Two sets of Supreme Court cases are examined and their links discussed in the context of the recent Jeffries v. Harleston court case concerning the City College of New York. The first pertains to and reflects general protection of academic freedom in public colleges and universities; the second concerns speech rights of public school teachers and…

The legal aspects and policy implications of Catholic University's withdrawal of a tenured faculty priest's ecclesiastical license to teach theology, in response to a Vatican judgment, are examined. (MSE)

In conjunction with efforts to make more widely known the trend towards decomposition of the tenure system in American colleges and universities, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has examined conditions of full-time nontenure track faculty, part-time/adjunct faculty, graduate employees and new categories of academic professional staff…

Collective bargaining is the process of negotiating and administering a contract agreement between a union and the employing organization. Although the specific provisions of collective bargaining agreements vary from one school to another, the collective bargaining process, and negotiated contract generally, address the following issues:…

The American Association of University Professors' report on intellectual property rights summarizes federal copyright law on issues that concern faculty: ownership; commercialization; revenue distribution; works created for colleges and universities; fair use; traditional, electronic, and multimedia materials; Internet/World Wide Web; digital…

This paper argues that courts have tended to identify and enforce individual rights at the expense, in many instances, of the ability of school boards and legislatures to carry out what they perceive to be the will of the majority of voters in their jurisdictions. The trend emphasizing individual rights began in 1954 with the Supreme Court…

Despite differences among state laws authorizing collective bargaining, and despite the variety of administrative and legal structures that enforce collective bargaining rights and obligations, a considerable degree of consensus has evolved throughout the states. Accordingly, this chapter highlights the major features of the law with respect to…

Except in matters of obvious race and/or sex discrimination, teachers in Catholic and other private schools have fewer Constitutional rights than public school teachers have. Contract law, rather than Constitutional law, governs most teacher employment situations in Catholic schools. An awareness of its implications, together with pastoral (moral…

By analyzing contemporary literature, this paper posits a federal role in what is seen as a trend toward "normalizing" college faculty positions and shifting control away from state and local jurisdictions. Three factors are seen as contributing to this shift. The first is the government's role in funding the hard sciences which has, in…

The laws affecting education in the United States today can generally be classified according to four categories: (1) Constitutional law (both state and federal); (2) statutes and regulations; (3) common law principles; and (4) contract law. Students and teachers in private schools are not protected by federal Constitutional law because they are…

The provisions of Romanian law regarding college faculty employment policy, rights and responsibilities, leaves of absence, governance, development opportunities, resignation and dismissal, remuneration, discipline, awards, and social security are summarizd. (MSE)

Examines the issue of a professor's First Amendment right to academic freedom vs. a student's right to an effective learning environment free from sexual harassment in a 1996 case, Cohen vs. San Bernardino Valley College. Also explored is the right of a public employee to free speech. Recommendations are offered to college administrators on…

This book is limited to a study of the education opinions of the Supreme Court during the time that Warren Earl Burger served as Chief Justice. Over 100 opinions having direct bearing on education were issued during the Burger years, a total greater than in the entire Court's history. The first chapter presents the history of the establishment of…

This first chapter of "The Yearbook of School Law, 1986" summarizes and analyzes over 250 state and federal court decisions handed down in 1985 affecting the legal rights of employees of public schools and state education agencies. Among the topics examined are discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, age, and handicap;…

Legal issues have become of increasing concern to school teachers and school officials. This article addresses the need for teachers, administrators, and students to have a basic awareness of their legal rights and responsibilities. Based upon a review of leading law digests, the following significant legal issues are identified and examined:…