The motion of the American Council of Education (ACE) and the National Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities (NIICU) to reverse the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in The University of Texas vs. Walter Camenisch is presented. The decision had ordered the university to provide free interpreter services to Camenisch, a deaf…

Explored are the various kinds and degrees of interdependence between private colleges and state governments. An overview examines the meaning of "private," and the legal relationships are analyzed: Supreme Court Decisions, the state action doctrine, sifting facts and weighing circumstances, and case law trends toward state action.…

This legal primer on violence in schools addresses the responsibility of school officials to respond to undisciplined youths whose behavior threatens the welfare and safety of other children in attendance. It is broken down into sections that provide a brief overview of the key rules and guidelines for school officials and teachers in each topic…

In Smith vs. Regents of the University of California, the California Supreme Court established new constitutional limitations on use of mandatory student fees. This article examines the Court's restriction of use of funds for ideological or controversial extracurricular programs and concludes that the distinction between educational and political…

In "New Jersey v. T.L.O." the U.S. Supreme Court held that the prohibitions of the Fourth Amendment regarding unreasonable searches and seizures apply to student searches and seizures conducted by public school officials. However, the Court said the legality of a search should depend upon "reasonableness, under the…

The purpose of this compendium is to provide tools for college and university counsel and administrators to consider their institution's approach concerning the balance of First Amendment values with the harm caused by racial harassment. Section I examines the development of the University of Michigan's initial policy broadly regulating…

Recent legal developments concerning college students and their institutions are reviewed, with a focus on constitutional issues related to the rights of students to organize, the collection and allocation of mandatory student activity fees, and the protection of freedom of speech regarding commercial enterprises. In addition to considering the…

Issues concerning legal liability for college student unions are examined, and guidelines are presented to reduce the risk of liability claims exposure for both the individual and the institution. General information is provided on: tort liability, civil rights liability, criminal liability, and contractual liability. In determining the potential…

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…

The government is a special employer that operates under the guidelines of the United States Constitution. Under these guidelines, government may not, without adequate justification, (1) deprive its citizens of fundamental, protected rights such as the freedoms of speech and association; (2) deprive a citizen of property or liberty without the due…

To help public schools minimize litigation, this newsletter recommends constitutional and legal training for public school officials and examines relevant court cases involving school official liability, intelligence tests, and religion in the schools. According to the authors, the Maine v. Thiboutot and Owen v. City of Independence cases…

This chapter summarizes recent state supreme court and federal court decisions related to higher education. The cases discussed are generally limited to those decided during 1975 and reported in the General Digest as of March 1976. In his discussion, the author attempts to integrate related cases and to illuminate any unifying legal principles…

Legal and educational responsibility of law schools in dismissing students for academic or disciplinary reasons is discussed. Need for and rights to due process are examined, and constitutional law is referred to. Available from William S. Hein and Co., 1285 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14209. (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…

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…