Cell phones have become a major part of our lives, and as such, they have presented new problems for school officials. This dissertation explores the current status of Fourth Amendment Law and how courts are applying the law to the search and seizure of cell phones in schools, by reviewing cases regarding search and seizure of electronic devices,…

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss current policies and position statements related to religious music and teaching about religion and propose a four-part framework for stakeholders to incorporate or amend policy on religious music in the public schools. The framework is based off of an analysis of sixteen public school district…

The United States Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist. held that a local school district violated the First Amendment freedom of religious expression rights when it directed an assistant football coach to stop praying on the fifty-yard line of a high school football field after each game. In finding for the high-school football coach,…

In today's public secondary schools, administrators face challenges that prior generations never anticipated, one of which is the T-shirt conundrum. The T-shirts that students wear to class contain all sorts of messages and images, many of which administrators may well consider inappropriate. This article is intended to help beleaguered educators…

As society's views of sexual orientation and gender identity have significantly evolved in recent years, school districts across the country are addressing how to create policies that align with the law in this area. One recent issue involves laws and policies focused on transgender students and their right to access restrooms that align with…

Louisiana is currently one of the 19 states in the United States that still allow the use of corporal punishment in public schools. The research questions that drove this study explored Louisiana-published court cases involving corporal punishment in public schools, district policies regarding the use of corporal punishment, reported instances of…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Push Outs -- Children of Color and includes: (1) Partnerships, Not Push Outs--Collaboration is Critical to Dealing with Disparities…

The purpose of this research is to provide school transportation supervisors and superintendents a set of guiding principles to refer to when administering and implementing school transportation programs. School transportation supervisors and superintendents need the practical knowledge of the rulings in recent court cases to develop policies and…

Group decision-making can result in important benefits for organizational effectiveness. However, collaborative environments do not emerge organically. Effective leadership is critical for group success. Educational leaders must understand group processes and the importance of creating a culture that supports collaboration. Student discipline for…

The present study sought to determine to what extent vestiges of the dual system of educating students with and without disabilities persist and how they undermine the implementation and sustainability of inclusive education. We investigated how prior experiences with segregation shape administrators' thinking and school policies and practices…

The longest lasting and most intimate interaction with government for most Americans takes place in US public schools. The Court's choice to enter into the national religious debate intensified the rhetoric and polarized many Americans into opponents and proponents of increasing religious instruction in public schools. This work narrates the…

This report compares various measures of school segregation and reviews research findings on the extent of school segregation, trends in school segregation over time, and the relationship between academic achievement and segregation by income and race. The role of school quality in mediating and moderating the associations between school…

In recent years, immigration has become a hot-button issue--so much that mere mention of the word almost guarantees an impassioned response. Whether that response generates ideas and hope, debate and frustration, or even anger, depends on seemingly innumerable factors. Everything from personal preferences, politics, and prejudices to ethnic,…

In his 2004 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush described drug testing as "an effective part" of an "aggressive, community-based strategy to reduce demand for illegal drugs" (as cited in Lineburg, Alexander, & Sughrue, 2006 [emphasis added]). His statement fueled debate about the role of U.S. public schools…

Public schools have historically embedded mechanisms for control within their policies and procedures through a variety of means. This article investigates a moderately sized integrated public school system in an upscale to low socioeconomic Big Ten university community in Illinois. Through descriptive measures, the author examines the racial…