Six sets of emerging issues that could involve specific students and classroom situations are discussed here: class suspensions and due process, class rules and teacher inconsistency, classroom equality of opportunity, competency testing, classification of students, and classroom management in alternative schools. (Author)

Discusses cases involving a nontenured high school coach's firing, state-mandated competency testing, and civil rights of public employees. (KS)

Reviews a federal court ruling in Florida stating that minimum competency tests must be fair--that is, they must cover material that has actually been taught. Unfair tests used to determine eligibility for graduation violate the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution. (Author/WD)

As of the fall of 1984, 40 states had by state mandate adopted some form of student minimum competency testing; 19 are or will be using test performance for the award of high school diplomas. In the other 10 states, local initiatives had implemented such testing programs on the school district level. Five states were using competency tests to…

Use of nationally standardized tests to determine teacher competency continues to be a subject for review in state and federal courts. School district policies have promoted minimum score requirements as a basis for employment decisions concerning certification, hiring, renewal, promotion, and merit pay. Legal challenges to these policies focus…

This policy paper outlines the impact that recent Title I legislation, which requires states to hold all students to the "same expectations," will have on state and local district evaluation plans, especially as regards students with disabilities. It notes the conflict between two educational goals: that of full inclusion of students…

Handicapped students are now protected by specific statutes in addition to the broad constitutional protection offered all students. As the number of related statutes, regulations, and case law decisions grew, assimilation became increasingly difficult. This publication attempts to meet educators' need for a succinct guide in special education…

A wide variety of contemporary legal issues, involving all levels of public and private education, are addressed in the 20 separate chapters comprising this volume. The titles and authors of the chapters are as follows: (1) Due Process of Law: Loudermill v. Cleveland Board of Education (Hooker); (2) Schools, Technology and the Law (Helm); (3)…