While subdued forms of everyday prejudice may seem harmless, appearances can be deceiving. Such commonplace prejudices form the foundation upon which more extreme acts of prejudice build. And they also leave us vulnerable to costly errors of judgment that can have tragic consequences. That is why addressing prejudice in the classroom is as crucial…

The Los Angeles Unified School District is experiencing a new wave of unaccompanied minor immigrants coming to its schools--some with mental health issues related to their past lives and their trek into the U.S. The district has a bevy of programs intended to help those students with their trauma, their home relationships, and their legal status.

Designing school accommodations for students with potentially life-threatening peanut allergies is a daunting challenge for schools. Parents of children with peanut allergies put a lot of pressure on schools to make them peanut-free, even though medical and legal experts say that is not a sound, or even workable, solution. One solution is to…

Describes the development of a graduate interdisciplinary course aimed at helping students learn enough about legal problems in higher education to become alert to potential legal problems and to refer them to counsel. (Author)

The U.S. Supreme Court is applying a new legal standard in court actions involving students' constitutional rights. Instead of basing decisions on the "substantial interference" argument, the Court is giving school officials broad latitude to structure an environment in which students can both learn and develop "socially appropriate…

Analyzes the United States Supreme Court's reversal of "Memphis County School Distruct v. Stachura," a District Court decision to compensate a temporarily suspended life sciences teacher for damages involving deprivation of his constitutional rights. Views this decision as one more obstacle blocking individuals' progress against…

Mandating inclusion for all special-needs students would return education to the 1950s, when student options were extremely limited. Full inclusion, requiring the regular education teacher to learn a monumental number of additional skills, may be state-of-the-art education for the 90s--the 1890s. Restricting all students to the same learning…

Describes a suit against the East Lansing (Michigan) Schools, brought by conservative religious parents dissatisfied with counseling, music, and conflict-resolution activities provided for their third-grade son. The plaintiffs' action failed. The Hatch Act has limitations. However, there is strong public sentiment against entrusting schools with…