Chapter 6 of a book on school law attempts to identify and examine a few of the legal problems raised by minimum competency programs, which make successful performance on a standardized test a condition for receipt of a high school diploma. The three areas where minimum competency tests are most likely to be challenged are the equal protection and…

Tge Congressional Research Service finds that the Supreme Court has been groping for a standard doctrine to resolve children's rights cases. For the most part, however, its decisions are still best analyzed in terms of the underlying right claimed, such as parental primacy, first amendment rights, due process, and privacy. (Author/GC)

Teacher improvement programs must comply with federal and state constitutional requirements for due process, equal protection, and freedom of speech, as well as state and federal laws covering collective bargaining, civil rights, and the authority to institute improvement programs. This booklet explores these legal considerations, focusing on…

This paper--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002--discusses high-stakes testing. Specifically, it examines the high-stakes testing program in Chicago public schools, a grade-promotion policy that uses a standardized test as the primary basis for promotion. Although…

Factors affecting the acceptance by the courts of teacher employment policies involving competency testing are examined in this report. Policies in 55 states and territories are considered, and the wide variations among the policies and court interpretations of them are noted. Particular attention is paid to constitutional provisions regarding…

A review of faculty-related court decisions in the areas of status, compensation, and unit determination points out legal rights of part-time and full-time faculty in higher education. These rights have been tested and defined by many court cases. Litigation has occurred about the difference between part-time and full-time faculty. In regard to…

The status of judicial theory regarding private responsibility for granting procedural due process, and the extent to which policies in New England's private postsecondary institutions adhered to judicial requirements for due process in nontenured faculty terminations were studied. A review of the literature, research methodology, and definition…

This third chapter of "The Yearbook of School Law, 1986" summarizes and analyzes state and federal court decisions handed down in 1985 affecting the legal rights of students in elementary and secondary schools. Among the topics examined are public school pupil assignment, tuition, transportation, compulsory attendance, and bilingual and bicultural…