A board member describes the school desegregation background and present circumstances in St. Louis, Missouri. Students are entering the seventh year of a controversial voluntary desegregation plan in which some 12,000 students are bused to predominantly White schools in the suburbs. (MLF)

A board member describes the school desegregation background and present circumstances in Seattle, Washington. A new controlled-choice plan that went into effect last fall replaces a 10-year-old mandatory desegregation plan. (MLF)

Describes the delinquency-reduction program in Bath, New York. A juvenile aide officer serves as a liaison between the school and criminal justice system to informally resolve less serious incidents. (LMI)

Describes a recent Florida case involving three brothers infected with the AIDS virus. Barred from public schools, the family moved to Alabama, returned to DeSoto County, were reinstated in school by a federal court ruling, and were burnt out by an unidentified arsonist. Clearly, school boards must become leaders in developing sound public…

Describes how several school districts not under court-ordered desegregation are combating resegregation through various means that avoid race-based policies, such as the use of socioeconomic status (SES) integration plans and a combination of SES and test scores. (PKP)

A federal district judge dismissed a suit brought by two students against a high-school principal who found marijuana in their hotel room on a senior class trip. Although the Fourth Amendment governs searches of students by school employees, employees need not have probable cause for a "reasonable" search. (MLH)

A Colorado superintendent allowed to resign for personal reasons later sued the district, claiming confidentiality provisions had been breached. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed lower court rulings favoring the district. The settlement agreement does not violate the First Amendment, but merely applies state law requiring people to keep their…

Examines a United States Supreme Court decision upholding the Bethel, Washington, school district in disciplining a student for giving a sexually provocative speech. Refers to the 1969 decision in "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District," in which students had been suspended for wearing symbols of opposition to the…

In a case involving questionable canine search-and-seizure practices, a circuit court upheld a school board's decision to terminate a teacher's contract. While touting zero tolerance, the board fired an honored teacher 3 years from retirement who may not have known about the marijuana cigarette in her car. (MLH)

Under federal statutes, many employment practices are legally questionable: targeting certain positions for one sex only; using racial quotas to reach diversity goals; using non-job-related tests as pre-employment screening devices; employing discriminatory employment policies; using non-job-related disabilities to deny employment; and inquiring…

Reviews court cases in which parents challenged school practices on religious grounds. Puts particular emphasis on recent attempts to make the curriculum conform to religious views. (Author/JM)