Analyzes the origins of recent federal appellate decisions' divergence from the Supreme Court's identification of teachers' or faculty's academic freedom as "a special concern of the First Amendment." Suggests ways in which academic freedom might better be accorded its rightful importance within the framework of current Supreme Court…

The 1985 Illinois school reform legislation revised statutes and regulations to ensure that teachers who were evaluated as substandard could be removed from their positions. Describes and discusses the decision-making problem that results when administrative error subverts the legislative intent. (MLF)

Tells the life stories of some of the people who have worked for human rights and democracy in contemporary China. Five profiles show the obstacles faced by Chinese teachers in the human-rights struggle. (SLD)

Seeks to answer whether a professor's expression is a matter of public concern in order to qualify for constitutional protection; discusses public concern cases involving faculty expression. Suggests that the professor bears a difficult burden in passing this threshold test and that the scope of professors' protected speech has consequently been…

Peeping software takes several forms and can be used on a network or to monitor a certain computer. E-Mail Plus, for example, hides inside a computer and sends exact copies of incoming or outgoing e-mail anywhere. School staff with monitored computers should demand e-mail privacy. (MLH)

Due process hearings should not threaten principals who have performed their teacher evaluation duties well and can demonstrate (1) the persistent nature of the teacher's difficulties; (2) repeated warnings; (3) frequent assistance; (4) adequate time and opportunity to improve; (5) close supervision; and (6) the teacher's involvement in a normal…

In 1995, members of the local teachers' association sued the Colonial School District in eastern Pennsylvania regarding a policy prohibiting political activities at official polling places on school property during nonworking hours. The court decided in the teachers' favor, declaring the policy unconstitutional. Generally, teachers' partisan…

Considers school choice and employment policies. Suggests that American educators can learn a great deal from other Western nations, which have long made educational freedom a cornerstone of their policies. Concludes that the experience of other Western democracies suggests that a publicly funded school can appropriately ensure the coherence of…

The author sees cause for concern in the number of complaints to the International Labour Organisation alleging violations of teachers' union rights. She examines the right of public employees to organize and strike and government interference, concluding that greater protection for teachers' unions may be needed. (SK)

Supreme Court has delineated three-step test to First Amendment cases brought by public employees, including tenured and nontenured teachers' academic freedom cases. Is teacher's conduct "protected expression" that concerns public issue without unduly rocking boat? If so, is protected expression the motivation behind district's adverse…

Discusses Eighth Circuit Court's upholding of an Oklahoma nontenured second-grade teacher's claim of religious discrimination and violation of First Amendment right of expression when school board declined to renew her contract on recommendation of a principal concerned with parent objections to New Age thinking in a letter sent home attached to a…

These days, most newly hired faculty are appointed on a part-or full-time nontenure- track basis. The AAUP has reported that between 1975 and 2003, full-time tenure-track positions increased by only about 16 percent, while full-time non-tenure-track positions grew by 178 percent, and part-time appointment rose by 189 percent. Yet tenure…

Colleges are less willing to cooperate with the American Association of University Professors in its investigations of institutional violations of faculty's rights, and some criticize the organization's dual role as professional association and union. (MSE)

Based on a recent Supreme Court decision which allows schools to censor school-sponsored newspapers, this article offers guidelines to avoid legal challenges in this area. Questions raised by the decision regarding the extent to which school authorities may censor student newspapers and the amount of judicial interference in curriculum matters are…

"Accuracy in Academia" (AIA) is a new lobby organized for recruiting student volunteers to monitor university courses and expose anti-American teaching. Hard science and journalism courses will be omitted from scrutiny with emphasis on political science, economics, history, and sociology courses. University groups feel that AIA's tactics threaten…