This analysis of the research outlines the history of the conflict over student rights--a conflict that has its basis in American political and social philosophy. The author views the tension between those who favor the expansion of civil rights for students and those who advocate a return to discipline based on the in loco parentis doctrine as indicative of a wider conflict between the Puritan concept of authoritarianism and Jeffersonian democracy. The report surveys major areas of legal controversy, including suspension, expulsion, and due process; corporal punishment; freedom of speech; the press; assembly and religion; freedom from unreasonable search and seizure; and accessibility of student records. The author concludes that the area of student constitutional rights is not one that lends itself to easy solutions, and that the controversy will continue to plague the schools as long as the conflict in the society at large remains unresolved. (Author)