Reviews a Pennsylvania higher court decison in which a student sued the school board for reducing her grades as punishment for misconduct during a school outing. The court found in the student's favor. The punishment must fit the crime. (MD)

A Pennsylvania case shows that once a school auditorium becomes a designated public forum, the free speech clause of the First Amendment requires the board to allow other similarly situated outsiders (including religious groups) to use the facilities for expressive activity. Another Pennsylvania case involving dual employment upheld a teacher's…

Describes a Circuit Court of Appeals case concerning a middle school principal who was unfairly fired after making a controversial speech on inadequate school finances. Describes a search and seizure case involving a student's possession of a gun and drugs on campus. Urges school boards to know the law before taking action. (MLH)

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…

Reports on the Supreme Court's decision not to rule on a case involving the formation of an extracurricular religion club. This leaves the schools with no definitive legal decision for guidance in these cases. Also reports on court decisions in two recent cases involving schools' responsibility for protecting students on their way to and from…

Describes a recent court decision in which a school board and the superintendent did not support a teacher when he came under fire from the community for teaching a controversial subject. The teacher won his case against the district because it had violated the academic freedom rule and denied the teacher due process.(MD)

In "Boring v Buncombe County Board of Education," a high school teacher sued a school board over her transfer to a middle school. At issue is a board's power to control the curriculum and a teacher's right to academic freedom, specifically selecting a controversial play for four students in advanced acting class. (MLF)

Two recent Supreme Court decisions have a major effect on special education litigation. The first requires schools to provide "related services" of a paramedical nature to handicapped children; the second limits school board liability for attorney's fees in successful special education lawsuits. (TE)