Examines federal and state court decisions in school finance litigation involving the argument that education is a fundamental right with equal opportunity and equal protection. Outlines legal strategy for educational reform by arguing that surrogates for these concepts are state education laws requiring uniform, common or thorough, and efficient…

Examines the decision in Sheff versus O'Neill which ruled that the Governor of Connecticut, and other officials, had no obligation to remedy school segregation when the state did not foster or promote it. Selected text from the decision is provided, including the judge's response to the Connecticut Supreme Court's request for further factual…

In "Probst," the New Jersey Supreme Court permitted the Board of Education to keep a teacher off the salary schedule in the years following a one-year withheld increment. Explores the "Probst" issue and the way the Court's decision may well affect boards of education and teachers under the recent New Jersey legislation dealing…

Analyzes the recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision in "Scotch Plains" regarding binding arbitration procedures in collective bargaining agreements to settle disputes over the withholding of salary increments. Discusses the events leading up to the case and comments on possible future directions for such cases. (54 footnotes) (MLF)

Discusses a Kansas court case that addressed First Amendment rights of students when a book was banned from a school library. Topics include motivation of school board members, students' rights to information versus denial of access to ideas, viewpoint discrimination, and educational suitability. A sidebar presents viewpoints of the book's author.…

In "ACE," students from poorer districts sought remedy from the state court system for reprehensible conditions in their schools. Explains the "ACE" case in detail. Reviews House Bill 468, which was intended to remedy school finance problems in the state, and identifies some potential constitutional deficiencies in this remedy.…

The democratic imperative proclaims that an inequitable, inadequate education system is unacceptable. Exploring this imperative's implications for fiscal-equity reform, this article overviews 3 decades of legal trends in federal and state fiscal equity and educational adequacy litigation, examines adequacy's liberal ideological roots, and explains…

In 1983, Maryland's highest court rejected a constitutional challenge to the state's education finance system. In 1994, the American Civil Liberties Union and Baltimore City instituted new adequacy suits against the state. An eve-of-trial settlement provided a moderate school funding increase in return for changes in school governance structure.…

Section B of the Media and Law section of the proceedings contains the following nine papers: "The Professional Person as Libel Plaintiff: Reexamination of the Public Figure Doctrine" (Harry W. Stonecipher and Don Sneed); "The Anti-Federalists and Taxation under the Free Press Clause of the First Amendment" (Brad Thompson);…

After a decade of dormancy there is suddenly a great interest among educators and policy-makers in public school finance, spawned by: successful court decisions in several states overturning existing state public school finance formulas; a popular book alleging more severe educational segregation than in 1954; congressional proposals for school…

The history of and issues involved in the implementation of a tax appraisal program in West Virginia are highlighted in this paper, with a focus on taxation litigation since 1975. Efforts of the state legislature to implement a uniform tax system since the 1982 "Recht Decision," which found the state school funding system to be…

Legal issues at the state and constitutional levels and associated misconceptions related to written preemployment integrity tests are addressed. Common misconceptions include the beliefs that: (1) such tests fall within the purview of state antipolygraph statutes; (2) unfair discrimination doctrines are violated by integrity testing; and (3)…

This study, undertaken in the summer of 1986, was to develop a comprehensive evaluation and needs assessment for the Alabama Judicial College. Qualitative research techniques (participant observation and in-depth interviewing) were applied to collect the necessary data. Judicial employees were observed in courtroom, office, training and social…

Three recent federal court decisions dealt with the use of public university and public school facilities by student groups for religious activities. In "Widmar v. Vincent," the United States Supreme Court decided that the University of Missouri at Kansas City was not justified in its denial of permission to a registered student…

Coverage of the New Bedford Massachusetts "Big Dan's Tavern Rape Trial" by Cable News Network (CNN) television cameras was ostensibly for educational purposes, to examine how rape victims are treated in court and how the judicial process works in general. However, the sensational nature of the trial strongly suggests that it was…