The Principal's Legal Handbook contains information and recommendations for practice in four areas. Section 1, "Students and the Law," yields interesting and informative answers on a number of issues related to students and the law: recent issues in schools relative to students' rights; the use of technology; and the latest case law and…

Blogging is a widely used means of communication for millions of Internet users around the world. Blogs, which are Web sites or Weblogs where entries may be posted on a regular basis, frequently serve as online diaries or commentaries and may include text, images, and links to other sources. Diaries are no longer kept under lock and key. Today's…

A year ago, an upstate New York college withdrew a speaking invitation to Wade Churchill, a University of Colorado professor who had characterized 9/11 victims as "little Eichmanns." Churchill's portrayal of 9/11 victims as a mixture of conscious and unwitting participants in a systemic evil of Holocaust proportions indeed was…

This essay traces the history of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment freedoms of assembly and petition--the "right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." These freedoms had their origins in English law and were included in a number of colonial and then state constitutions…

Since 1957 the Department of Defense has subjected all forms of speech of U.S. military personnel meant for publication to prepublication review based on security and policy criteria. The historical development of the Defense Department's prepublication review program and its specific implementation by the U.S. Air Force lead to questions of First…

To examine how the Supreme Court has ruled on press claims of a constitutional right to gather information, this paper summarizes important decisions in eight key cases. Although none of the cases clearly outlines and defines the Court's approach to the right of the press and public to gather information, insights may be gained through a…

Since the "New York Times Co. v. Sullivan" decision in 1964, courts have debated the degrees of protection from defamation that should be offered to individuals and the concomitant degree of freedom that the press should have to report on matters of public concern. Most recently, the Supreme Court has attempted to balance these competing…

An analysis of first amendment guarantees focuses on the federal government's power to regulate experiments, arguing that they do not merit the stringent level of first amendment protection offered by strict scrutiny or related standards. (Author/MSE)

Presented are the opinions of Justices Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Byron R. White, and Sandra Day O'Connor supporting the court decision that providing governmental aid to students preparing for the ministry under a vocational education act does not violate the separation of church and state. (MSE)

The legal tests that are applied to the issue of state mandates to provide creation instruction in public schools, and the implications of the mandates, are discussed. This issue is compared with other curriculum mandates and requirements to illustrate the difficulty of the problem. (MSE)

Deals with court decisions related to secular humanism in public schools. States that the major issues are: (1) whether or not secular humanism is a religion; and (2) whether or not it is being promoted in public schools. Relates implications of the court's apparent definition of secular as nonreligious, rather than anti-religious. (LS)

Takes issues with Gregory Hauser's previous article positing a constitutional right of social fraternities to formal recognition at public institutions of higher education. Reanalyzes each of the associational cases cited by Hauser, cites additional cases, adds a waiver argument, and wraps up with a public policy comparison of higher education…

Describes a lesson for teaching elementary school students about moral issues and decision making. Suggests that students read "Tucker's Countryside" by George Selden and evaluate moral choices made in the story. Offers a series of activities surrounding the reading of the book. (SG)

The Convocation on Academic Freedom promotes discussion on academic freedom through theme-centered presentations. This talk examines the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the religion clauses of the Constitution in the context of education. The focus is on the First Amendment's establishment clause, which enforces separation of…

The establishment of First Amendment protection for statements of opinion has extended the category of protected expression, but judicially created tests for distinguishing fact from opinion provide limited guidance for judges and place little constraint on judicial interpretation of language. In writing the Supreme Court's majority opinion in…