of freedom of speech and freedom of religion in public schools. It involves a rural, southern high school where a group of students participated in a Day of Silence. The school allowed the students to participate based on the principal's understanding of the students' First Amendment rights. However, the next day,…

Updated for the first time since 2005, this indispensable volume includes revised interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights along with key intellectual freedom guidelines and policies, including: (1) A new chapter, "Interactivity and the Internet," and other fresh material on intellectual freedom and privacy in online social…

Since the "Tinker" decision, the Supreme Court has maintained that student First Amendment rights are modified by the "special characteristics of the school environment." The nature of these characteristics, however, has not been adequately investigated. The author proposes seven characteristics of schools that are relevant to…

One of the most important topics for today's information technology professional is the study of legal and regulatory issues as they relate to privacy and security of personal and business data and identification. This manuscript describes the topics and approach taken by the instructors that focuses on independent research of source documents and…