A coalition of health groups wants the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) to discontinue the use of the Joe Camel cartoon character in its cigarette advertisements. RJR has denied the findings of the three studies published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" and cited by the health groups--these studies contend that…

This article provides an overview of court cases that affect the curricular speech of teachers. Despite the large number of cases, the law governing speech in the schools is anything but settled. Courts disagree as to the analytical framework that should be applied to such claims, although most courts use the standard articulated by the Supreme…

Children should have the same First Amendment rights as adults except when it can be empirically shown that the children in question differ from minimally normal adults in relevant intellectual competencies and would, as a result, be likely to suffer harm if accorded full First Amendment liberties. In this paper, specific principles derived from…

In the case of "Pico v. Island Trees Union Free School District," involving school library censorship by a Long Island (New York) board, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 failed to decide whether board discretion or First Amendment rights should prevail, and instead remanded the case to lower courts. The author of this document first…

The 145 high school principals and 317 student newspaper advisers who answered questionnaires in this 1974 survey provided information about the following topics: adult responsibility for student publications, advisers' qualifications, financial support arrangements, space and facilities available, general support of students' First Amendment…

Recent court decisions in Tennessee and Alabama requiring the teaching of "creationism" and the banning of "secular humanism" challenge educators to listen to the critics and present a wider curriculum including the role of religion in human affairs while protecting our heritage of intellectual freedom. (MD)

Recollects the events surrounding the decision on whether a California high school would be able to print a story on AIDS. Discusses the role the Hazelwood decision played in the censorship of the story and its effect on other states. (MS)

Considers the questions surrounding a principal's decision to censor a controversial story. Depicts an improvised drama of this problem and relates the reactions of an audience of attorneys, a school superintendent, and their own colleagues during the drama. (MS)

The "Pico v. Island Trees Union Free School District" decision affirmed students' right to receive information under the First Amendment and concluded that removing books from school libraries infringes on that right. Book removals solely to suppress ideas are open to court review in the absence of clearly established administrative…

Discussed is a court case in which a journalism teacher filed suit against a two year college alleging that the students' civil rights had been violated because the college had eliminated the student newspaper. The court allowed the teacher third-party standing to defend the rights of the students. (RM)

Describes a recent court decision in which a school board and the superintendent did not support a teacher when he came under fire from the community for teaching a controversial subject. The teacher won his case against the district because it had violated the academic freedom rule and denied the teacher due process.(MD)

In "Connick vs. Myers" the Supreme Court applied a threshold requirement to an employee's First Amendment protection of free speech: speech must be related to public concerns as determined by the content, form, and context of a given statement. Discusses applications of this decision to lower court cases. (MLF)

The United States Supreme Court has refused to articulate a hierarchy among the guarantees of speech, press, assembly, and petition. The Court also has avoided specifying whether expression rights or safeguards against religious establishment are dominant. Addresses litigation indicating that free speech protections prevail when they collide with…

If Socrates returned, he would find inculcation a ubiquitous feature of U.S. education. Students and teachers who dissent from the community's wisdom are still denied their voice. The ideal of genuine Socratic inquiry remains an elite proposition. The First Amendment, which should protect students' right to question long held assumptions and…

Addresses U.S. public education's continuing unwillingness to deal with religious issues. Suggests that confusion over legalities, embarrassment, and ignorance contribute to the lack of instruction about religion. Examines what students miss when schools ignore religious topics and how students learn less than the whole truth about U.S. history.…