Reviews how plaintiffs who legally challenge tenure denial, citing the legal theories most commonly used, have fared in several such lawsuits. Addresses the Supreme Court's recent pronouncement on the confidentiality issue. (105 references) (MLF)

Offers a preliminary assessment of the effects of the "Penn" decision, focusing on the impact of the case in discrimination claims by unsuccessful candidates for tenure and the defense of academic freedom. Urges the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to make some preliminary judgments before issuing subpoenas for confidential…

Identifies and discusses recent decisions and upcoming cases of the Supreme Court that are likely to be of interest to teachers. Educational issues addressed include Internet access and censorship, affirmative action, sexual harassment, drug testing, and the separation of church and state. Includes a brief description Supreme Court duties. (MJP)

In its June 1998 "Gebser" decision, the U.S. Supreme Court virtually eliminated the strategy of suing school districts in cases where students have been sexually harassed by school employees. Summarizes the majority position in the 5-4 decision and presents Justice Stevens's main dissenting opinion. Unresolved is the sexual harassment of…

A computer-based method of obtaining statistical data on federal court cases is explained and illustrated with an inquiry about the length of judge-tried versus jury-tried cases. Results of the search, interpretation, and the text of the computerized search/inquiry form are included. Results show how the Internet is simplifying empirical research…

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974 impose an affirmative obligation on the states to rectify the language deficiencies of non-English-speaking students but do not specify a particular remedy, leaving it to State and local educational authorities to determine which programs, methods,…

The 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" decision laid the basis for dismantling de jure racial segregation of schools and resulted in a 50 percent reduction in the number of schools in which black students composed 90 to 100 percent of the enrollment between 1968 and 1980. "Brown" represented a significant shift in the national…

An overview of the constitutionality of various state public education finance systems is presented. Issues addressed include education as a fundamental right mandated by the education clause of state constitutions and the impact of the equal protection clause on the education clause. Criteria for successful challenges to state school finance…

Pressure on the public schools is coming from conservative New Right religious-political groups. Their concerns focus on: (1) secular humanism--a Godless form of religion that the public schools are alleged to be teaching; (2) scientific evolution versus creationism--the balanced treatment statute; (3) Bible clubs and prayer in the classroom; and…

This document includes a case summary and the Supreme Court Justices' opinions on Crawford vs Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles. The Crawford case concerned the constitutionality of Proposition 1, a State constitutional amendment ratified by California voters to stop mandatory pupil reassignment and busing within the Los Angeles…

Decisions made by federal and state courts during 1983 concerning the liability of schools, school districts, school boards, or school employees in tort cases are reported in this chapter. Torts are civil causes of action based on noncontractual legal responsibilities that individuals have to avoid harming or injuring another's person, property,…

The Supreme Court has ruled in several cases that schools must formulate rules and regulations that do not infringe on a student's right to free and unrestricted expression as guaranteed to them under the First Amendment. In two separate cases, the Court decided that students may wear buttons or armbands that express a particular position on an…

This book is a study of civil cases, filed in court after 1976, involving students in elementary and high schools. The number of cases comes to 1,632, of which 769 are concerned with special education, 290 with disciplinary matters, and 248 with sports. The remaining cases deal with racial and sex discrimination, freedom of religion, establishment…

Court cases involving student discipline, especially in regard to student publications and dress and appearance, is the subject of this chapter. The introduction discusses the doctrine of in locus parentis, the celebrated Supreme Court case of Tinker, and the minimum essentials for enforcing rules of student conduct. The first half of the chapter…

After a unique court decision forbidding prior restraint in public high school publications in three states, a study was devised based on the responses to individual questionnaires sent to principals, faculty advisers, and student editors in each of the schools in the judicial district involved in the decision. Respondents answered questions…