This study explores four instances where parental choice has been employed as a legal "circuit breaker": (a) First Amendment Establishment Clause cases related to public funding, (b) Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection cases regarding race-conscious student assignment, (c) Title IX regulations concerning single-sex education, and (d) a…

Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Supreme Court Issues 9-0 Ruling in Religious School Case; (2) White House Honors Champions of Change; and (3) CAPE Notes.

Passed in 2000, the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) mandates Internet filtering for all public schools and libraries. Challenges to the law have been raised on constitutional grounds by free-speech advocates such as the American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. After losing one such challenge in district court,…

Amy Jordan addresses the need to balance the media industry's potentially important contributions to the healthy development of America's children against the consequences of excessive and age-inappropriate media exposure. Much of the philosophical tension regarding how much say the government should have about media content and delivery stems…

In the twenty-first century, differences in the treatment of trade in alcoholic beverages in comparison to other commercial goods seem at odds with the federal regulation of interstate trade under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, which prohibits "differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that…

Examines federal access and dissemination policies favoring availability of public information; structures for producing and disseminating government information; legislation and implications of policy decisions; effect of new technologies on public access and dissemination; executive-branch policy directions; and call for action to reverse trends…

Explores how the historical separation of church and state has protected freedom of thought and contributed to the rapid growth of American progress and prosperity. The First Amendment allows individuals to search for truth through scripture or through the study of natural law. School prayers would violate this right. (AM)

Supporting federal financing of private schools, the author defines public schools as sectarian and believes that denying aid to private schools effectively denies freedom of choice. (MD)

Discusses the complexity of the Constitutional separation of church and state. Citing specific cases, argues against strict separation on the grounds that the Supreme Court has, historically, managed to accommodate the separationist approach without inhibiting any religion. Advocates tuition vouchers for parochial school students as a way of…

Since 1957 the Department of Defense has subjected all forms of speech of U.S. military personnel meant for publication to prepublication review based on security and policy criteria. The historical development of the Defense Department's prepublication review program and its specific implementation by the U.S. Air Force lead to questions of First…

This paper examines the government's authority to regulate indecent broadcasts, beginning with a historical overview of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) involvement with broadcast indecency and its application in case law. First Amendment considerations are discussed and some suggestions are made regarding how the Commission should…

This document focuses on freedom of information during 1975. The first section focuses on possible threats to First Amendment freedoms during 1976. The second section focuses on the problems and threats to journalists of S.1, the Senate legislation introduced at the start of the new Congress which aims to revise American criminal law. The third…

Fashioning public policies restricting children's access to entertainment glamorizing violence, sex, drugs, and vulgarity is a complex task. The recently introduced Media Marketing Accountability Act would empower the federal government to regulate advertising of entertainment products to youth. Suggests that this power is undesirable compared to…

Censorship is found in all periods of American history, wherever people try to solve problems by cutting back on someone else's expression. Some examples of government censorship are described. (RM)

This article discusses the constitutional amendment process. Although the process is not described in great detail, Article V of the United States Constitution allows for and provides instruction on amending the Constitution. While the amendment process currently consists of six steps, the Constitution is nevertheless quite difficult to change.…