Chapter 6 of a book on school law attempts to identify and examine a few of the legal problems raised by minimum competency programs, which make successful performance on a standardized test a condition for receipt of a high school diploma. The three areas where minimum competency tests are most likely to be challenged are the equal protection and…

Many boards of education have attendance policies imposing grade reductions and/or loss of credit on students with unexcused absences. This paper reviews state legislative action on the subject, specific court cases, and the interpretations of statutes and practices by attorneys general and commissioners of education. Most states have general…

Legal issues of minimum competency testing derive from federal and state constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, and from common law. Constitutional provisions for equal protection, due process, and freedom of belief and privacy, are primarily federal; education provisions are state mandated. Only four court cases have directly…