Non-individualized (so-called "random") drug testing in public schools presents issues of Constitutional law on both the federal and state levels, particularly with regard to citizens' freedom from "unreasonable searches and seizures." The trend toward increasing acceptance of such testing by the courts (and particularly the U.S. Supreme Court)…

When most people think of legal issues in sport, they think about negligence. However, most professionals will face a much broader range of issues. For instance, topics such as sexual harassment, corporal punishment, drug testing, transportation, and hazing are all of special importance today. Also anti-discrimination laws and the concepts…

There is a drug crisis in the United States that is growing at an alarming rate. Its participants work in our businesses, government agencies, and schools. California leads the nation in drug use and until recently, Fresno County was the leader in methamphetamine production. This drug crisis is having a paralyzing effect causing loss of income,…

Despite privacy concerns, school administrators are feeling pressure to adopt urgent measures to keep drugs and alcohol from further endangering our youth's well-being and undermining staff performance. This urgency is reinforced by a national anti-drug campaign and Congressional passage of the Drug-Free Workplace Act (1988) and the Drug-Free…

In recent years, public school students have been searched with metal detectors and occasionally sniffed by dogs or strip searched. Their lockers and bookbags have been searched, and their urine has been tested for drugs--all in the name of school safety. This article explores the legal ramifications of such searches and calls for a critical…

Concerns over students' and staff members' safety in public schools continue to mount-- manifested in zero-tolerance policies, stringent disciplinary practices, and efforts to implement drug-screening programs. Although "reasonable suspicion" for searches and drug testing is the watchword, courts cannot agree on definitions. Legalities…

The issue of drug testing is the focus of this ERIC Digest. Several aspects of drug testing discussed in question-and-answer format: (1) What is the current status of drug use in the schools? (2) What legal questions arise when schools consider drug testing? (3) How might drug testing be applied in a fair, economical, and legally safe manner? (4)…

Reviews legal challenges that employers are likely to face in the 1990s. Issues discussed include discriminatory recruiting, harassment, globalization and equal employment opportunity laws, wrongful discharge and drug testing, disabilities, family/work legislation, and state legislation. (TE)

This report--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002-- discusses student drug testing in Texas public schools. It contains the results of a 2001 study of student drug-testing policies in all 1,056 Texas public-school districts. In response to the Supreme Court's June…

Discussion of drug testing in intercollegiate athletics programs looks at federal and state regulation of drug-testing programs as it affects student-athletes and, in comparison, the employer-employee relationship. Judicial approaches in student-athlete drug-testing cases are also examined. Increased federal regulation is seen as imminent. Steps…

In a recent opinion the Supreme Court of the United States recognized that for many communities "school sports play a prominent role." Whatever purpose they serve, school sports also raise a number of legal issues that a school district must carefully handle in order to operate its athletics program with minimal risk of liability. This handbook is…

This monograph suggests solutions for the conflicts, especially prominent in recent years, between students and higher education institutions concerning their respective rights and responsibilities. The discussion focuses particularly on regulating offensive speech, rights of association and assembly, drug testing for athletes, and student safety…

This chapter includes all cases, at either the K-12 or higher education level, that deal with student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors, athletic associations, and booster organizations. However, no case law is discussed that pertains to physical education instruction. The cases are discussed in the following sections: (1) eligibility; (2)…

Three primary areas of concern for those who confront sport law matters in public school or collegiate settings are the focus of this monograph. The first chapter presents tort issues, primarily negligence. A brief overview of fundamental negligence concepts is followed by discussions of major risk areas: supervision, conduct of the activity, and…

This document is comprised of volume 11 of the Harvard Education Letter, published bimonthly and addressing current issues in elementary and secondary education. Articles in the volume's six issues are: (1) January-February--"The Old Model of Staff Development Survives in a World Where Everything Else Has Changed" (Miller), "Giving…