Pressured by religious conservatives, Congress passed the Equal Access Act (1984), allowing secondary school students the right to form on-campus extracurricular religious and other clubs. Recently, a Gay-Straight Alliance Club at a southern California high school was granted court protection under this statute, despite the community's objections.…

In a case involving use of physical force against a misbehaving eighth grader, a federal court judge concluded that the teacher's conduct did not violate the student's due-process rights, after applying the "shock the conscience" test. However, the case proceeded to trial, since district policy supported such force. (MLH)

Schools desiring to help students with divorce transition should encourage both parents to attend parent-teacher conferences and establish a set of policies and procedures mindful of parents' separate residences. Schools need to consider both parents and recognize that kids in the middle are dealing with difficult challenges that may make…

From 19th-century Protestant hegemony to today's religion-free zones, we have found no proper, constitutional role for religion and religious expression in public education. Both models are unjust and, in some cases, unconstitutional. A third model, composed of consensual guidelines, must be translated into local district policies and practices.…

A high school district in suburban Chicago recruits top quality teachers by emphasizing the importance of its student teaching program, committing extra time and resources to the program, and recruiting new staff members from the student teacher ranks. (MLF)

Interviews with 11 Colorado state legislators about their views on local control reveal they have no fear of pushing the constitutional envelope when it comes to legislating school policy. School board members must get involved in the legislative process, whether by lobbying legislators on behalf of important education issues or testifying as…

Charles C. Haynes, religious liberty scholar and leader in the "common ground" movement, explains what guidelines schools should follow to observe the December holidays. Christmas will remain a point of contention, unless communities think about and devise rich ways to treat religious holidays, both academically and otherwise. There is…

Lays out the basic requirements of a sound antigang symbol policy. Discusses ways in which a school board can develop a sound policy that prohibits the wearing or display of gang-related symbols without overstepping constitutional boundaries. (LMI)

Discuss implications for school-district student-on-student sexual harassment policies of "Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, wherein the Supreme Court ruled that a school can be held liable for not protecting students from sexual harassment by other students. States that schools also have a moral and educational duty to prevent…

The Boy Scouts of America's anti-gay and anti-atheist youth policies are forcing school districts to reconsider sponsoring troops and allowing meetings on campus. To most school boards, banning Boy Scouts organizations seems unthinkable. The meeting-space question boils down to existence of anti-discrimination policies. (MLH)

In a case involving parents' claims that a Louisiana district's uniform policy violated their children's 14th Amendment right to free speech, Fifth Circuit Judge Robert Parker sided with the school board. The board's legitimate interests in regulating student behavior outweighed students' legitimate interests concerning clothing choices. (MLH)

Examines a United States Supreme Court decision upholding the Bethel, Washington, school district in disciplining a student for giving a sexually provocative speech. Refers to the 1969 decision in "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District," in which students had been suspended for wearing symbols of opposition to the…

In "Stephenson v. Davenport Community School District," the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that schools cannot adopt unduly vague policies to regulate student expression, in this case, a cross-shaped tattoo. (LMI)

Researchers say the best way to prevent suicide is to find and treat kids with depression and substance-abuse problems. Schools should also develop a suicide-prevention policy, make curriculum decisions wisely, train staff as detectives, notify parents, make sure affected children get help, and attend to survivors. (Contains 13 references.) (MLH)

School boards should not interfere with student newspapers, beyond disciplining libelous journalists fairly. Instead of censoring articles, school boards and administrators should allow student journalists to make mistakes and pay later. If a lawsuit results from an irresponsible article, the school pays only if it controls. Rebecca Jones's…