The rapid growth of minimum competency testing (by 1981, 36 states in the United States had mandated some form of minimum competency testing) has led to increased legal challenges of the existing testing programs. Three issues have been raised and are summarized in this brief overview: (1) constitutional claims under the due process clause; (2) equal protection; and (3) negligence or educational malpractice. Several of these issues were raised by the case of Debra P. v. Turlington which challenged the constitutionality of Florida's statewide high school graduation requirements program. The Court found that because Florida's black students had not had 12 full years of racially integrated education, they were therefore subjected to inferior educational opportunities. Such equal protection issues affect racial minorities, those whose native language is not English, and the disabled. Issues related to due process include the speed of implementation of a testing program, test validity, and test reliability. Issues related to educational malpractice suggest that schools will need to document all phases of students' performance. In addition, increased attention will be focused on teacher certification and school accountability. (GDC)