Analysis of two recent federal court cases in which principals violated student speech rights offers guidance to middle school administrators as they attempt to address student expression. Characteristics of a successful school from the Association for Middle Level Education provide a framework for analyzing these cases in order to prevent…

Arguments concerning the length of a kindergarten boy's hair pointed up flaws in the handling of what should have been a routine administrative exercise. The incident forced a rigid law-and-order stance on administrators and board members of the Pasadena Independent School District in Pasadena, Texas. (Author/MLF)

Cleveland, Ohio, Public Schools acknowledged the negative impact of gangs on the education environment by creating a gang intervention and prevention team. Advises school districts on signs to watch for, steps staff can take, and how to tell the press. Stresses publishing and reinforcing rules in a student handbook and conducting training programs…

In this article, the author focuses on the issue involving zero tolerance in the Texas district whether the dress code policy is reasonable. In a small Texas school district, over 700 students were suspended in a single month for violating a zero-tolerance dress code policy. This suspension, which attracted national attention and threats of…

In "Castorina," the Sixth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling that had dismissed a suit by two high school students challenging their suspension for wearing T-shirts adorned with the Confederate flag. Reviews three Supreme Court decisions about the regulation of student expression. Concludes that a consensus for the regulation of…

Public school uniforms are a recent development. Legal trends suggest that the courts are willing to defer to school authorities regarding dress codes--provided a clear link is established between the dress regulations and furtherance of the educational mission. Lists a range of options for a dress-code policy and how each of the available options…

Guidelines for the development and implementation of a public school uniform policy are presented in this document. Written during spring 1991 in response to Virginia House Bill 1206, which directed the state board of education to develop model policy guidelines by January 1, 1992, the suggestions serve as a practical guide for planning,…

Focuses on judicial reception of schools' attempts to curb violence, particularly predatory violence and psychopathological violence. School responses have been to create violence-prevention policies based on punitive measures or punish offending behavior after it has occurred. Such reactions may result in finding that schools have abridged…