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Discusses the implications of a case in which a school board voted to restrict student access to the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling in the school library. Views that the school board held about the books and why they did not wish students to read them; Way that the books deal with witchcraft and fantasy; Issues surrounding the restriction of student access to the Harry Potter books and similar literature; Examination of the constitutional restrictions on school library books that already exist; Description of the case Counts v. Cedarville School District; Concerns of the school board in this case about how the books could influence students; Decision of the court to overrule restrictions placed on the books.

Addresses legal issues faced by handicapped parents in the U.S. Ruling in the case of Kenneth and Karen Rothschild, hearing-impaired parents of two children in the Ramapo Central School District; Comparison to the ruling in the Supreme Court case Board of Education v. Rowley; Basis of the decisions.

Argues that governments and school administrators in the U.S. must emphasize effective schooling in order to address the concerns of the many minority school children who are isolated in the nation's inner cities. Discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the case Brown versus Board of Education that ended segregation in school; Vestiges of segregation that remain all over the U.S. in all kinds of school districts; Continuation of the process of desegregation.

Looks at the implications of the retirement of Justice Lewis Powell Jr. from the United States Supreme Court. Issues in which Powell's decisions were made law of the land; Impact on the cases that involve public aid to private and parochial schools; Role of Powell as the liberal justice in the Supreme Court.

The article discusses a Pennsylvania case involving an honor student at Lewisburg Area High School, who purchased marijuana off school property for himself and three classmates. The student was arrested, cooperated with the police investigation, and given a disposition of community service. The school board expelled the student and the parents appealed the decision in state trial court, which reversed the school board's ruling. The board's appeal to the Commonwealth Court was unsuccessful. The court decision is significant because of the usual deference to school officials' disciplinary action in drug-related cases and because of a common law concept in school law called the "in loco parentis" doctrine.

The article details a lawsuit involving a student at Bret Harte Union High School in California who had been accommodated by Section 504 and by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) under the "other health impairment" classification. His parents claimed that the district denied an entitlement to "free appropriate public education" or FAPE. The case begins with an administrative impartial due process hearing and ends with a decision that suggests the court became impatient with both parties' actions. The case is an example of "needless adversariness" and "overlegalization" of special education.

Focuses on the Regional Gifted Center program at the Beaubien School in the Chicago school system, which held a contest for the design of a class T-shirt. Details of disciplinary action and the lawsuit resulting from an unofficial "Gifties 2003" T-shirt which featured a caricature of a disabled student; The argument of the plaintiffs' attorney, James Bowers, that the shirt was not directed at the disabled and the school justified its action with a nebulous safety rationale; Discussion of judicial decisions concerning the First Amendment; Examples showing the complexity of such cases and the difficulty in making fair and rational judgments.

Discusses the case Board of Education of Westside Community Schools versus Mergens that deals with Equal Access Act and after-school prayer. Facts of the case; Examination on the rulings of the lower and appellate courts on the case; Arguments of the parties to the case; Details on the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court; Arguments of the dissenting opinion in the U.S. Supreme Court.

This article comments on the decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court on the lawsuit filed by teacher Edward Stachura against the Michigan school district, the board of education and parents of students. On June 25, 1986 the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the decision of the lower courts in favor of Stachura and sent the case back to trial on the issue of damages. Writing for the court, Associate Justice Lewis Powell argued that the purpose of constitutional lawsuits is to compensate persons for injuries that are caused by the deprivation of constitutional rights. Allowing the jury to place a monetary value on the importance of the right violated, in Powell's view, focused not on compensation for provable injury, but on the jury's subjective perception of the importance of constitutional rights as an abstract matter. This, according to Powell, was inconsistent with previous cases holding that there cold be no compensatory damages for constitutional violations in the absence of proof of actual injury. The real problem with the Supreme Court decision in this case is that it fails to provide any standards by which Stachura could structure his evidence at the retrial and by which the judge could instruct the jury.

The article discusses the United States Supreme Court's decision in the case Abington v. Schempp, in context to the relationship between religion and public education. The court ruled that "no state law or school board may require that passages from the Bible be read or that the Lord's Prayer be recited in the schools of a State at the beginning of each school day." The case has been widely misquoted and misinterpreted over time. Some people have understood the import of the case and simply disagreed with its conclusions; others have vehemently ignored its direction in purposeful defiance. To this day there are public schools scattered throughout the nation in which prayer and Bible reading as opening exercises still take place, either throughout the school or in individual classrooms. The decision provided a context for public education to deal with religion, but public school educators have not fully used it.

