Recent court decisions concerning school board actions regarding the use of instructional materials indicate substantial deference to the judgment of the school administrators and board members. As long as boards act for a valid educational purpose, they have increasing freedom to decide the inculcation of values is more important than…

The "Pico v. Island Trees Union Free School District" decision affirmed students' right to receive information under the First Amendment and concluded that removing books from school libraries infringes on that right. Book removals solely to suppress ideas are open to court review in the absence of clearly established administrative…