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…

Understanding what motivates people to challenge books and how community members react to these challenges can help librarians find better ways to work with challengers to come to equitable solutions. This study focused on the motives behind challenges to the acclaimed children's book "And Tango Makes Three" and the reasoning given by…

Social studies and history teachers should be free to expose students to controversial ideas and to teach critical thinking skills. But are they free? Do they have the constitutional right--call it academic freedom--to teach what they want and to discuss controversial issues in the classroom? The short answer is "no." In this article,…

The Christian Right opposes the inclusion of sexual orientation in school policies, charging that the schools are legitimating and promoting homosexuality. The arguments have moved past the trite, "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," to claims of violations of parental rights and the First Amendment, often positioning…

Addresses the litigation giving rise to the right to home school and the emerging right of home-schooled children to attend public schools on a part-time basis. At present, the courts seem unwilling to allow families to use religion to first argue their way out of the public system and then turn around and use the same argument to get back in on a…

In "Mozert," fundamentalist parents claim that the reading curriculum interfered with their right to transmit religious values to their children. The district court fashioned an excusal scheme; however, the Sixth Circuit reversed this decision. Reviews the facts, analyzes points of law left unresolved, and discusses the broader…

Outlines important considerations in maintaining legal relationships between the school, pupils, and third parties (including parents). Defines "child" and "parent." Discusses the impact on school personnel of the complex variety of persons and institutions that may claim rights and privileges as "parent" with regard…

Two court cases involving parental objections to a school's curriculum on religious grounds carry important implications for the balance of control school boards and parents exert over the public school curriculum. (TE)

In "Barrow" the 5th Circuit erected a very high burden of proof for school districts to show that policies requiring employees to live within the district are necessary to sustain public confidence in public schools. (Author/MLF)

Discusses issues involved in public access to library materials and facilities and patron confidentiality. Topics discussed include children's access to adult materials; parents' right to know about their children's materials; First and Fourth Amendment protections; the Library Bill of Rights; and American Library Association (ALA) documents that…

Presents a historical, national, and legal overview of home schooling. Reviews official responses and constitutional limits on state regulation and offers suggestions on ways that public educators and home-schoolers can improve their relationship. Recommends that public officials take initial steps to bridge the communication gap. (CJH)

Discusses various cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court during the 1999-2000 term concerning criminal law, the First Amendment, grandparent visitation, and other close cases. Includes a section featuring teaching activities and discussion questions by Michelle Parrini and Jennifer Kittlaus. (CMK)

Suggests five guidelines that can be used by teachers and local school district policy committees to accommodate the religious diversity of students while meeting the five historic goals of public schools. Points out emerging issues facing those concerned about religion and First Amendment rights of students and parents. (LS)

There is growing agreement from right to left concerning the role of religion in public schools. Under the First Amendment, public schools can neither inculcate nor inhibit religion. Neutrality means fairness. Students' religious liberty rights must be protected by school policies and practices. Also, religion must be treated fairly in the…

Regarding Catholic parents' suit against a suburban New York district for promoting occult activities, a federal court ruled in May 1999 that parents had failed to prove existence of the so- called Bedford program. This Solomon-like ruling also rejected First Amendment religious claims and 14th Amendment privacy claims. (MLH)