The article presents the author's opinion on the U.S. Supreme Court Case regarding the Safford Unified School District in Arizona, where a female school administrative assistant and a female nurse strip-searched Savana, who was a middle school student suspected of possessing prescription-strength Ibuprofen. The district's policy prohibited the possession of prescription-strength Ibuprofen unless the student had official permission to carry it at school. The decision on June 25, 2009 that the strip search violated the fourth amendment, and that the school official who ordered the search was entitled to qualified immunity from liability is considered. The author discusses the New Jersey v. T.L.O. case and why he believes that the Safford decision doesn't prevent strip searches.

The article discusses the negligence case between the West Baton Rouge School District in Louisiana and automotive mechanics teacher James Howard. The article describes how Howard's concealed a gun in the glove compartment of his car, which was subsequently stolen after he parked the car near the classroom of the school. The school board ruled that Howard acted in negligence while the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed the decision and ordered Howard's reinstatement. The subjectivity of the legal and judicial process is discussed, along with the effect of the Supreme Court's decision on educational policy.

The article focuses on a lawsuit that was brought against the New York city public school district by parents and the Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council about the district's policy banning cell phones in schools. In May 2007 judge Lewis Bar Stone found in favor of the district citing that it would be difficult for schools to ban cell phone use while still allowing students to have such devices on school property. Stone's judgment and its implications for the city are analyzed. The plaintiff's attorney, Norman Siegel, has plans to appeal the decision.

The author reflects on the U.S. federal court case brought by the parents of a boy with severe asthma who died during a physical education class. The parents claimed that the school had been negligible and that under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, their son should have been exempt from certain activities. The author examines the judge's decision and interprets the laws that the parents used to argue their case.

This article examines Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Presented is the case of Gerald Hess, a teacher in New Hampshire who often left his students unsupervised and once struck a female student. When the school board voted for the firing of Hess, Hess filed a lawsuit against the school board, claiming he was discriminated against because he had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The court ruled in favor of the school board.

Details a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in 2002 by Mr. Crowley, who was divorced in 1998 with two young children who eventually attended Hiawatha Elementary School near Chicago. Complaint against the administrators for failing to take action against bullies in the school and for not sending the noncustodial parent educational and other records that custodial parents receive; Mr. Crowley's allegation that he was treated unfairly because of his complaints; How the lower court and appeals court ruled on the claim that Crowley was denied his constitutional right to participate in his children's education; Contention of Thomas Dicianni, lawyer for the district defendants, that the case should be focused on the principal's responsibility to maintain order in the school building; The rights of noncustodial parents as interpreted through federal legislation and state statutes.

Comments on investigatory detentions and a court decision against further "constitutionalization" of public school issues. Background on the case involving Colonial Elementary School in Botetourt County, Virginia and a student who allegedly brought a gun to school; Description of the principals' and detectives' investigation and questioning of the child; Details of a civil rights suit based on claims that the girl's Fourth Amendment right and her mother's 14th Amendment "liberty" were violated by the police department and the school; Discussion of the Fourth Circuit court ruling.

Reports on a lawsuit filed against the Associated Chino Teachers union in California by a person claiming religious objector status. Details of the law that allows for religious objectors to pay the fee to a charity of their choice; Findings of the federal district court which ruled against the petitioner; How this ruling is opposite to one across the country and the reasons for the difference in rulings; Practical problems of drawing a quantifiable line that is fair.

Discusses the school experience of Adam C. who was eligible for an early intervention program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) because of a diagnosis of autism. His placement decided by an IEP (individualized education program) team in the Riverdale Local School District in Ohio; His disruptive behavior and violence that put Cheryl Coolidge on temporary total disability; Details of a negligence claim against the parents and an employment intentional tort claim against the school district; Judgment based on the state's governmental immunity statute; Two issues of foreseeability and proximate cause in the parents' liability; Indication that the case was heard by Ohio's supreme court.

Discusses the problems in the education system in the U.S. Decision of a court in the case Brown versus Board of Education; Insufficient funding for education; Information on the No Child Left Behind Act; Shortage of smart teachers in the country.

