Many recent critical reforms in state school finance systems have been catalyzed by the courthouse, not the statehouse. Advocates for equity-focused school finance reforms often consider legal action as the best path to significant policy changes. This brief discusses state-level lawsuits on adequacy and equity grounds and their outcomes.

This is the second in a series of reports that are the culmination of two years of research by the Campaign for Educational Equity, a policy and research center at Teachers College, Columbia University, and significant input from the Safeguarding Sound Basic Education Task Force, a statewide group made up of representatives from New York's leading…

Ten years have passed since New York's highest court ruled in the landmark school-funding and educational-rights case, "Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) v. State of New York," that the state was violating students' constitutional right to the "opportunity for a sound basic education" and ordered significant reforms of the…

This is the third in a series of reports that are the culmination of two years of research by the Campaign for Educational Equity, a policy and research center at Teachers College, Columbia University, and significant input from the Safeguarding Sound Basic Education Task Force, a statewide group made up of representatives from New York's leading…

This study examined federal and state court decisions related to student Fourth Amendment rights following the "New Jersey v. T.L.O." ruling in 1985. There has been minimal research in judicial treatment of students' Fourth Amendment rights across regions of the country and less to what extent regional rulings implicitly or explicitly…

This article examines Broadley v. Board of Education of the City of Meriden, wherein the Supreme Court of Connecticut held that the state constitutional right to free public education does not grant gifted children special education rights. Implications are discussed and recommendations are offered for informing stakeholders of legal threats to…

From the 1940s to the 1970s, the numbers and outcomes of court decisions escalated dramatically in favor of students, employees, and other individuals suing school districts. Today, the overall trend of education litigation favors school officials. The single exception is the category for special education. Since passage of the original special…

Fourteen years ago in "Goss v. Lopez," the Supreme Court dealt with the procedural due process required when students are suspended for 10 days or less. Examines how case law has developed in lower federal and state courts from this decision. (MLF)

Discusses Wisconsin case involving an eighth-grade student who gave his teacher a creative writing assignment that contained language that she perceived to be a threat. Student was given an in-school suspension and charged with disorderly conduct by the police. The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the appellate court ruling upholding the…

The Texas Supreme Court ruled that students' rights to participate in extracurricular activities were not on the same level as rights to free speech and found that the state law barring failing students from extracurricular activities was rationally related to a legitimate state interest in educational quality. (PGD)

This article discusses some of the options and strategies available to school districts in defending dress codes which mandate uniforms. Three components are essential to a successful defense: the dress code must bear a reasonable relation to the school's pedagogical purpose, it must include alternative avenues of expression, and it must…

Reviews the contractual relationship between students and higher education institutions and discusses how courts have interpreted this relationship in deciding legal challenges to college catalogs. Recommends 12 guidelines to help colleges minimize their risks of breach of contract litigation. (Author/RW)

Examines a Connecticut case concerning the rights of a disruptive handicapped student in light of P.L. 94-142. (IRT)

In "Smith" the California Supreme Court ruled that the University must provide a partial refund to students objecting to fees used for activities supporting a single political or ideological viewpoint. Surveys prior case law on student fees, agency fees, and integrated bar dues. Discusses "Smith's" impact and contends it should…

Reviews 18 criminal cases decided by state appellate courts that have applied standards set forth by U.S. Supreme Court in "New Jersey v. T.L.O" which defined extent to which public school officials could constitutionally search students and their property. Contends Supreme Court made it possible for state courts to practically expunge…