In 2012, families in California filed a lawsuit alleging that five state statutes governing teacher tenure, dismissal, and seniority together violate the state constitution's requirements for equal protection. Central to the case were competing narratives about the relationship between these statutes, the work of teachers, and the achievement of…

Reviews court decisions related to employment discrimination in higher education. The most significant development was a series of cases affirming that Eleventh Amendment immunity from private money damage claims brought pursuant to various federal employment discrimination statutes applied to state colleges and universities. (SLD)

The legal problems faced by publishers of alternative newspapers are often compounded by the limited availability of the funds they have either for legal defense or for initiating lawsuits. Although both the courts and journalism's professional associations theoretically support the position that the alternative press possesses rights identical to…

To reveal evolving strategies for and existing problems in performance appraisal, this report summarizes recently published research findings and expert opinions. The first section examines the purposes of performance appraisal in organizations, discusses the relationship of appraisal to the job description, and presents an overview of the basic…

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…

Reviews legal arguments used to challenge traditional testing programs in prior litigation and indicates how these arguments might be applied in a performance-assessment application. Examines discrimination challenges to performance assessments in employment contexts. Suggests ways to deal with the psychometric issues most likely to be encountered…

Significant changes in United States culture during the past 25 years and court decisions resulting from legal suits challenging traditional educational procedures have made the future course of education very unpredictable. The social unrest of the 1960s brought about innovations such as open classrooms and nongrading systems in the wake of…

The United States Supreme Court ushered in a new era in American history on May 17, 1954 in its monumental ruling in "Brown v Board of Education," Topeka, Kansas. "Brown" is not only the Court's most significant decision on race and equal educational opportunities, but also ranks among the most important cases it has ever decided. In "Brown" a…

The 50th anniversary of the historic 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in "Brown v. Board of Education" provides an opportunity to trace the origin of "Brown" and the long journey by African Americans to achieve quality elementary and secondary education in this country. This journey began with passage of the Fourteenth…

Reviewing literature on educational finance and law, this paper analyzes the rationale for the recent school finance reform movement and recounts the movement's progress from 1965 to 1979. An overview of the problem discusses state equalization programs' ability to provide financial equity and the relationship of financial equity to equal…

The quality of education being offered by institutions of higher education is being questioned. Trends toward educational quality are evident by court cases that are cited; the issue has been school finance. The equal protection clause of the Constitution has been extended to apply to several areas through the idea of "fundamental rights." The…

To provide information about legal decisions on home-based private education programs, court cases decided since 1980 and the courts' analyses of constitutional issues raised during litigation are summarized. The memorandum discusses cases that involved challenges to the constitutionality of state home schooling regulations and are based on: (1)…

The widespread use of testing to make critical individual decisions concerning education or employment opportunities, coupled with growing vigilance by the handicapped community, may mean increased legal scrutiny regarding this type of testing. The measurement community is also aware of difficult, perhaps unresolvable psychometric problems…

A review of case law on the constitutionality of state school finance provisions on equal protection and equal adequacy grounds is provided. Protracted rounds of litigation over the years in several states and a rash of recent suits reveal that this issue remains lively and contentious. (TJH)

Bakke's equal protection holding is analyzed and an assessment is offered of what the decisions mean for academic special admissions programs. Discussion focuses on how race may be used as a factor in admissions decisions consistently with the equal protection clause of the Federal Constitution. (Author/MSE)