This article is the first in a new series that will explain the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Code of Professional Ethics, and illustrate its influence on professional conduct. Concern about unethical conduct in a variety of professions is discussed, and some responses to it are described. (LRW)

This paper considers recent state and federal court decisions regarding the private lives of teachers. It discusses in detail cases involving homosexuality, which are the most controversial, and cases involving heterosexuality. Also discussed are cases involving teacher relationships with minor students, nonsexual immorality, drug-related…

This discussion of movie censorship outlines federal court cases involving controversial films which led to the development of the Motion Picture Association of America Code and Rating System. The Age-Classification System and the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography established in 1968 are described. (EJS)

Examines the case of Thompson v Southwest School District in which a teacher was dismissed for allegedly immoral behavior. The court found that the behavior did not have a deleterious impact on the teacher's ability to teach. (IRT)

Concludes that laws prohibiting fornication and cohabitation are unconstitutional. Available from Michigan Law Review, Hutchins Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; single issue $3.50. (Author/IRT)

Discusses the case of a Missouri elementary teacher who was dismissed for allegedly immoral behavior. The court determined that her living with a man out of wedlock had not adversely affected her teaching and that her due process rights had been violated by the district. (IRT)

Presented in this report is an account of the attempt made by the Director of the United States Office of Personnel Managment (OPM) to exclude the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) from participation in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The CFC is the annual charitable fundraising drive conducted among federal employees and…

This paper discusses court cases that are a legal basis for screening programs for teacher education. The Supreme Court case of Adler v. Board of Education established that the states do have the power to set up requirements or rules concerning the quality of moral character in applicants for teaching certificates. Vogulkin v. State Board of…

This report examines the background of and the newest developments in U.S. asylum policy in relation to Haitian, Central American, and Vietnamese refugees. The following background areas are explored: (1) the change in policy to stop the influx of asylum seekers; and (2) internal policy debate at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)…

Sketches a broad and general defense of the constitutionality of some kinds of preferential admissions and hiring programs in favor of Blacks by constructing a moral justification of these practices. Available from American Journal of Jurisprudence, Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556; reprint, $1.00. (Author/IRT)

The first statement in this testimony points out the need for groups to define "violence" before taking any action against violent television programs, since violence means different things to different people. Many of the studies on violence use a narrow and simplistic definition of violence which does not take into account the effects of…

The traditional approach of the courts was to accept as "reasonable cause" for teacher dismissal any conduct that set a bad example for students. This chapter examines a cross-section of cases illustrating recent court decisions in this area and attempts to identify any consistent patterns of adjudication and their implications for school…

Experiences in prenatal life and early childhood that may cause personality disorders or criminal behavior in later life are examined in these proceedings of the Subcommittee on Childhood Experiences as Causes of Criminal Behavior of the Standing Committee on Health, Welfare and Science. This issue, the eleventh in a series of 19 hearings dating…

Everyone who works with Australian children in early childhood services, regardless of their role or the type of service, faces ethical dilemmas in their work. These situations are complex and not easily resolved. The Australian Early Childhood Association (AECA) Code of Ethics can give guidance in grappling with complicated issues faced in early…

Recent court definitions of immoral conduct require that employers establish a nexus between the objectionable conduct and the individual's fitness to teach, while teacher plaintiffs have argued that dismissals for alleged immoral conduct violated various constitutional rights. This paper reviews a cross-section of recent court cases involving…