Purpose: School superintendents are charged with maintaining the safety and security of the schools in their district. One major recognized threat to the security and safety of students and staff is the use of illegal drugs. Superintendents are responding to the constitutionality of student drug-testing policies by implementing drug-testing…

Schools are experiencing an increased level of litigation about issues pertaining to sexual orientation. This monograph provides educators and attorneys with a comprehensive analysis of this litigation along with practical tips for avoiding lawsuits in this sensitive area. The monograph consists of six chapters and addresses the following topics:…

Within a First Amendment context, this article reviews three recent cases regarding public school curricula and allegations concerning establishment of occult religious practices in elementary school classrooms. In each case, a curricular challenge withstood constitutional scrutiny. There was no conspiracy to bend children's minds to satanism or…

A federal case (West v Derby Unified School District #260) involving a middle schooler's suspension for drawing a Confederate flag (in violation of a school racial-harassment policy) juxtaposes students' rights of free expression with public schools' unique needs. Speech (or artistic expression) that disrupts the educational process must be…

Two hearing boards' finding that a tenured professor's instructional remarks and actions constituted sexual harassment resulted in the filing of a federal lawsuit against the university. Discusses sexual harassment, reviews the most pertinent facts of "Silva," and analyzes the judge's preliminary injunction and summary judgment ruling on…

In 1978, six federal taxpayers successfully sued the New York City Board of Education, claiming the board's Title I program (allowing public instruction of private-school students) violated the Establishment Clause. In 1995, the NYC Board of Education and parochial-school parents sued for relief from the permanent injunction (and adverse…

A total of 20 judges ruled on a 1994 sexual-harassment case including 5 U.S. Supreme Court justices, who decided in a middle- schooler's favor. School districts are liable for violations of Title IX when they knowingly ignore blatant, pervasive abuse that limits a student's educational access. (Contains 28 references.) (MLH)

It has been 30 years since the U.S. Supreme Court, in the "Tinker" case, upheld three students' right to wear black armbands protesting the Vietnam War to school. Recent cases involving sagging pants and an African headwrap (dress code violations) did not meet allowable "free-speech" requirements. (MLH)

Discusses seven court cases that have helped clarify teachers' privacy rights and the limitations on those rights. (MLF)

Genuine reforms are impossible without addressing deleterious effects of legally binding mechanisms such as collective bargaining and unionism. An adversarial industrial-labor model will not serve a profession crying for collegiality and collaboration. School finance and desegregation litigation has had limited success in improving schools.…

Summarizes a case involving a Denver high school teacher's naming, in a government class, of a student observed in a public sexual rendezvous. The teacher lost on all fronts, because his speech was considered school-sponsored and did not meet the school district's pedagogical interests, based on the 1988 "Hazelwood" decision limiting…

Two federal appellate courts heard cases with similar fact patterns and the same issue--are school districts liable for student-caused sexually hostile environments under Title IX? Since the courts reached different conclusions, this issue seems ripe for consideration by the Supreme Court. No student should have to run a gauntlet of abuse to…

In "Rosenberger versus University of Virginia," the U.S. Supreme Court held that the university violated students' free speech rights by withholding financial support for a student publication, based on its religious orientation. This case explored the intersection of two powerful constitutional protections--free speech and the…

School finance reformers may be riding a carousel with no destination in mind. Finance reform most often results in judicial rescue and legislative restraint. Certain states with invalidated school systems have remained in litigation for decades. Litigation and legislation alone cannot establish an inequitable, adequate public education system.…

The Vernonia (Oregon) School District passed a mandatory random drug testing policy for student athletes that was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. A survey of randomly selected superintendents in five geographic regions disclosed that a majority of respondents who knew about the case were leaning toward not adopting a similar policy. (28…