The courts have come to play an increasingly important role in educational policy making and the administrative management of our public schools. This is especially apparent in the context of school discipline where numerous and varied controversies have been translated into legal disputes over the past three decades, many of which have ultimately…

The Supreme Court in 1985 first addressed the issue of balance between a student's right to privacy as stated in the Fourth Amendment and school officials' need to maintain safety. This chapter summarizes the case, explores the meaning of the court opinion, and briefly discusses other issues. The case involved a 14-year-old girl (T.L.O.) whose…

This monograph summarizes methods used to investigate and prevent crime in school, sketches possible legal claims that students might make as a result of these approaches to inschool crime prevention, and, in an extensive analysis of five court cases, gives particular attention to the legal issues related to searches of student lockers by school…

With the alarming increase in drugs and weapons on American school campuses, teachers and school officials have stepped up their efforts to search lockers, other school property, and sometimes the students themselves. School officials must remember that any search of a student creates a Fourth Amendment issue. Thus, it is important to know the…

Survey of 24 midwestern school attorneys, 31 midwestern school administrators, and 22 law professors identified the most important school law cases in 10 categories: students' rights, due process, search and seizure, school attendance, rights of the handicapped, school curriculum, church and state, school desegregation, school finance, and…

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…

This manual is designed to provide educators, primarily administrators, with basic legal information on issues concerning student rights in North Dakota. Chapters are presented on (1) the right to an education, (2) the freedom of religion, (3) the right to privacy (in school records and in searches), (4) freedom of expression (in general, in…

School administrators sometimes face circumstances in which student searches seem necessary in order to maintain discipline and provide a safe learning environment. This publication provides an overview of recent court cases related to student searches, in an effort to help school officials anticipate and avoid legal problems while they carry out…

This document has four stated purposes: (1) to conform with Alaska state regulations requiring the establishment of guidelines on student rights and responsibilities; (2) to bring forth critical points of law in this area; (3) to provide examples of inappropriate policy; and (4) to provide local school districts with the criteria the state will…

This book examines the impact of a variety of court cases involving the legal rights and responsibilities of public secondary school students. Each chapter begins with a brief commentary that provides an overview of a broad area of student rights, followed by a number of short sections that focus on significant subtopics. The final section of each…

This is a collection of the major papers presented at the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education annual convention. The papers reflect the diversity and complexity of the legal issues that affect schools. Major articles include "Legal Literacy and Teacher Education," by Louis Fischer and David Schimmel; "School Finance Reform in a…

Although the Federal courts have not yet decided any cases involving search and seizure of student's property, various State courts have ruled that the Fourth Amendment protects students from "unreasonable" searches by school officials. However, the courts have generally applied a less stringent standard in justifying searches by school…

This report--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002-- discusses student drug testing in Texas public schools. It contains the results of a 2001 study of student drug-testing policies in all 1,056 Texas public-school districts. In response to the Supreme Court's June…

Legal points school officials must consider before conducting student searches are reviewed. Some courts have viewed school personnel as agents of the state, subject to all Fourth Amendment limitations. Most, however, have tended to support the doctrine of in loco parentis, permitting some searches on grounds of less than probable cause. (PP)

This volume of seminar presentations covers a broad range of legal issues affecting public schools. The first chapter summarizes employee free speech developments since "Connick v. Myers" (1983), a United States Supreme Court decision upholding a district attorney's right to dismiss a transferred assistant for circulating a controversial…