Educators and the public are divided over the value of implementing school-uniform policies in the public schools. This digest examines arguments for and against school-uniform policies, identifies legal considerations, and offers guidelines for implementing policies on student dress. Most parents have responded favorably to uniform policies,…

Dress codes directed at gang attire present school officials with the dilemma of ensuring the safety of the students in a school environment versus the First Amendment rights of students to express themselves. A review of some of the court decisions limited to freedom of expression and general dress code cases serves as a foundation from which to…

Providing explanatory information regarding the legal principles and issues affecting Catholic school educators, this handbook summarizes student rights, contractual arrangements, and state and federal requirements as they apply to parochial schools. The legal issues involved in torts of negligence, including establishment and violation of…

To stimulate interest in student's rights and responsibilities, this resource contains incomplete scenarios dealing with the consequences of knowing and not knowing the law, as it is applied to modern practical situations. The scenarios can be used in high school courses such as government, social problems, history, psychology, and business law.…

This is a collection of paper copies of overhead transparencies that were used for a presentation on student rights and school law. The presentation covered the following topics: (1) student First Amendment rights, focusing on freedom of speech expressed through speeches, articles in student newspapers, demonstrations, T-shirts, and the…

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…

Opinions about students' rights were elicited from students attending an inner-city alternative high school, using a questionnaire. The questions focused on opinions on (1) freedom of speech, (2) due process, (3) suspension and corporal punishment, (4) vague regulations, (5) dress codes, and (6) students' governance of fellow students. Findings,…

In response to campus crime schools across the United States have instituted rigorous dress codes, and, in some cases, have required students to wear uniforms to school. The president of the local school board has received petitions from several groups wishing to speak at the next school board meeting. The president's political survival rests upon…

Judges have interpreted the First Amendment as forbidding the establishment of religion by the state and guaranteeing free exercise of individual religious liberty. The two clauses require public school officials to adopt a position of neutrality with regard to religion in the school setting. Educators must walk a fine line, accommodating…

Official policies concerning students' rights in Newfoundland and in the United States are examined, and standards of justification for students' rights are discussed. A questionnaire was sent to each school district superintendent in Newfoundland and to 100 selected superintendents in the State of Wisconsin. The response rate from Newfoundland…

A survey of court litigation traces the development of case law regarding the substantive rights of elementary and high school students in relation to school board rules and regulations. The survey reveals the gradual "judicialization" (conversion of conflicts into court cases) of educational governance and the delimiting of the school…

Court cases regarding students' rights are little changed from previous years. The majority of the litigation relates either to clarification of existing law or to suits alleging illegal actions by school administrators and teachers. The issues of corporal punishment and freedom of expression appear to be somewhat settled. The rights of mentally…

This review of the literature should prove helpful to school administrators in their efforts to stay abreast of judicial limitations on their decisionmaking authority. The author cites literature that examines court decisions affecting student rights in general and publications discussing some of the court decisions that pertain to only one or two…

This publication contains articles that focus on the legal issues that confront schools when they use various means to maintain order and safeguard student well being, and examine the liability that may be imposed if they fail to do so. Following the foreword and the introduction, the articles include: (1) "Legal and Policy Issues in Curbing…

The individual rights of students as revealed in federal court decisions are surveyed and summarized. Following a brief outline of the overall judicial approach, using the Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District court case as an example, the document is arranged into two major parts. Part 1 examines compulsory attendance laws, dress and…