Examines issues under three categories: strategies and plans for desegregation in rural school districts and small towns; the complexity of policy making in Memphis, Chattanooga, and Nashville school districts; and the record of federal courts in Tennessee. (RH)

Reviews recent state and federal rural school funding litigation. Concludes that while rural school advocates have been relatively successful in the courts, efforts to obtain adequate state funding for rural schools through the legislative process are only partially successful. (Contains 16 references.)(PKP)

Address the need to remedy the disparity in academic achievement of black and white students and examines why this disparity continues to exist in spite of the desegregation decrees issued under "Brown." Reviews how a court decides whether a school district has complied with a desegregation decree. Explains why schools are being released…

Discusses first case to challenge an employer's failure to provide contraceptive coverage to women working in private educational institutions as discriminatory, as well as proposed legislation involving contraceptive coverage. Explores several alternatives legislators must consider when deciding whether to implement such legislation, including…

Examines recent lower court rulings on students' First Amendment rights. The current disputes center on (1) requiring the flag salute; (2) banning symbols; (3) removing books from the curriculum; and (4) preventing the distribution of publications. Projects the Supreme Court's position should the issue again reach that level. (MLF)

The United States Supreme Court, in an employment practices case, apparently moved away from protecting the individual's rights against discrimination. However, the case focused on the theory of disparate impact, not disparate treatment, and hardly signals the end of civil rights. Suggests a review of school district employment practices and…

In "Harris" the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII is violated when the workplace environment "would reasonably be perceived and is perceived as hostile or abusive." Schools and colleges, by developing appropriate policies, procedures, and educational programs, can substantially increase understanding about the legal aspects of…

Provides a brief history of the Supreme Court's pivotal decisions on public school desegregation. Reviews the Court's decisions in "Board of Education v. Dowell" and "Freeman v. Pitts." Provides an analysis of "Freeman" and its effect on public school desegregation law. (68 footnotes) (MLF)

After reviewing the history of corporal punishment in schools, author discusses "Ingraham v. Wright," wherein the U.S. Supreme Court found that the use of corporal punishment in schools was not unconstitutional. Calls for the federal courts to ensure that a student's 14th Amendment liberty interest is protected when subjected to…

By accepting two appeals on the voluntary use of race in assigning students to public schools, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide the constitutionality of widespread practices that school districts use to promote diversity. And the decision could affect schools in unforeseen ways. In both cases, parents of white children have challenged…

This study examined Chief Justice William Rehnquist's position on four recent Supreme Court cases related to parochaid as well as four other Supreme Court rulings dealing with economic or racial discrimination. The presentation of this study's research should present one perspective on how and why the Establishment Clause is being rewritten and…

In 1981 the federal courts decided hundreds of cases involving schools relating to civil rights statutes, the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Lawsuits concerning the handicapped involved such issues as the costs of determining what is equal opportunity in education, full-time…

The Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986 authorizes courts to award attorneys' fees to handicapped children. Examines Supreme Court's decisions and the history of the act, then analyzes the innovative features of its attorneys' fees provisions. (MLF)

The Supreme Court issued an unclear decision in "Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education." The case generated five opinions that do not agree on a single set of legal principles to give needed guidance to public officials. Includes discussion of two other cases relating to affirmative action and hiring practices. (MD)