The existence and exercise of a teacher's authority to use corporal punishment in disciplining students has been challenged in both Louisiana and federal courts. Recent developments and posit solutions where the law is unsettled are reviewed. Available from: the Louisiana State University Law School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (LBH)

Describes the Supreme Court graduation-prayer decision in "Lee v. Weisman" (1992) and implications of the "Jones v. Clear Creek Independent School District" case, which the Court decided not to review in 1993. Discusses the New Jersey graduation-prayer experiment and ruling of third District Circuit Court Judge Theodore A.…

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) drug-testing program affects thousands of collegiate athletes. This article examines the web of testing procedures and raises questions about the legitimate interest of the program; focuses on federal and state constitutional limitations; and suggests some ways to correct operating procedures.…

A California superior court struck down a Stanford University antiharassment policy, saying that it restricted students' free-speech rights. The policy had banned face-to-face insults that stigmatize students on the basis of such things as race, sex, or religion. California law requires private colleges to grant students the same constitutional…

Analyzes the results of recent court cases concerning the constitutionality of mandatory student fees and discusses their implications for student affairs practice. To date, courts have ruled mandatory student activity fees permissible when they do not unduly infringe on students' constitutional rights. Offers eight principles for designing…

Reviews the continuing legal and political battles against corporal punishment and discusses the legal future of corporal punishment in view of social and legislative changes since "Ingraham." (81 footnotes) (MLF)

Examines the National Collegiate Athletic Association's drug testing program of student-athletes and relevant legal decisions. Concludes that each individual urinalysis search, not based on suspicion, is a violation of the student-athlete's privacy and is an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. (100 references) (MLF)

An alternative interpretation of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech suggests that universities may prohibit and punish direct verbal assaults on specific individuals if the speaker intends to do harm and if a reasonable person would recognize the potential for serious interference with the victim's educational rights. (MSE)

Examines court decisions which led to the passage of the Equal Access Act of 1984. Although the act was designed to clarify the issue over the legality of permitting religious clubs to meet on school property, it may have created more confusion. Concludes that the Supreme Court may have to decide the issue. (SLM)

Threatening student web sites raise complex legal questions for schools. According to "Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), students' First Amendment rights must be abridged to ensure an orderly school environment. Recent litigation, educator rights, American Civil Liberties Union interventions, and legally defensible strategies for schools are…

In a case involving a swim-team student's mandatory pregnancy test and a varsity coach's mishandling of confidentiality, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals awarded the coach qualified immunity, while rejecting the student's Fourth and First Amendment claims. Discretion and legal counsel would have helped. (MLH)

Reviews how federal courts applied the "state-created danger" theory in the school setting. The courts ask when, if ever, does a school district owe an affirmative constitutional duty to protect students from private violence at school. Examines those cases, with emphasis on elements a student must prove in order to hold the school…

There is widespread concern that higher education is being compromised by being turned into a "commodity" to be "consumed". This article represents an initial attempt to explore the trends in both the UK and US, and considers how the law has responded to them. It argues, however, that there is an important distinction to be…

The educational views of former Justice Lewis Powell as expressed in his legal opinions during his 15.5 years on the U.S. Supreme Court are addressed in this paper. Powell's written legal opinions on the need for maintaining discipline and order in the classroom, upholding the authority of school boards to determine curriculum, the importance of…

The speaker examines the issue of the legal liability of individual school board members as it has arisen as a result of such court cases as Wood v. Strickland and Goss v. Lopez. The discussion includes questions of infringement on students' and teachers' rights and cases of school officials acting as individuals rather than in an official…