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…

Allowing public funds to be used for tuition and other expenses in private schools through a voucher system has been the source of debate in legislative and educational forums for almost half a century, but only recently have school vouchers become a serious school reform strategy. This article provides a brief overview of the voucher plans…

Public schools, since their founding in America in 1647, have reflected the demographic characteristics of the communities in which they are located. Because the United States has, until recently, been mostly Protestant Christian, many schooling practices have built upon the values of this faith. Pupils have sung Christmas songs at Christmas…

A federal court held that a state law requiring one minute of meditation or prayer in the public schools is legal. (IRT)

In "Elk Grove Unified School District v Newdow" ("Elk Grove"), the Supreme Court, in an 8-0 judgment, with three concurrences, upheld the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. In light of the uproar caused by "Elk Grove", this article is divided into three parts. After reviewing the history of the Pledge the second section examines the…

Public school leaders often find themselves caught between groups with passionately held--but widely varying--views regarding the appropriate role for religion in public schools. Tensions are heightened by the growth of well-funded special interest groups inclined to litigate anywhere a test case arises. By reviewing the most recent judicial…

Explores the opinions of Justice Rehnquist in issues concerning religion and public education; observes that the Supreme Court appears just one vote away from shifting church/state issues to the local level; and urges those concerned with constitutional values and public education to reexamine the Bill of Rights. (MLF)

Three major Supreme Court cases concerning Bible reading and prayer in the public schools are discussed. The constitutional bases for the court cases are the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The former expresses that Congress may make no laws to establish or to prohibit the free exercise of religion and the latter provides that no state shall…

The purpose of this article is to 1) examine the interpretive method applied to the United States Constitution referred of as"Original Intent" and the degree, if any, to which it is superior in objectivity than other methods, 2) discuss whether the application of the interpretive method would have an effect preferred by conservative or…

Discusses reasons why the "Lee v. Weisman" Supreme Court decision that held unconstitutional a Rhode Island school policy for prayer at a junior high school commencement does not extend to the university level. Concludes that an appropriately worded commencement prayer could pass the three-part "Lemon" threshold and not violate…

Discusses Louisiana case wherein a federal district court judge ruled that an elementary principal violated the Establishment Clause by distributing Bibles to students. Includes Supreme Court's three-part "Lemon" test to determine if government practice violates the Establishment Clause. (PKP)

In "Zobrest" and "Kiryas Joel" the Supreme Court considered the relationship between public and private school systems, and between church and state. Examines the situations of the cases and the opinions of the Supreme Court Justices in relation to them, and in relation to the 15 most recent Establishment Clause cases affecting…

Describes the facts and state and federal constitutional law related to "Zelman v. Simons-Harris," a Cleveland school-voucher case before the United States Supreme Court. Argues that the Court will likely uphold the constitutionality of the Cleveland voucher program, finding that it does not advance religion in violation of the First…

Although schools cannot actively promote religiously-oriented activity, neither can they prohibit such activity. The 98th Congress passed the Equal Access Act in an attempt to ground students' rights to practice religion in the schools in well-established constitutional principles requiring equal treatment, protecting student-initiated meetings,…

Rather than allowing the unconstitutional Bible study program to remain in the schools in a modified form, the Court should have opted for a released-time arrangement. Available from Tennessee Law Review Association, Inc., 1505 W. Cumberland Ave., Knoxville, TN 37916. (Author/IRT)