Higher education in the 2020s remains deeply divided on the role of religion, or what the Council on the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in 2023 describes as "religious, secular, and spiritual identities." In two previous articles in this Journal, one 2010 article by the late Peter Magolda and one in 2014 by Perry Glanzer, detail the ways…

In this article, we provide an overview of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and consider its implications for communication classrooms in higher education. We assert that we as communication educators have a moral imperative to consider the role of intersectionality and reproductive justice in our teaching philosophies and implementation, and to do…

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College" (2023) and "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al." (2023), hereafter collectively referred to as "SFFA v. Harvard," have garnered attention, especially among…

The authors, on the basis of the importance of the activities of constitutional courts in the system of separation of powers in most countries, propose a comparative legal analysis of the normative and legal acts governing the procedure for the adoption and legal nature of decisions of these bodies. On the basis of the study of the legal…

The application of academic freedom may lead to a violation of individual rights, such as the right to respect private life or institutional rights such as university autonomy, or the right of the religious community to self-determination. These collisions between rights are resolved by constitutional courts either according to the proportionality…

This article highlights the stipulation of the provision of formal schooling in a regional constitution drafted in West Africa in 1871, almost 150 years ago. The constitution under discussion originated in Fanteland, a coastal region of the Gold Coast (modern-day southern Ghana), and was the main achievement of a historical movement which sought…

Background or Context: Public school library book challenges have garnered ample media attention in recent years as many school districts and advocacy organizations have reported record numbers of book challenges. Book challenges are not a new phenomenon, historically speaking, but they have often illuminated values clashes in communities and…

The authors feel there is a need of a new and different kind of classroom conversation about free speech--one that not only considers the legal and aspirational dimensions but also weighs the practice and impact of speech in daily life. Two factors make this new conversation particularly urgent. First, the avalanche of social media communication,…

Between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court examined three cases that involved states that tried to limit the use of public money to support religious-affiliated schools. The Supreme Court found a violation of the Free Exercise Clause in all three cases. Although not the focus of the Court's opinions, these cases may have created avenues for…

In "Carson v. Makin," the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, if a state offers tuition assistance for students to attend private schools, then requiring that those private schools be nonsectarian violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Robert Kim discusses how this case aligns with other decisions related to the free…

In recent years, the US society has witnessed a sharp growth in political divide, particularly between those holding conservative and liberal views (Pew Research Center, 2014, 2017). Among the multitude of issues that the American people find divisive, the issue on gun regulation has been one of the most controversial ones (Pew Research Center,…

In a time when both American democracy and U.S. public schools appear to be in crisis, Derek Black argues that the best way forward is to look to the past at the ideals that the founding fathers espoused in the early years of the nation. Although early U.S. leaders placed a priority on expanding public education, Black explains that these ideals…

The right to basic education of a child is a requirement of human dignity. South Africa, through its new dispensation and conformity with human rights laws, is expected to transform and be consistent with the provision of the Constitution of 1996 that promotes and protects the best interest of the child. However, the current standards in a…

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…

The indigenous sub-Saharan African philosophy of "ubuntu" that comes down to the expression: "I am a human being because of being with other human beings", developed over centuries. This philosophy, embodying the notion of deep respect for all human beings, is rooted in a humane inclination towards kindness and sound…