Establishment of the new Law and Education Center (LEC) at the Education Commission of the States is announced in this document. It notes that the LEC offers preventive legal assistance to state educational programs and that it will focus on a limited number of specific legal issues. The central topic of this initial newsletter is competency testing in light of the Debra P. v. Turlington decision, which held that Florida's competency testing program did not give students timely notice of diploma requirements and also carried forward the effects of past discrimination. The authors review the judge's findings with regard to test bias, private school attendance, compensatory programs, potential injury to students, proof of discrimination, and plaintiffs' relief. They then briefly discuss the implications of the Debra P. case for school competency testing practices outside Florida. (RW)