The United States Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist. held that a local school district violated the First Amendment freedom of religious expression rights when it directed an assistant football coach to stop praying on the fifty-yard line of a high school football field after each game. In finding for the high-school football coach,…

Qualified teachers with disabilities are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To maintain legal compliance, principals must have an understanding of employment law, but often lack the training to prevent legal liability. This study reviewed litigation on discrimination claims under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation…

The use of aversives as a method for behavioral intervention in U.S. public schools has been a persistent concern and often subject to litigation, particularly among students with disabilities. The use of aversives (restraint, seclusion, and corporal punishment) have been supported in some cases due to their perceived necessity to keep children…

Special education is the most highly litigated area within the field of education. Therefore, the purpose of the current article is to highlight cases (court decisions, Office of Civil Rights rulings, and State Educational Agency hearings) involving students with disabilities in 2015. Highlights from the case law point to the need for school…

Public concern over the general health of children in the United States has risen during recent years due to dramatic decreases in physical activity levels and increases in obesity and other health-related issues. This article examines the participation of students with disabilities in extracurricular activities, particularly athletic activities,…

Horrific events such as the fatal shooting of three high school students in Chardon, Ohio, in the winter of 2012 places tremendous pressure on state and local agencies to ensure that schools provide a safe and conducive learning environment for all students. To help curb school violence, schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies, which often…

School leaders must understand the legal relationships involved in public education's governance structure. To minimize the risk of litigation they must also address several major areas of concern: the legal relationships between principal and teacher and between principal and student, program management, and legal liability (the state laws…

This decision did not clarify all of the issues involved but did state clearly that if the need arises, a student, regardless of his or her learning disability, can be suspended up to a full 10 days. (Author/IRT)

Child abuse is an issue of growing public concern. Seven questions and answers are presented pertaining to the legal risks and responsibilities of school personnel in reporting cases of child abuse. (TE)

Recounts the case of Lauren, a moderately disabled student suspended for disruptive, aggressive behavior before the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was amended. The Seventh Court of Appeals upheld the suspension. The majority of such cases have gone against districts, reflecting a relatively high judicial standard of dangerous…

Legislation and case law addressing discrimination in the workplace are not inimical to ethical supervision; the threat of litigation should never be an excuse for accepting mediocre or marginal teaching. Several significant Supreme Court decisions show that (nondiscriminating) employers retain the right to set and enforce high performance…

Pressured by public safety concerns, school boards have begun to adopt exclusionary policies and screening programs for pupils and employees infected with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) virus. This article reviews recent court decisions based on the "handicapped individual" defense and urges administrators to present…

Examines a Connecticut case concerning the rights of a disruptive handicapped student in light of P.L. 94-142. (IRT)