Reviews court cases in which parents challenged school practices on religious grounds. Puts particular emphasis on recent attempts to make the curriculum conform to religious views. (Author/JM)

A number of state supreme courts have decided cases involving challenges to state public school financing. Summarizes the reactions of courts to plaintiffs' proof concerning the negative impact of inadequate funding on the educational opportunities provided to students in poor school districts. (43 references) (MLF)

Initially, Kansas prohibited school segregation except for elementary schools in cities over 15,000 people. As Topeka annexed areas in the early 20th century, African Americans accustomed to integration filed court challenges, which failed. Subsequent efforts to desegregate Topeka are traced, through the landmark 1954 case. Black teachers in…

Dress codes directed at gang attire present school officials with the dilemma of ensuring the safety of the students in a school environment versus the First Amendment rights of students to express themselves. A review of some of the court decisions limited to freedom of expression and general dress code cases serves as a foundation from which to…

Texas public school finance is undergoing reform in response to a state Supreme Court decision in Edgewood I.S.D. v. Kirby, that declared the school finance system in violation of the "efficient clause" of the state constitution. State aid has declined since 1984 due to state revenue constraints, reform mandates largely funded from local…

Teachers have the same rights as others, under the first amendment, to express their views outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, however, the teacher is obliged to meet the expectations of the job, and this implies reasonable restrictions on the expression of private views. United States Supreme Court cases have reviewed the teacher's right…

The intent of this chapter is to emphasize the student evaluation aspect over other legal principles. Several cases illustrate that courts will interfere with school boards' authority to determine placement of pupils only when a violation of constitutional or statutory rights of a student occurs. In the matter of sanctions against students that…

Findings are reported resulting from a 3-year study of the impacts of academic employment-discrimination litigation on the parties and their institutions. Two nationwide surveys were conducted, one of plaintiffs and one of university counsel. Six major lawsuits against colleges and universities were investigated by interviewing the plaintiffs and…

This index is divided into two sections: an Index on Federal Regulations and an Abstracts section of Court Cases and Administrative Decisions. Section 1 provides a topic index and comparison of contents and coverage of 16 federal departments with regulations established as of August 1981. Presented in tabular form, this index shows major topics…

Since 1968, there has been a monumental amount of litigation concerning the financing of schools. This seventeenth chapter of a book on school law reviews cases dealing with fiscal equalization of state-supported programs. Many cases litigated since 1977 and two litigated before 1977 are dealt with. In 1973 in the "San Antonio" case, the…

Designed to provide the reader with general background information in the area of American Indian child abuse and neglect law and to present a framework in which individual abuse or neglect cases may be analyzed, this report is divided into four sections. The first section describes features of the jurisdictional conflicts encountered in American…

This handbook provides background information and classroom activities that teachers can use to help students in grades 6-8 understand the New Mexico court system. Although intended for use in New Mexico, a great deal of the information provided can be used by teachers in other states. The information and activities can be incorporated into…

The authors contend that a solution to the problems raised by the "Serrano" decision is impossible without an understanding of the basic facts of public education in California. Size, cost, discrepancies, and ranking in relationship to other states and the nation are advanced to place California's public school system in clearer focus.…

Reviews four recent cases decided in state and federal courts. The cases focused on due process in student suspensions, the use of unlawfully obtained evidence in disciplinary hearings, unacceptable methods for handling personnel conflicts, and the application of voluntary affirmative action policies during periods of staff reduction. (PGD)

This is a collection of brief articles from "Perspective: The Campus Legal Monthly Newsletter" concerning legal decisions relevant to higher education in the United States since 1986. The articles summarize court decisions which addressed legal issues in the following areas: academic decisions; academic employment and freedoms; copyright,…