This newsletter on collective bargaining in higher education and the professions devotes nearly all this issue to an analysis of a recent Supreme Court decision ruling that licensed nurse practitioners are supervisors who are therefore excluded from collective bargaining protection. The "National Labor Relations Board, Petitioner versus…

Disputes the belief that there is some way to motivate people who are culturally different to become like whites: if Indian legal rights are protected only to the extent that the Indians conform to white society, then one is not talking about legal rights at all. (Author/JM)

In "Martinez vs. Santa Clara," an Indian woman sought to overturn a tribal decision made by the Santa Clara Pueblo, in which tribal enrollment had been denied to her children. The case raised legal issues that are related to the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and to the relationship of the United States Constitution to tribal law. The…

A court case comment traces establishment clause educational debates in cases leading to a Supreme Court decision in which it was found that a blind student otherwise eligible for financial aid could not be denied the aid just because the funds were to be used for religious education. (MSE)

It is suggested that the Bakke case settles so little it is virtually useless as a precedent. Its single holding is that it put Bakke in medical school; without any consistent majority rationale there is no law of the case. Available from Univ. of Oregon, School of Law, Eugene, OR 97403. (MSE)

The lower court findings and 1995 Supreme Court decision in Podberesky versus Kerwin, concerning the legality of race-exclusive scholarships, is reviewed and its implications on race-based financial aid awards are examined. Issues discussed include current Department of Education guidelines in this context, meeting institutional mandates to…

Examines a recent decision by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in "Montgomery v. Carr," which determined whether the law permits a school board to have an antinepotism or conflict-of-interest policy that prohibits spouses, parents, and children from working in the same school or district. The court found that the school district…

A federal court decision, Podberesky vs. Kirwin, in which a University of Maryland scholarship program targeting African American students was found to be racially discriminatory is a cause for concern because of heightened federal pressure to desegregate colleges and because of its possible implications for other state universities. (MSE)

Analysis of a Supreme Court case, in which university use of academic freedom as a basis for protecting confidential peer-review documents was rejected, explores the general development and this application of academic freedom doctrine. Individual academic freedom is distinguished from institutional autonomy in protection of the free exchange of…

Federal Supreme Court and appellate court decisions in 1996 concerning discrimination against college students are reviewed. Several decisions deal with diversity and the lawfulness of excluding applicants under a diversity rationale or extending preferences to certain classes of applicants to enhance diversity. Other cases of discrimination based…

The focus of this paper is the extent to which the judiciary sets the tone for freedom of speech in educational environment, and in so doing, helps define educational institutions themselves. In particular, the paper examines what the federal courts have said about the roles and obligations of educators when dealing with the rights of public…

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is empowered with a delicate balance of executive, legislative, and judicial powers, putting the Commission in a vulnerable position whenever its decisions are reviewed. This paper takes the position that a "super-regulatory" title is unjustified when applied to the legally sanctioned role…

This report focuses on controversial articles written by the high school press, decisions made by the courts regarding students' press freedoms, and reactions to the articles and rulings. Particular attention is given to two rulings concerning censorship of articles about students' sexual atttiudes and activities, the issue of prior restraint of…

This report discusses the constitutionality of state aid to church-related institutions of higher education. The introduction deals with the important role that private institutions play in the total system of higher education, the seriousness of their financial plight, and the necessity for increased state aid to these institutions. Sections 2…

Compares the recent opinions of the Second and Fifth Circuit Courts concerning the legislative intent of Title IX with earlier opinions of the First, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits, which declared the Title IX employment regulations invalid. A middle approach to interpretation of the law is proposed. (Author/MLF)