Jeremy Waldron, a professor of social and political theory at University of Oxford and also a professor of law at New York University, contends that laws against hate speech deserve further consideration, even if he doubts they "will ever pass constitutional muster in America." He contends that "The Harm in Hate Speech," as his…

New regulations for the Family Rights and Privacy Act (Ferpa), which governs the privacy of student records, become effective this month. Announced by the Department of Education in December 2008, the regulations empower colleges to act appropriately and decisively to protect the health and safety of students and others. They also signify a new…

This paper discusses a Lawsuit filed against Dow Jones Newspaper Fund and the legal settlement between the defendant and the plaintiff. The fund, a nonprofit organization affiliated with Dow Jones & Company had been operating more than 20 programs for minority high-school students to pursue careers in newspaper journalism. The organization…

Participants at a conference sponsored by Cornell University's Institute for Women and Work examined the impact of sexual harassment in academe and discussed ways to address it on campus. Speakers focused on specific policies and procedures for addressing harassment complaints. (MLW)

The U.S. Justice Department is renewing its charge, overturned last year, that Alabama's public colleges are racially segregated, focusing on discrimination in individual programs receiving federal funds. (MSE)

A chronology of action arising from a 1970 lawsuit brought against the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is presented. (MLW)

The text of Judge John H. Pratt order dismissing the "Adams" college desegregation case is presented. (MLW)

Statements released by the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education summarizing the office's findings on the states' progress in meeting goals set out in their desegregation plans are presented. (MLW)

A new bill specifically states that an entire institution is covered by antidiscrimination laws if it receives any federal support. The bill was designed to counteract the effects of a 1984 Supreme Court decision involving Grove City College, and it applies to sex, age, disability, and racial discrimination laws. (MSE)

Judge John H. Pratt held that under a 1984 Supreme Court ruling, the civil-rights organizations that had pursued the "Adams case" no longer had the legal standing to continue it. He found it was "speculative" whether the cutoff of federal funds would lead discriminatory states to change their actions. (MLW)

Female athletes and women's sports administrators have joined a broad coalition of civil rights groups lobbying for passage of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, to counteract the effects of a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the scope of federal antidiscrimination laws and endangered women's opportunities in intercollegiate…

The Education Department declared that four states that had been under court order to desegregate their public colleges were now in compliance with federal civil rights laws and that six others were expected to fulfill their obligations easily. Civil rights lawyers said none of the states had met the requirements. (MLW)

A federal appeals court has upheld an amendment to California's constitution that bars government agencies from granting preferences based on gender or race. The California Civil Rights Initiative, or Proposition 209, was found not to violate the Equal Protection Clause. If the ruling is not reversed, public colleges and universities will be…