This compendium of excerpts from Supreme Court decisions concerning education is introduced by an historical narrative relating those decisions both to each other and to important Supreme Court decisions which did not concern education. The cases concerning education are classified here under five headings. One group of cases deals with the impact of state educational policy on claims to religious liberty or appeals to the principle of the separation of church and state. A second series focuses on racial segregation in the public schools. The third group of cases analyzes issues of academic freedom. A recent development--the Court's involvement in cases of student's rights--is featured in the fourth group. Finally, the fact that courts in this country, state as well as national, are increasingly concerned with legal questions dealing with the financing of the public schools is noted. The Supreme Court has so far spoken out only once on this subject. This case appears as the fifth part of this book. (Author/JM)