The United States Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist. held that a local school district violated the First Amendment freedom of religious expression rights when it directed an assistant football coach to stop praying on the fifty-yard line of a high school football field after each game. In finding for the high-school football coach,…

College students who reside in campus dormitories at public universities have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their dorm rooms that is protected by the fourth amendment; and officials cannot search these rooms for law enforcement purposes without a valid warrant. Non-students, however, have no such reasonable expectation of privacy in…

The 2007 "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1". Supreme Court 5:4 decision suggests that the Court is divided in its interpretation of "Brown" and its intent in addressing racial segregation. Although "Brown" intended equal educational opportunities through desegregation practices,…

Though school choice has proven to be popular, barriers remain in some states as a result of so-called Blaine Amendments and similar policies to prevent education funding from following students to religious schools as a part of school choice options. If left to stand, these ignoble 19th century amendments will remain major impediments to the…

On September 9, 2009, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that officials from Everett School District #2 in Mill Creek, Washington did not violate student Kathryn Nurre's constitutional rights to free speech by denying the Jackson High School Wind Ensemble the opportunity to perform an instrumental version of Franz Biebl's Ave Maria at…

The author reports on the ruling of a divided appellate court that held that the state law unconstitutionally made it harder for minorities to seek preferences than for other groups. The court struck down a voter-passed ban on the use of race-conscious admissions by Michigan's public colleges, holding that the measure had unconstitutionally put…

On September 9, 2009, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that officials from Everett School District #2 in Mill Creek, Washington did not violate student Kathryn Nurre's constitutional rights to free speech by denying the Jackson High School Wind Ensemble the opportunity to perform an instrumental version of Franz Biebl's "Ave…

Background/Context: School desegregation has been variably conceptualized as a remedy for racial injustice, a means toward urban (economic) revitalization, an opportunity to celebrate human diversity, and an attempt to more equally distribute educational resources. At the center of the debate over the years is the extent to which school…

This article discusses the interpretations of the court's ruling in "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District 1." The decision handed down June 28, the last day of the Supreme Court's term, does not prohibit school districts from voluntarily integrating schools as long as the school district meets certain legal…

This past June, a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court declared integration plans in Louisville and Seattle unconstitutional because of their focus on race as one factor in assigning students to schools. The Court's ruling in the "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1" and "Meredith v. Jefferson…

In this article, the author describes the experiences middle school students on a field trip to the new Constitution in Action Learning Lab in the Boeing Learning Center at the National Archives can expect. There, middle school students take on the roles of archivists and researchers collecting and analyzing primary sources from the holdings of…

School leaders attest to educational and social benefits from diversity. They argue that local housing patterns historically tend to separate families of different races and may lead to schools that are racially homogeneous if the districts do not counter them with assignment policies that consider race. This article discusses race in education…

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…

This study examines student engagement in elementary civics deliberation. Civics problem-solving steps and audience roles were introduced to two suburban fourth-grade classes to increase student engagement. Lessons were adapted from the "We The People" curriculum. Student engagement increased dramatically as students appropriated the…