Analyzes Georgia high-stakes testing case involving administrative law judge's recommendation (subsequently approved) that fifth-grade science teacher's teaching certificate be suspended for giving his students pretest copies of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Suggests No Child Left Behind Act will spawn similar litigation in the future. (PKP)

Analyzes New Jersey case involving the jailing of striking teachers who refused to comply with a judge's return-to-work order. (PKP)

Analyzes complex Minnesota case wherein the state intermediate, appellate court upheld (2-1) juvenile court's order that a high school student expelled for making a bomb threat pay the district's tutoring costs and attorney's fees. (PKP)

Analyzes California case ("Newdow v. U.S. Congress") involving Constit utional challenge to the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance wherein the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the phrase violated the Establishment Clause requiring state-church separation. (Contains 11 references.) (PKP)

Discusses New York case involving harassment of a female high school junior by three other girls culminating in physical attack that results in serious brain injuries to the girl. Girl's parents sued school officials for negligence. Jury finds that the vice-principal acted in reckless disregard for girl's safety and awards parents $11.2 million…

Analyzes federal district court case involving legal action against certain companies that produced violent video games, a violent motion picture, or maintained pornographic websites. Parents of three Kentucky high school students shot and killed by another student who regularly viewed the aforementioned material brought suit. The court dismissed…

Analyzes Arkansas case wherein the Eighth Circuit held 6-5 that letter written by seventh-grade student threatening violence against his former girl friend was not protected by the First Amendment even though a friend took the letter from student's home without his knowledge and gave it to the girl. Upheld board's decision to expel student.…

Discusses case of peer-to-peer harassment of a homosexual high school student in Nevada involving "Tinker" First Amendment expression issues and Title IX peer-harassment case law. Prior to trial, school district agreed to a substantial monetary settlement, but did not admit to First Amendment or Title IX violations. (Contains 13 references.)

Discusses federal district court decision dismissing suit brought by three Texas high school students claiming that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when police, at request of administrators, entered school and rounded up, handcuffed, and detained them and 11 other students who "hung out" with a student arrested for…

Discusses a federal district court decision ordering a trial to determine if the New York City Public Schools created a "hostile work environment" in violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act by not protecting a Sri Lankan-born teacher from repeated ridicule and harassment by students. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)

Discusses Nebraska case involving efforts by parents to seek redress in federal court for their emotionally impaired daughter's difficulties with her band teacher; the parents claimed violation of the 14th Amendment, federal disabilities statutes, and state common law. Explains why the federal district court and Eighth Circuit rejected the…

Reviews Ridgewood, New Jersey, case wherein several parents claimed that school district's student survey violated students' privacy rights protected by the Constitution and two federal statutes: The Family Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. Discusses subsequent federal regulatory and state legislative action.…

Summarizes outcome of appeals to federal circuit courts of appeal and to the U.S. Supreme Court by losing parties. With few exceptions, appeals result in no significant changes in holdings. (Contains 27 references.) (PKP)

Revisits a few school-law cases analyzed in the journal's "Courtside" column that were either reversed or substantially modified on appeal. Cases deal with student expression, special education, home schooling, curriculum-related issues, employee rights, and higher education. Discusses lessons learned from update of these cases. (Contains 32…

Description of trivial and frivolous education litigation between 1995 and 2001. For example, parents of middle-school student sued Oregon school district for monetary damages for refusing to allow their daughter, whose name is Abby, to use her nickname, Boo. (Contains 21 references.) (PKP)