A persistent problem in the professional literature in school psychology and related fields, such as special education, is the insufficient treatment of legal issues in terms of not only quantity (e.g., Zaheer & Zirkel, 2014) but also quality (e.g., Zirkel, 2014). The quality dimension is illustrated in the coverage of the Supreme Court's…

This article discusses concerns about how Neil M. Gorsuch, a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, might influence decisions regarding cases involving the appropriate scope of services guaranteed by federal special-education law, government aid to religious institutions providing educational services, and how intellectual property law applies to sports…

"Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Constitution" is an engaged-learning activity that has been conducted in 26 classes over the past four years. The activity teaches multiple themes commonly included in a variety of courses on American politics such as federalism, congressional powers, the role of the federal courts, and the relevance of the commerce…

A Supreme Court ruling found that federal programs or policies based on race must meet a legal test of strict scrutiny, requiring the program to demonstrate a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored. Legal experts suggest that few federal affirmative action programs currently meet the standard. (MSE)

The 1977 Supreme Court decision in "Milliken v. Bradley," involving the Detroit public schools and the state of Michigan, held that federal courts possess the authority not only to order the implementation of educational program components as part of a desegregation remedy, but also to assess a portion of the cost of such components…

A federal appeals court decision ruled in favor of three publishers who had sued the owner of a small copy-shop business for copyright infringement in producing custom-made anthologies for college courses. However, a divided court could not determine willful violation of the law, vacating damages awarded in lower court. Debate over fair use…

The Supreme Court has ruled public colleges may not deny funds to student groups because they engage in religious activities. The case, involving the University of Virginia, sets looser standards for separation of church and state in higher education. Some see it as providing new protections against censorship and withdrawal of funds. Text of the…

The Supreme Court's dissenting opinion in a University of Virginia case concerning denial of funds to a religious student newspaper is presented. Justice Souter argues that the ruling supporting funding is in violation of doctrine concerning separation of church and state. (MSE)

Discusses "National Labor Relations Board v. Yeshiva University," which ruled that college faculty were managers and thereby excluded from collective bargaining, focusing on why the Supreme Court classified professors as managers, whether the Court did something unusual in this case, or whether faculty is simply the unlucky vanguard of a…

A federal court decision, Podberesky vs. Kirwin, in which a University of Maryland scholarship program targeting African American students was found to be racially discriminatory is a cause for concern because of heightened federal pressure to desegregate colleges and because of its possible implications for other state universities. (MSE)

Examines the court transformation of civil rights from equal opportunity and nondiscrimination to racial/gender/ethnic proportional representation. It analyzes the implications for justice and equality and suggests that it is time to restore the moral ideals of the civil rights coalition of 1964. (GR)

Three landmark Supreme Court cases concerning affirmative action and racial discrimination within higher education institutions, and their interrelationships, are discussed: Hopwood vs. the State of Texas; Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke (1978); and Brown vs. Board of Education (1954). Treatment of the legal issues by the Center…

Assesses the state of black residential segregation since the court case "Shelley v. Kraemer." Focus is placed on metropolitan areas generally and on St. Louis and Detroit, in particular. It is concluded that blacks have made little progress in reducing segregation in housing since the 1948 court case that outlawed restrictive covenants…

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) continues to focus its energies on some of the significant challenges facing the U.S. Department of Education. It completed implementation and end-to-end testing of its internal systems for Y2K compliance, though it could not ensure compliance of its trading partners. The OIG advised the Department as it…

MAARDAC (Mid-Atlantic/Appalachian Race Desegregation Assistance Center), located at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), is federally funded (Title IV of Civil Rights Act of 1964) to help local education agencies in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee solve problems connected with school desegregation. (LC)