Discusses the civil rights suit Ronald DePace versus Maureen Flaherty. Incidents that led to the case; Court decision on the case; Amount of the settlement offered by the defendant.

Comments on the issue of segregation and racial equality in the field of education in the U.S. Significance of the decision on the case Brown v. Board of Education, which dealt with the issue; Hypocricies facing the country in relation to the race issue; Core beliefs of the Minority Student Achievement Network, which is made up of various school districts across the nation.

Presents a case in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania involving a high school student named Blair Hornstine whose claim as the valedictorian of her graduating class was challenged by the school board because of clamor from parents and the community. Disability of Hornstine; Details of the case; Arguments of the parties; Ruling of the court on the case.

Focuses on the lawsuit filed by physician and atheist Michael Newdow in the U.S. Federal District Court, claiming that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools violates the First Amendment's establishment clause. Details of the ruling of the Ninth Circuit; Significance of the Supreme Court's traditional tripartite test.

Details the case of Michael Allen Means who was denied a driver's license for his lack of high school diploma and for withdrawing from school for reasons other than circumstances beyond his control. Action taken by the Department of Motor Vehicles of West Virginia; Opinion of the Supreme Court of West Virginia on the case; License revocation statute under education laws.

Discusses the ruling of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on a case filed by high school students and their parents against the Escambia, Alabama school district and two of its employees. Facts of the case; Reasons behind the ruling of the court; Arguments presented by guidance counselor Kay Rose and assistant principal Melvin Powell.

Proposes the re-examination of the ruling on the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. Results of a study on education in Tennessee; Plan of action for the re-assessment of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling; Implications of the re-examination on school reform.

Focuses on the decision of the Ohio federal district court in March 1990, regarding the suit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission against the Patrick Henry Education Association and the Patrick Henry School District in Ohio, regarding religious discrimination in the case of teacher agency fees. Reasons the court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants; Comparison with a case that arose at a university in Michigan; Facts of the case.

Focuses on the 1989 ruling of the Michigan court of appeals on the case regarding home schooling involving the DeJonge and the Bennett families. Facts of the case; Analysis of the decision; Arguments of the families.

Examines the implication of the demise of the Meech Lake accord on June 23, 1990 on language rights in Canada. Effect of the enforcement of the Official Languages Act 1969 in Quebec on the assimilation efforts of French-speaking minorities; Amendment to the legislation; Discussion on the Supreme Court decision in the case Mahe v. Alberta.

Examines the court decision on the lawsuit filed against the Gravette Public School Distric in Arkansas over Bible classes held in the school. Argument of the defendant school district; Legal provisions on the use of public schools for religious purposes; Basis of the ruling.

Comments on the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court on the case of Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight. Case background; Dispute between First Amendment freedoms and faculty union powers; Minnesota Community College Faculty Association, the exclusive bargaining representative for the faculties of colleges of the Minnesota Community College System; Factors affecting the First Amendment rights of faculty members.

The article presents cases of supreme court decisions on free speech rights to teachers. Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the case are: Perry v. Sindermann (1972), which held that a faculty member at a state college had the right to address a legislative committee; City of Madison Joint School District v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (1976), which held that a public school teacher had the right to make a statement about collective bargaining during a public session of a school board meeting; Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle (1977), which held that a public school teacher had the right to telephone a radio station about a proposed teacher dress code.

The article analyzes the court cases which the U.S. Supreme Court handled in the year 1985. It is reported that, one of the cases was regarding school prayer and publicly funded programs in parochial schools. It is reported that, a lawsuit was filed by agnostic with children in public school in Mobile County, Alabama, Ishmael Jaffree, after he was unsuccessful in bringing halt to the practice of singing and reciting religious material in classrooms, which he termed as unconstitutional, and in which the court gave decision in favor of Jaffree. It is reported that, another case involved the viability and validity of creating an organization for carrying out prayers in schools.

This article focuses on the court decision that judiciary has no right to interfere with educational decisions. The parents of Thomas Rettig, in 1979 a 16-year-old autistic child asked that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio order the Kent City School District to provide their son with specific programs, such as summer classes and year round therapy. The lower court refused to require the programs, and the Sixth Circuit agreed. Frederick Compton, the attorney for the school district, said he is "extremely pleased" with the decision, which is "a complete and total win for us."