Federal court cases are examined in an effort to view recent First Amendment rights infringements which have occurred in Mississippi. Case law reinforces students' rights to wear same-sex outfits to school functions as well as to bring same-sex dates. Connection to a recent civil rights investigation by the NAACP into a north Mississippi middle…

Discusses recent court cases that illustrate situations wherein exhaustion of administrative or State court remedies must be effected before plaintiffs can resort to Federal Courts. (JF)

Examines recent lower court rulings on students' First Amendment rights. The current disputes center on (1) requiring the flag salute; (2) banning symbols; (3) removing books from the curriculum; and (4) preventing the distribution of publications. Projects the Supreme Court's position should the issue again reach that level. (MLF)

In "Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier," the Supreme Court ruled that school authorities could control a student newspaper. This article summarizes the facts surrounding "Hazelwood," and outlines the lower court decisions, the conflicting views of the Court justices, the questions it leaves unresolved, and its implications…

School personnel need to learn about the outcomes of controversial education cases. Research on school law knowledge indicates that teachers and students would benefit from learning the basic principles of school law. (six references) (MLF)

The United States Supreme Court's decision in "Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier" affirms that school officials have authority over school-sponsored publications. How supervision of student expression is exercised will teach young people a powerful lesson in freedom of the press--or oppression. (MLF)

Because school lockers are potential hiding places for weapons and drugs, some schools are eliminating them. Searching student lockers on a random basis raises legal questions. Examines the legality of random locker searches based upon the guidelines for student searches set forth by the Supreme Court in "New Jersey v. T.L.O." and lower…

In "New Jersey v. T.L.O.," the Supreme Court determined that public school searches must meet a two-pronged reasonableness standard. Search must be "justified at its inception" and be "reasonably related in scope to the circumstances." Examines factors that courts have found important in applying the T.L.O. standard.…

James LaVine, a high-school junior, wrote a first-person fantasy about killing 28 people in school and then committing suicide. The district suspended him for 17 days. James and his father filed suit against the school district alleging that the emergency expulsion violated James' First Amendment rights. The District Court ruled for the LaVines…

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees "the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures" by governmental officials. In a 1985 Supreme Court decision, "New Jersey v. TLO," students' privacy rights in public schools are afforded a lower…

In ruling that school officials had not violated students' protection for free speech by censoring a high school newspaper, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the newspaper to be a supervised learning experience for students. Traces the course curriculum theory rationale, implications for college newspapers, and other aspects of censorship. (MLF)

The United States Supreme Court's first decision on student search and seizure required that school officials have reasonable cause in conducting a search in order to enforce school rules or counter a threat to the school environment. Not analyzed was when a search will be considered intrusive. (MLF)

An edited version of federal district court Judge William O. Bertelsman's opinion in "Bahr vs. Jenkins" reveals his thinking on the courts' self-restraint in cases affecting school administrators' authority when disciplining students. The opinion also discusses, in an informal style, the rights and responsibilities of parties in such…

Explores the educational and legal questions extending from the judiciary's intervention into the student disciplinarian relationship, among them, the post-Tinker developments in student discipline procedures are traced. (Author/AM)

This paper examines the practice of search and seizure from a legal perspective. All issues concerning lawful or unlawful search and seizure, whether in a public school or otherwise, are predicated upon the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The terms "search,""seizure,""probable…