There are three reasons conservatives should support making access to a high-quality public education a constitutionally protected civil right. First, a constitutional right to a high-quality public education should not confer a right to sue for individual services. Second, elected governors and legislators, not judges, would continue to make…

Does the U.S. Constitution guarantee a right to education? The Supreme Court declared that it does not in "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez," a 1973 case alleging that disparities in spending levels among Texas school districts violated students' constitutional rights. This issue's forum contains two essays. The first…

In this engaging interview, John D. Inazu identifies confident pluralism as the way for us to thrive in connection even when divided by deep differences. Since our differences are not just going to go away, we need to learn to live with others with whom we do not agree. Inazu explains that tolerance, humility, and patience are the foundational…

Heated battles over free speech have erupted on college campuses across the United States in recent months. Some of the most prominent incidents involve efforts by students to prevent public appearances by speakers espousing controversial viewpoints. Efforts to silence offensive speakers on college campuses are not new; in these endeavors, one can…

This article discusses concerns about how Neil M. Gorsuch, a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, might influence decisions regarding cases involving the appropriate scope of services guaranteed by federal special-education law, government aid to religious institutions providing educational services, and how intellectual property law applies to sports…

In "Reinventing the High School Government Course," the authors presented the latest iteration of an ambitious AP government course developed over a seven-year design-based implementation research project. Chiefly addressed to curriculum developers and civics teachers, the article elaborates key design principles, provides a description…

In this essay Bryan Warnick explores how rights to religious expression should be understood for students in public schools. Warnick frames student religious rights as a debate between the conflicting values associated with the Free Exercise Clause and the values associated with the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. He then…

The latest episode in the long-running struggle for control of the Constitution, and the political power that goes with it, is playing out in the federal courts in California. The contending philosophies are originalism, which holds that the Constitution should be read as it was originally understood by the framers and ratifiers, and the congeries…

Tim Keller's article insightfully explores the flawed legal reasoning behind and potentially pernicious consequences of the Arizona Supreme Court's 2009 "Cain vs. Horne" ruling. He carefully examines the two fundamental flaws in the court's interpretative methodology: a failure to engage in a straightforward textual analysis of Arizona's…

Richard Komer's paper helpfully and carefully shows that, after the Supreme Court's 2002 ruling in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, a formidable obstacle to choice-based educational reform has been removed, and also that other, no-less-formidable obstacles remain, in the form of anti-aid provisions contained in various states' own constitutions. This…

Federal court cases are examined in an effort to view recent First Amendment rights infringements which have occurred in Mississippi. Case law reinforces students' rights to wear same-sex outfits to school functions as well as to bring same-sex dates. Connection to a recent civil rights investigation by the NAACP into a north Mississippi middle…

After their dismal performance in election 2008, conservatives are taking stock. As they examine the causes that have driven them into the political wilderness and as they explore paths out, they should also take heart. After all, election 2008 shows that America's constitutional order is working as designed. Indeed, while sorting out their errors…

Frederick Douglass dramatically and publicly changed his own mind about the Constitution. Like Frederick Douglass, the author had originally viewed the Constitution as pro-slavery. Yet a close look at Douglass's writings revealed a Constitution that empowered the federal government to abolish slavery.

The historic institution of tenure is rapidly becoming history. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has for almost a century advocated for tenure as the chief guarantor of a faculty member's academic freedom. But today tenure and academic freedom are viewed less and less as crucially intertwined. Academic freedom has widely…

A decade ago, the Supreme Court was almost ready to confer First Amendment protection on the "Internet" believing that it was sufficiently benign. Little did everyone anticipate how different that rosy view might seem today. Several troubling developments have occurred within the past months. Megan Meier, a 13-year-old in Missouri, was apparently…