"FCC v. Pacifica Foundation," a 1978 case involving a radio broadcast considered to be indecent, was the first United States Supreme Court litigation using the right of privacy, or the right not to hear, as a rationale for broadcast regulation of programing. The issue of pornography best illustrates the judiciary's understanding of the…

An analysis of first amendment guarantees focuses on the federal government's power to regulate experiments, arguing that they do not merit the stringent level of first amendment protection offered by strict scrutiny or related standards. (Author/MSE)

This paper defines site-based budgeting as a tool for restructuring schools through meaningful participation. It also describes the legal dimensions of site-based budgeting, with an emphasis on Texas. The following legal principles are discussed: public oversight of public dollars, deregulation of governmental powers, equal protection,…

This paper examines two states operating under Federal Court Orders concerning deinstitutionalization of individuals with mental retardation. New Hampshire is presented as a state in which sociopolitical realities have interfered with efforts to monitor the quality of care, as the Laconia State School was closed for economic reasons, thereby…

This monograph reviews the current status of constitutional, statutory, and case law governing public employers' obligations to assure equal employment opportunities and employees' rights to nondiscriminatory treatment. An initial overview of the legal framework discusses federal equal protection mandates including the guarantee of equal…

This paper considers Indian affirmative action policies that provide reservations (quotas) in favor of two disadvantaged groups, the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. First, definitions and background are presented. The scheduled castes ("untouchables") are said to suffer from social segregation, and the scheduled tribes from…

The nature of the interests in education that are protected by the Constitution may be ascertained by reference to certain due process and equal protection decisions of the Supreme Court reviewed in this paper. Although education is not a right granted by the Constitution, the Court has often recognized the importance of education, both to the…

In response to the resurgence of racial incidents and increased "gay-bashing" on higher education campuses in recent years, campus authorities have instituted harassment codes thereby giving rise to a conflicts with free speech. Similar conflicts and challenges to free speech have arisen recently in a municipal context such as a St. Paul…

This paper traces the development of school finance reform pressures in Wisconsin from pressure in 1967 for property tax reform to 1973 legislative reform proposals. The 1973 proposal is designed to provide further equalization of educational opportunity to all Wisconsin students and to guarantee adequate financial resources to provide these…

Public school funding in Florida differs from other states in a number of important ways. First, Florida has a highly equalized resource-distribution formula resulting in a high degree of interdistrict equity. Second, concerns for quality, while constant, have had to compete with the state's phenomenal growth. Third, the state exercises a much…

Examines the consitutional guarantee of freedom of religion and how the courts have applied it to different areas of school law and school-church relations. (JG)

With the maturation of the internet more and more colleges and universities are offering online courses. As these courses enter the mainstream, public policy issues are beginning to emerge. Many of these involve the tension between the "work for hire" doctrine and academic freedom that occurs when educational institutions offer these…

The suggestion that Warren Burger's appointment to the Supreme Court was Richard Nixon's revenge upon the press is supported by some of Burger's judicial decisions and attitudes toward the press outside the courtroom, but not all of his decisions were against the news media. Burger's decision not to allow court clerks to speak to reporters, and…

This report summarizes a 2001 decision by the New York State Supreme Court in a landmark school funding case, Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), Inc. v. State of New York. The original lawsuit was filed on behalf of New York City students, charging that New York State has underfunded the New York City public schools and denied City students their…

Maintains that "New York Times v. Sullivan" (1964) was the greatest political libel case ever decided by the Supreme Court. Asserts that it is a monument to the idea that open political discourse is the best guarantee of democratic self-governance. (CFR)