A secondary curriculum for teaching about Texas law is designed for use by both teachers and visiting resource persons. Introductory materials include a preface, acknowledgements, an introduction, and practical suggestions for visiting speakers. The main body of the publication contains nine units of material on the following topics: Texas courts,…

The focus of this chapter is on the substantive constitutional protections of the public school employment relationship guaranteed by the First Amendment, particularly freedom of speech, and by the Fourteenth Amendment's right to privacy. Included are burden-of-proof standards required for establishing a prima facie case of denial of these…

Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, providing for legal action to redress deprivation of constitutional rights by agencies of the state, has become a popular medium for remediation of alleged substantive and procedural wrongs by school officials. The success of Section 1983 actions against public schools has led to attempts to extend such…

This chapter reports on legislative activity and court litigation during 1983 on issues relating to school prayer. Eighteen bills and resolutions have been introduced in the 98th Congress on this issue; 7 relate to voluntary prayer, 4 to equal access, and 3 are concurrent resolutions, not legislative in nature, expressing the belief that periods…

Court litigation and decisions concerning the conflict between first amendment rights of free speech for United States citizens and the rights of controversial international figures, invited by college faculty to speak on campus, are discussed and compared. (MSE)

Six of the 22 Supreme Court decisions in the 1981-82 term concerning or affecting higher education are discussed. The cases concerned sex discrimination, tuition-free public schooling for undocumented children, residency status, dormitory drug search, student religious groups using school facilities, and the scope of Title IX. (MSE)

In "Tucker v. State of California Department of Education," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a public employee has the right to engage in religious advocacy among fellow employees under certain circumstances. Judge Reinhardt suggests that government agencies either ban all employee displays about any topic…

Presents a role play that involves students in applying the U.S. Constitution to a case in which a school is accused of violating civil rights. Gives the facts and the issues of the case, as well as precedents of Supreme Court decisions. Encourages the students to make decisions based on legal principles. (NL)

Discussion of the Rosenberger vs. Rector case, involving the ability of public universities to decide whether or not to fund religious speech, evaluates contemporary jurisprudence concerning the establishment and free speech clauses and applies theories in these areas to funding of student religious speech on college campuses. It also outlines…

This article examines the constitutionality of educational institutions using mandatory student fees to support controversial student groups, focusing on the implications of the Smith v. Regents of the University of California, in which the California Supreme Court held the assessment of mandatory fees unconstitutional if those fees support a…

The recent Supreme Court refusal to hear a case appeal may prevent some church-related colleges from hiring only faculty sharing their beliefs. The earlier decision, involving hiring in a private elementary/secondary school, held that the institution was primarily secular, not religious by nature. (MSE)

The last 2 decades of the 20th century have witnessed a growing movement to reform the American education system. While people debate why and how reform should be accomplished new initiatives are being developed and applied in many different areas: student performance standards, curricular innovation, assessment, accountability, professional…

This chapter examines cases reported during 1990 that involved tort claims within the school context. A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which a court provides relief in the form of damages. Included are cases involving school officials, school employees, students, and in some instances others visiting school grounds. Tort…

Many activities that take place in the library, including circulation and interlibrary loan and reserve requests, result in the creation of records linking clients to specific kinds of information. Several groups, including law enforcement officials, have attempted on various occasions to gain access to these records. This research paper provides…

This chapter examines cases reported during 1988 that involved tort claims within the school context. A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which a court provides relief in the form of damages. Negligence is the most common tort alleged to have been committed by school personnel. In the area of products liability, the largest…