Demonstrates that the ruling in "Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett, " a case involving an Americans with Disabilities Title I suit, made it more problematic than ever that Congress will be able to deploy Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to abrogate state judicial immunity. Evaluates surviving options for…

The Constitution is a living document whose meaning was not fixed forever at the Philadelphia Convention. Focuses on the slavery compromise and the Fourteenth Amendment to demonstrate defects of the document and its promising evolution through 200 years of American history. (PS)

Discusses two important and parallel court cases related to the use of the Bible in public schools. Covers the context, issues and ensuing public outcry related to both the 1890 "Edgerton" decision and the 1963 "Schempp" case. (LS)

On 23 June 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States issued two rulings on the constitutionality of race preferences in university admissions. The cases in question both involved the University of Michigan and were designated Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger. The Michigan rulings were a stunning triumph for race preferences, from…

Chapter 1 of a book on school law, this article analyzes the role of the U.S. Supreme Court, and contends that there has been a judicial takeover of functions that had been delegated by the Constitution to the states and to the people. Specifically, the author argues that much of the Supreme Court's expansion of its powers rests on the selective…

The history of the Fourteenth Amendment is reviewed from the time it was added to the Constitution of the United States in 1868. (MC)

When asked by Thurgood Marshall during the Brown v. Board of Education desegregation case to join a team of scholars to answer questions posed by the U.S. Supreme Court about the intent of the framers of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, Dr. John Hope Franklin didn't hesitate to accept. This document contains personal accounts of the famous…

Following the recent decision of the New York Court of Appeals in Gordon v. Committee on Character and Fitness, state residency requirements may prove vulnerable to future attacks based on the privileges and immunities clause. (Available from: University of South Dakota School of Law, Vermillion, SD 57069) (Author/MLW)

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…

Provides brief review of single-gender programs in public elementary and secondary schools; discusses Equal Protection Clause of 14th Amendment and Title IX; analyzes the legality of single-gender programs; highlights several policy issues regarding the constitutionality of such programs. (Contains 2 tables and 42 references.)(PKP)

After being accused of sexually harassing a student, a high school math teacher in New York was suspended with pay pending an impartial hearing. The district allowed the teacher to return to his classroom to collect his personal effects, which he had kept in boxes, desk drawers, and three filing cabinets, one of which was locked. He did not…

The American tradition of sovereign immunity and the Eleventh Amendment of the United States Constitution have provided certain legal protection to government personnel, including leaders of public elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions, but the concept of governmental immunity may be difficult to understand as it applies to…

"State action" is a term used to describe claims arising under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act for which a private party is seeking damages because the state has violated that party's civil rights. Cases are summarized illustrating the doctrine's evolution over the past century. The 1875 Civil…

Section 1983 of the U.S. Constitution provides individuals (including students) with the right to sue persons (including principals) acting "under color of law" for damages incurred in violation of their federal rights. This article examines two corporal punishment cases involving elementary school students involving possible due process…

Examines various theories that courts have used in applying Fourteenth Amendment criteria to nonpublic colleges and universities. Specifically examined are the agency theory for state actions; the public responsibility, government function,and stae involvement doctrines; the theory of permissive norms; and the concept of natural justice.…