The legal rights of college students have changed substantially over the years, particularly during the 20th century. This paper provides a historical sketch of student rights, including a listing of significant events and cases, from the founding of Harvard College in 1636 to the bicentennial of the Constitution and the 50th anniversary of the…

Like other institutions, schools are occupied by people whose duties and liberties are in conflict. Understanding the Bill of Rights can help resolve school problems as well as major social problems outside the court system. Students should value the first eight constitutional amendments as not tied to majority rule and should study them…

This article examines the effects of the "Acton" decision, a Supreme Court ruling that upheld random urinalysis of secondary-school students who participate in extracurricular athletics. The paper focuses on cases involving general (mass) searches, "medical assessment" searches, strip searches, and drug testing. Although the…

This paper is a clinical discussion of post-traumatic stress disorder and violence, particularly as it applies to the Vietnam Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. In the first section, the syndrome is described as the sudden onset of explosive rage and unprovoked violence with little or no warning, accompanied by a drastic change in personality. It is…

The present state of litigation on search and seizure will permit the warrantless search of a school locker by a school official who has reasonable suspicion that it contains something illegal, if he acts without the intrusion of the police. From the first and last search cases cited herein, it is abundantly clear that school officials exceed…

Students do not leave their constitutional rights at the boundary of the school grounds. We would never send anyone to prison without a trial; to a lesser degree, expulsions and suspensions are in the same category. Your due process procedures should at least give a student (1) notice of the charges, (2) opportunity to be heard, and (3)…

Although most parents want school officials to enforce rules for a drug-free school environment, they often feel differently when their own children are the objects of student searches. This paper argues that as long as searches are directed at "others,"--those who are known or assumed to be guilty of school rule violations or criminal…

This paper discusses the proper way to conduct official government investigations on college campuses within the framework of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The article emphasizes that this amendment lays the groundwork for the limitations on the exercise of…

This paper presents court cases for the purpose of updating current knowledge on search and seizure of students in the school setting. These cases focus on the balance and interplay between students' Fourth Amendment rights and school administrators' obligations to maintain order and discipline in the schools. Part of this obligation implies…

In 1988, the Tennessee Legislature passed permissive legislation (TCA 49-940) that allows school officials to test suspected students for using drugs. The law provides that testing is optional, with each local education agency deciding whether or not to adopt the policy. Twelve school systems chose to adopt the legislation as board policy. This…

A specialized vocational program served 108 epileptic individuals who participated in the program during the first 18 months of its operation. The following are some of the aspects of the program: utilization of the neuropsychological data in rehabilitation planning, brief work adjustment, a job station program, training in job seeking skills,…

This paper for educators, school psychologists, and counselors attempts to provide guidance for meeting the needs of students with epilepsy. Stressed throughout the paper are ways to provide for the child's special needs while fostering his/her self esteem and full participation in classroom activities. The paper addresses the following topics:…

Directed at school officials, this paper describes selected civil cases filed against schools since 1976. Cases concerning handicapped students constitute most of such cases; those cited deal with discipline (S-1 v. Turlington) and appropriate residential placement (Hine v. Pitt County Board of Education) of a handicapped child. Discipline cases…

This is a collection of the major papers presented at the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education annual convention. The papers reflect the diversity and complexity of the legal issues that affect schools. Major articles include "Legal Literacy and Teacher Education," by Louis Fischer and David Schimmel; "School Finance Reform in a…

This report--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002-- discusses student drug testing in Texas public schools. It contains the results of a 2001 study of student drug-testing policies in all 1,056 Texas public-school districts. In response to the Supreme Court's June…