Many Americans are familiar with the First Amendment, but its application to prayer and religious activities in public schools is often misunderstood. Religious beliefs are increasingly diverse in the United States. Therefore, it seems imperative that school personnel are aware of the law and sensitive to an array of religious practices. We…

Courts have long held that public school teachers are "state actors" when they carry out the duties of their job. Despite this, very few teacher preparation programs include an education law class. In order to understand teachers' legal literacy, a survey was given to 300 public school teachers in Indiana. The survey assessed knowledge…

This research examined the knowledge of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America possessed by teachers in two secondary high schools in East Tennessee. Additionally, an attempt to evaluate the relationship between church attendance in protestant evangelical churches and the teacher's ability to address church/state…

Federal court cases are examined in an effort to view recent First Amendment rights infringements which have occurred in Mississippi. Case law reinforces students' rights to wear same-sex outfits to school functions as well as to bring same-sex dates. Connection to a recent civil rights investigation by the NAACP into a north Mississippi middle…

To ascertain the knowledge level and congruent practices among public college and university student-personnel administrators relating to reported court decisions based on the First Amendment religious clauses, questionnaires were sent to a sample of 250 administrators. Responses from 169 (68%) of the administrators are analyzed. (MLF)

Censorship of school library collections has risen significantly in the last few decades, and such attacks are increasing. American courts have ruled that students in schools have First Amendment rights and some degree of freedom of speech. Courts also have ruled that students have the right to information and to learn and discuss issues of…

Forty-seven high school newspaper advisers from Utah completed a questionnaire to determine their knowledge of First Amendment rights of student journalists, and to determine what variables may affect their publication decisions. Eight composite cases were developed from relevant First Amendment court decisions. Respondents were asked if they…