This resource guide provides school administrators, teachers, and other educators with information they can use to schedule the school year and to enrich the curriculum. Part 1 provides information on dates of special observances and holidays that may be used to plan school activities. Part 2 contains legal and school holidays for the 50 states…

Public school leaders often find themselves caught between groups with passionately held--but widely varying--views regarding the appropriate role for religion in public schools. Tensions are heightened by the growth of well-funded special interest groups inclined to litigate anywhere a test case arises. By reviewing the most recent judicial…

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is reevaluating the present structure of governmental accounting. This article examines the present status of accounting for compensated absences and the potential accounting changes that may occur. (MLF)

This handbook assists teachers, administrators, and other members of the educational community in avoiding inappropriate religious activities in the public schools as well as unnecessary interference with legitimate private religious expression by clarifying existing law. Participants in the Task Force on Religion and the Constitution represented…

Courts will uphold school observances of religious holidays only if they are integrated into a secular curriculum designed to teach students about cultural traditions. The court-approved policy of the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) school board, which permits religious celebrations in a broader curricular context, is described. (TE)

This bibliography is a guide for selecting children's books with overt religious themes and for the evaluation of this area in library collections. It is designed to be both current and critical, and can be used by church and synagogue libraries, directors of religious education, parents, and public or school libraries. The bibliography is…

A newsletter provides legal background and guidelines for celebrating religious holidays in the classroom. Material is divided into separate sections discussing the First Amendment, Supreme Court decisions regarding public schools and religious observances, specific "establishment clause" cases, specific "free exercise clause"…

Intended to provide school officials an understanding of the legal aspects of common religious liberty and church-state questions in the public school context, this pamphlet attempts an objective summary of the current status of church-state law as it applies to the public schools. The document seeks to catalogue objectively the law as found in…

This "fastback" examines the U.S. Supreme Court decisions and a few lower court decisions concerning religion and education rendered in the 1980s, and for background purposes, it also includes some decisions prior to the 1980s. The first of four parts discusses cases pertaining to prayer and religious activities in school. Included in…

Outlines the history of private education and the development of secular education in American public schools. Changes in growth in the private school sector seem to occur in response to public school treatment of religious values. (MD)

The Washington State Resource Guide on Martin Luther King, Jr., supplies a wide variety of materials for use with all grade levels in classroom and assembly presentations in public schools. The goal is for every child enrolled in Washington State schools to learn about Dr. King during the days of January 15 to January 17. Resolutions supporting an…

Asserts that celebration of holidays, long a significant aspect of elementary social studies, has been abandoned by many schools because of controversy. Argues that holidays serve important societal functions and are part of the public culture. Provides criteria for establishing school policies about holidays and their celebration. (CFR)

Year round school programs are more difficult to implement in secondary schools because of the nature of teaching and the seasonal organization of extracurricular activities in high schools. There is no one year round program that is desirable for all schools. When considering a year round program for the first time the following variables should…

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…

This booklet offers school administrators guidance on the constitutional foundation of religious freedom and the relationship between church and state in the United States. Most of the recent Supreme Court cases dealing with religion in the schools and many current issues in the field are discussed. Questions that administrators may wish to…