In the case of "Pico v. Island Trees Union Free School District," involving school library censorship by a Long Island (New York) board, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 failed to decide whether board discretion or First Amendment rights should prevail, and instead remanded the case to lower courts. The author of this document first…

This chapter summarizes recent state supreme court and federal court decisions involving school employees. The cases discussed are generally limited to those decided during 1975 and reported in the General Digest as of March 1976. In her discussion, the author attempts to integrate related cases and to illuminate any unifying legal principles that…

The eleven publications reviewed in this annotated bibliography discuss litigation and legal issues in education, such as administrator discretion in student discipline, the constitutional rights of students and teachers, defamation of character, and the school board's authority to transfer personnel. The literature also examines the issue of…

Over the past 10 years a number of articles pertaining to teaching tennis to elementary and middle school students have appeared (see Resources at the end of this article). These articles have focused on topics such as tactical play, basic skill instruction and drill, teaching progressions, organizational methods, and fitness development. While…

The Supreme Court decision in the case of the Board of Education, Island Trees, New York, versus Steven A. Pico, addressed whether the First Amendment imposes limitations upon the exercise by a local school board of its discretion to remove library books from high school and junior high school libraries. Rejecting the recommendations of a…

Locate the injustice in our entire government and legal system in order to best improve the quality of justice to individuals where decisions are made by discretion and not by rule or principles. (Editor/IR)

Can a school board choose a minority teacher, using race as a "plus" factor to promote a more diverse faculty for students' benefit? A school board in New Jersey unanimously voted to keep the minority instructor. The case of "Taxman" involves how much academic discretion educators should have in putting together a faculty. The…

Courts allow a great deal of discretion to private college officials regarding student press. This liberty should not lull student personnel administrators into censorship and strict control. However the principles guiding a private college's response to its newspaper must be educational as well as legal. A logical alternative would be a…

The document records testimony presented at a hearing on the Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1985, which gives federal judges discretion to award to prevailing parents reasonable attorneys' fees associated with bringing their case to court. Prepared statements are presented from officials representing the American Association on Mental…

This publication discusses public school administrators' legal rights to continuing employment, as established by litigation in state and federal courts. Although the number of court cases dealing with school administrators' employment rights has been relatively small, a number of recent cases at both the federal and state levels are examined.…

This paper discusses the legal precedents and implications for non-renewal of elementary, secondary, and university and college probationary faculty. Selected federal and state cases are reviewed to show the evolution of case law from the early 1950s to the present day. Analysis of the court cases reveals that for the last 40 years the courts have…

Traditionally, local school boards have had the power to assign students to classes and to set standards for promotion and graduation; with this authority has gone the discretion to decide what role pupil testing will play in the local schools. Courts have been reluctant to interfere with school board decisions on methodology, of which they…

Senate confirmation hearings on President Reagan's nominees for the U. S. Supreme Court raise questions about what these nominations tell about law. The controversy that surrounded the confirmation of the Reagan nominees was a direct result of two competing conceptions of law: legal formalism and legal realism. Legal formalism views law as a…

Promotion and tenure decisions in higher education are discussed and identified as no longer private affairs within departments, but subject to affirmative action guidelines and court scrutiny. Increasing numbers of discrimination complaints are forcing committee members to justify publicly decisions that were once left to their private…

By the time he left office, President Bush's faith-based initiative had become a kind of stand-in for his entire presidency. Whenever something went wrong on Bush's watch it was tarred as yet another "faith-based" policy. As the 2008 presidential election began to take shape, with the Democrats newly in charge of both the House and the Senate and…