Presents the majority and the dissenting opinions of the Supreme Court justices in their 1978 decision regarding the 1971 police search of the Stanford University student newspaper office. (GT)

The AAUP investigating committee reports on the mass dismissals faced by teachers at the City University of New York, which was a direct result of the fiscal disaster in New York City. A chronology of major events in the city and the university is presented along with an assessment of their impact. (LBH)

This article is an annotated bibliography of research related to school library media programs found from ERIC and Dissertation Abstracts in 1996-97. Areas of research include reading, roles and relationships, intellectual freedom and social responsibilities, information literacy, staff development, and student achievement. (PEN)

In "Stephenson v. Davenport Community School District," the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that schools cannot adopt unduly vague policies to regulate student expression, in this case, a cross-shaped tattoo. (LMI)

Describes the Supreme Court graduation-prayer decision in "Lee v. Weisman" (1992) and implications of the "Jones v. Clear Creek Independent School District" case, which the Court decided not to review in 1993. Discusses the New Jersey graduation-prayer experiment and ruling of third District Circuit Court Judge Theodore A.…

Discusses results of a survey that investigated cases of censorship involving a representative sampling of college and university libraries at two- and four-year state and private schools. Various categories of censorship, identification of problematic materials, and types of complainants are examined. (Author/LRW)

Discusses issues related to off-campus, harmful student speech on the Internet, exploring the characteristics of this harmful speech and reviewing recent court cases in which schools have perceived such speech to be harmful or defamatory. Discusses prevention strategies in the context of the social and behavioral factors involved in offensive…

A federal case from Wooster, Ohio, illustrates the tension facing school boards and administrators when they deal with student expression. Explains the judge's reasoning about the issues involving First Amendment rights of student editors and the policies and relevant free-speech principles. (MLF)

Faculty have a special responsibility to encourage student freedom of expression. This responsibility requires care in teaching and evaluation to ensure student freedom in discussion, inquiry, expression, and academic achievement. (Author)

Describes how a Virginia law forbidding state employees to access sexually explicit material on state-owned computers without written permission from their agency's head has "plagued" one professor, requiring numerous incidents of permission-seeking regarding Victorian poetry. (EV)

Explores the issue of balancing liberty and order within the United States. Discusses the role of the Bill of Rights, focusing on the amendments in the document and the later amendments that ensure the liberty of U.S. citizens. Explains how order and liberty are ensured and includes discussion questions. (CMK)

Offers a simulation in which middle school students examine the constitutionality of a creche being placed on town property. Develops an understanding of (1) the religion clauses of the First Amendment, (2) governmental limitations on religious practices, and (3) governmental regulations that may incidentally support religious beliefs. (LS)

This article investigates the uncertain history of academic freedom in public schools, from the viewpoint of the courts' understanding and related commentaries. Also considered is the magnitude of teachers' classroom discretion, and whether courts are likely to treat content and pedagogical conflicts differently. (IAH)

Discusses possible responses to the situation that arises when online searches by high school students result in references to materials that do not meet selection criteria for the school library. Responses to the article from six readers are also presented. (CLB)

Presents statements made to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights by representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the library community concerning the surveillance of library users' reading habits as a national security measure. An FBI study on the extent of Soviet intelligence service's utilization of…