Religious ferment has been on the rise in public schools. For example, recent newspaper accounts report a controversy in Mustang, Oklahoma, concerning the superintendent's removal of a nativity scene from an elementary school's holiday production; a suit by a Cupertino, California, elementary school teacher against a principal who censored his…

Two recent federal court decisions side with school authorities. In both cases the judges held the plaintiffs liable for the attorney fees of the defendants. The author comments that this may reflect a partial changing of the federal courts' attitude, yet cautions schools to remain vigilant of student rights. (MD)

Analyzes a Nevada case involving parents' challenge to district's policy that denied speech therapy services to their home-schooled, speech-impaired student. Ninth Circuit Court upheld the legality of the district's policy, holding that it did not violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) since home schooling is not considered…

Describes an Illinois case involving the demotion of an elementary school principal with 5 years of experience to a classroom teacher. The former principal sued the district claiming that her state due-process rights were violated. The state court disagreed, entering a summary judgment for the district; later affirmed on appeal. Reviews other…

Discusses Eighth Circuit Court's upholding of an Oklahoma nontenured second-grade teacher's claim of religious discrimination and violation of First Amendment right of expression when school board declined to renew her contract on recommendation of a principal concerned with parent objections to New Age thinking in a letter sent home attached to a…

In 1982 in "Lubbock Civil Liberties Union v. Lubbock Independent School District," the Fifth Circuit Court ruled unconstitutional a school policy allowing meetings after school hours for moral, religious, or ethical purposes. Federal courts have struck down other similar policies. (Author/JM)

Discusses 10th Circuit Court decision upholding constitutionality of Oklahoma school district's policy that prohibited, with certain exceptions, part-time school enrollment, thus denying home-schooled student from taking certain specialized courses. (PKP)