Reviews the Bills of Rights' creation and rationale. Discusses the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments and analyzes their current status. Emphasizes the Supreme Court's interpretive role. Argues that reliance on the courts will eventually result in legal interpretations that reflect dominant national opinion. Urges greater citizen responsibility for…

This article surveys the constitutionality of state aid to private sectarian higher education under the First Amendment. A typology for constitutional aid programs is devised to scrutinize selected state programs for constitutional compliance. (TE)

Interpretation of the establishment clause of the Constitution and its application to statutes challenged by the United States Supreme Court has followed two distinct paths--one embracing the principle of separation of church and state, the other stressing the importance of accommodation between them. Both legal trends are discussed. (TE)

Testimony concerning the Supreme Court decisions in the case of Grove City College v. Bell (1984) is presented in this document. The Courts ruling that Federal aid to a student constitutes funding only of the college's student air program, nor the entire institution, reflected the more persuasive reading of the Title IX Education Amendments,…

This document reviews the results of a study of five Ohio Supreme Court cases concerning the equalization of property assessments among the various classes of real property: commercial, industrial, residential, and agricultural. Each of the decisions--occurring between 1964 and 1980, and involving the Park Investment Company--is briefly summarized…

This article examines the interrelated legal and scientific nature of the creationism controversy. It discusses "McLean vs. Arkansas Board of Education" and analyzes current tactics used by creationists, concluding that they are constitutionally impermissible. An approach is proposed that balances First Amendment interests with the need…

This paper discusses the distinction between the Constitution and constitutional law. The Constitution is the fundamental law of the United States. It creates the institutions of government, enumerates the powers of these institutions, and delineates areas government may not enter. The Constitution is the instrument by which the consent of the…

Reviewing literature on educational finance and law, this paper analyzes the rationale for the recent school finance reform movement and recounts the movement's progress from 1965 to 1979. An overview of the problem discusses state equalization programs' ability to provide financial equity and the relationship of financial equity to equal…

This article discusses Supreme Court cases bearing upon the legal parameters for permissible government regulation of religious elementary and secondary schools. Two legal strategies of religious interests, traditional and radical, are described, followed by a discussion of strategies at the state level. (TE)

This inquiry examines the accreditation process for church-related schools under both the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment and explores how these clauses work together to inform the issue. Included is an examination of the nature and function of the various accrediting agencies. (TE)

Using recent establishment clause decisions concerning vocal prayer, silent meditation, and prayer groups in the public schools, this article suggests that courts have applied the seemingly consistent doctrine of the tripartite test to arrive at quite different results, based in part on extralegal sources. Two such sources are the attitudinal…

Since 1970 approximately half of the states have challenged the constitutionality of state educational funding methods under equal protection or educational adequacy grounds. A review of court cases finds no clear trend towards acceptance or rejection of state provisions for school financing but does reveal a heightened awareness of inequity in…

This paper argues that courts have tended to identify and enforce individual rights at the expense, in many instances, of the ability of school boards and legislatures to carry out what they perceive to be the will of the majority of voters in their jurisdictions. The trend emphasizing individual rights began in 1954 with the Supreme Court…

Asserts that freedom of speech issues were among the first major confrontations in U.S. constitutional law. Maintains that lessons from the controversies surrounding the Sedition Act of 1798 have continuing practical relevance. Describes and discusses the significance of freedom of speech to the U.S. political system. (CFR)

This monograph analyzes contemporary legal controversies concerning religion, the states, and the schools and the interface between law and education. The introduction provides an overview of issues treated in the following seven chapters and includes a series of tables that place recent controversies in the historical context of prior U.S.…