The very young are in a nearly rightless condition, and the distance from that situation to the rights-endowed state of being an adult is a long one. Discusses how schools should organize the journey. (Author/JF)

Discusses how the federal judiciary has sought to delineate the due process of law rights of students. Cases are reported to show what the courts have said about such substantive due process of law rights as freedom of religion, speech, press, and association. Reports a controversy in which the court concerned itself about procedural due process…

Discusses the recent increase in litigations concerning the activities of State high school athletic associations. (Author)

Two landmark court cases have upheld the constitutional right of handicapped children to a publicly supported educational program, and to various procedural safeguards to insure fair implementation of that right. Neither case deals directly with the right to an "adequate" education. Presents arguments lawyers could present in raising this adequacy…

The equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment both offer protection to the student who is denied an education for a lengthy period. If a student shows that he no longer threatens substantial disruption of the educational process, he must be readmitted. (Author)

Evaluates Equal Access Act of 1984 (prohibits denial of equal access to political, religious, and philosophical groups in secondary schools with limited open forums). Includes discussion of free speech, establishment clause, and implementation and effect of the act (some states ignore it, some courts uphold it, and there is no indication of how…

The fundamental emphasis in filing civil suits against the public schools has switched from seeking relief or redress of an alleged wrong to establishing and creating new law. A significant number of lawsuits now filed are designed to put the judiciary in the position of creating new legal rights affecting public education. (Author)

Examines the question of exactly what a teacher can teach in the public schools of the United States. The article explores the constitutional rights of both teachers and their students. Although these two categories are very closely related and in many instances almost inseparable, an attempt is made to look at the rights of each as they affect…

Argues that basic records on a child's performance in school, including his academic and extracurricular skills, are clearly necessary for both the child and the school. However, the voluminous subjective or unverifiable material that goes into a child's file should not become part of his permanent file. Parents of each child should have full…

Outlines the case of "Bethel School District N. 403 v. Fraser" in which the Supreme Court overturned the lower court decisions and recognized that schools have an interest in protecting minors from exposure to vulgar and offensive spoken language. Students can be punished for going beyond the bounds of socially appropriate behavior. (MD)

Discusses the issues of invasion of privacy in the relationship between school counselors and students and the potentiality for litigation (including defamation suits) when privacy is breached. (MD)

Both the plurality and dissent in the Horowitz case agree that Horowitz received all the due process guaranteed her by the Constitution and that the core of due process is flexibility, which indicates that the contours of due process on campus will be largely shaped by the university community. (Author/IRT)

In the April 1999 issue of this journal, Michael Ferraraccio argues that the justifications advanced for using metal detectors in schools are not sufficiently compelling to outweigh students' Fourth Amendment privacy rights. In the accompanying Counterpoint, Robert Johnson cites lower court cases to support the constitutionality of their used on a…

After reviewing the history of corporal punishment in schools, author discusses "Ingraham v. Wright," wherein the U.S. Supreme Court found that the use of corporal punishment in schools was not unconstitutional. Calls for the federal courts to ensure that a student's 14th Amendment liberty interest is protected when subjected to…

Higher education traditionally has enjoyed a great deal of autonomy on legal matters. However, due to an increasing awareness and interest on the part of the public and students in civil liberties, the courts have become increasingly involved in reviewing questions of discretion and authority as they apply to higher education. Discusses court…