While the First Amendment guarantees an individual the right to be heard, this is an issue distinct from assuring the opportunity to be heard. In broadcast media, the opportunity, or access, has been largely determined by two factors: economics, or who owns the means to an audience, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation of the…

Federal courts of appeals have generally held that high school officials may exercise prior restraint regarding student publications if constitutionally sound procedural safeguards are available. A study synthesized what the lower courts have said about prior restraint and examined how those affected by the rulings have responded. The intent was…

A review of court cases, involving the use of various standardized tests, highlights the kinds of test validity and the interpretation by the courts of test fairness in setting personnel selection standards. Guidelines established by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are shown to support the use of predictive validity in…

This paper discusses five court cases decided in the seventies that explain the viewpoints held by the courts on pregnant school employees. According to the paper, the cases reveal the judicial background that prompted P.L. 95-555, passed by Congress in 1978 and identified as an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII. The cases, not…

Congress enacted the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in 1974 as a floor amendment to a comprehensive education statute. Until 2002, persons trying to understand and comply with FERPA were without guidance from the Supreme Court, which did not hear a single FERPA case from 1974 to 2001. In its 2001-02 term, however, the Court…

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…

This conference paper analyzes the least restrictive environment (LRE) provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and reviews and compares the standards created by different Federal Circuit Court decisions on LRE. The following cases are analyzed: (1) Briggs v. Board of Education, which deferred to the public agency's…

Supreme Court decisions tend to take the form of either (1) an act of justification or argumentation that defends the verdict of the communicator, or (2) a construction of a new symbolic reality that influences the world view of its audience. The "Roe vs. Wade" decision is an example of the merger of these two rhetorical functions. The…

Recent rulings of the United States Supreme Court and other courts have tried to maintain a balance between a free and unintimidated press and some measure of protection for individuals against libelous accusations. The language of recent rulings suggests that the courts are focusing on impartiality and objectivity in reporting as a standard of…

In applying First Amendment protections to the broadcast industry, the Supreme Court has adopted a hands-off policy, but increased concentration and centralization has brought into question the diversity and freedom of flow of information. Market pricing, complete goverment regulation, and restricted access are three alternatives for regulatory…

The scenario: Pictures of children in various states of nudity are discovered in an elementary teacher's desk. What does one do? This paper offers guidance, much of it based on common sense, for administrators who may find themselves in a situation fraught with serious consequences if a mistake is made in determining the truth. Court decisions are…

Parents generally expect public school districts to provide for their children's care and safety while they are at school. Although in the first half of the twentieth century common law tended to make school officials immune from suit, more recently public school districts, school employees, officers, and elected boards have been successfully sued…

The educational beliefs of Supreme Court Justices in the 1980s are examined, i.e., the explicitly stated beliefs, rather than any inferred beliefs based on legal decisions. In particular, the focus is on beliefs expressed only in the major Court opinions rendered in the 1980s. Issues discussed include the definition of education, its relation to…

To determine if state departments of public instruction have attempted to follow decisions by federal circuit courts of appeals in establishing guidelines or policies governing prior review regulations of student literature and student publications, a study compared state guidelines on freedom of expression in place in 1974 with those in effect in…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the due-process rights of public employees. These particular rights are grounded in the constitutionally protected liberty interest in one's good name and reputation. Both employers and employees should be aware of what parameters case law provides with regard to the dimensions of this due-process right and…