Academic freedom is an oft-invoked buzzword in debates about campus speech and the American university. But how have courts treated legal disputes where faculty members have invoked academic freedom as a potential constitutional interest? And how do faculty themselves conceptualize academic freedom? The similarities and differences between these…

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 "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Combatting Classroom Censorship." Contents include: (1) A Wolf in Sheep's…

This report argues that the Michigan state constitution's "Blaine Amendment," a provision which prevents parents from drawing on state funding to go outside the public school system, is superseded by the United States Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in the case Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The report discusses a legislative…

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…

This dissertation examines the legal literacy of school administrators and the lack of mandated training regarding school law, specific to the First Amendment. With continual changes in education school administrators can function as the change agent for schools through the lens of self-efficacy. This dissertation is organized into three bodies of…

The paper is based on the concept of political culture, which is particularly important for the maintenance and functioning of a democratic political system and is closely linked with the political literacy of young people. In this paper research focus is on the two dimensions of political culture -- political values and trust. Specifically, the…

Modern people work in massive factories or offices for remotely managed corporations and need protection in their capacity as employees. Instead of locally made or distributed products, they buy mass market goods manufactured hundreds or thousands of miles away and need protection in their capacity as consumers. And as industrial production…

There is a critical need for sex, sexuality and relationships education to be LGBTQI inclusive. Numerous studies, internationally and in South Africa, highlight this need but what constitutes an inclusive curriculum has not been sufficiently addressed. This paper seeks to advance this conversation by imagining a curriculum beyond compulsory…

The United States has a lengthy history of welcoming immigrants from throughout the world and ultimately naturalizing and conferring citizenship to them. Yet, a number of indigenous and people of color never consented to citizenship and many still do not wish to have it. This article explores the role of citizenship as a tool to not only…

The growth of state laws creating private school vouchers and charter schools has mounting and alarming ramifications for students' rights, and those ramifications are shaped by a complex and shifting set of legal rules. This article explains the interplay between the increase of these school-choice programs, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent…

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…

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in "Carson v. Makin" that Maine violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by excluding religious schools from a private-school-choice program--colloquially known as "town tuitioning"--for students in school districts without public high schools. Writing for the majority,…