Reviews and synthesizes court rulings that have expressly discussed the factor of economic cost in considerations of appropriateness of special-education programing. Advises educators to expend their resources in providing appropriate individual special-education programs rather than litigating the costs of those programs. (197 references) (MLF)

Addresses the authority of school officials to regulate student dress by examining school dress codes, first with respect to communicative dress--or dress that communicates speech--and then with respect to noncommunicative dress. Provides a summary of the law on dress codes and a basic set of rules to assist school officials in drafting…

Cites two court cases regarding students' complains of sexual harassment by teachers. Contends that the educators in these cases violated both commonly accepted personal morality and the ethics of their profession. Reveals a widespread resistance to the study on the psychological development of girls. (MLF)

Justifies teaching trials as a way to enrich the social studies curriculum. Explains that by incorporating the study of historical and contemporary trials into social studies classes, it furthers the civic competence of the students. Discusses different teaching approaches ranging from case studies and readers' theater to videos and literature.…

Responses from 157 principals (65 percent of a national sample) showed strong support for dress codes. Research focuses on the perception of school principals regarding dress codes, analyzes dress codes for common features, and proposes a constitutional standard of review for contested dress codes. (58 footnotes) (MLF)

In "Boring vs. Buncombe County Board of Education," the 4th U.S. Circuit Court reversed decision involving a school board's control over curriculum in a North Carolina high school. Controversy was over a play chosen for an advanced acting class that had been approved by principal. Decision says public school teachers have absolutely no right of…

In the context of recent Supreme Court litigation (Jeffries versus Harleston) concerning academic freedom at City College of New York, the nature and parameters of academic freedom are examined, and harms to an institution that might justify legal action against a professor are discussed. It is concluded that the professor's dismissal was neither…

Summarizes the most recent federal court opinions, statutes, and regulations that address the investigation, prosecution, and remedies for sexual harassment on college and university campuses. Implications of the court's decisions on the handling of sexual harassment and gender equity cases at historically black colleges and universities are…

In Kansas City, Kansas, the school system wanted to do more than end two decades of court-ordered desegregation plans. The district created a comprehensive and integrated plan for educational improvement that can be used by any district. A three-pronged approach to school planning focuses on programs, demographics, and facilities. (MLF)

Parents generally expect public school districts to provide for their children's care and safety while they are at school. Although in the first half of the twentieth century common law tended to make school officials immune from suit, more recently public school districts, school employees, officers, and elected boards have been successfully sued…

This monograph, the fifth in a series, contains summaries and discussion of selected state and federal court decisions handed down during the Supreme Court's 1981-82 term. The cases were selected on the basis of their relevance to contemporary problems in public school settings, their definitiveness as articulations of existing law, and their…

The educational beliefs of Supreme Court Justices in the 1980s are examined, i.e., the explicitly stated beliefs, rather than any inferred beliefs based on legal decisions. In particular, the focus is on beliefs expressed only in the major Court opinions rendered in the 1980s. Issues discussed include the definition of education, its relation to…

To determine if state departments of public instruction have attempted to follow decisions by federal circuit courts of appeals in establishing guidelines or policies governing prior review regulations of student literature and student publications, a study compared state guidelines on freedom of expression in place in 1974 with those in effect in…

This article outlines the significant legal decisions regarding collective bargaining in Catholic schools, identifies the governance structures employed in Catholic schools and the methods of translating these governance structures into documents required by civil law, and concludes with the citation of two recent court decisions that demonstrate…

There is an elusive quality about much of the discussion of urban school desegregation. The mere mention of the school issue triggers arguments about housing segregation. Different understandings of the way neighborhoods became segregated produce drastically different conclusions about the remedies courts should employ to correct the violations.…