Edwards v. Aguillard

At issue in Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) was whether a Louisiana statute titled “Balanced Treatment Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Institutions Act” was unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from making laws respecting an establishment of religion.

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Education Law Association

The Education Law Association (ELA), founded in 1954 as the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education (NOLPE), provides an unbiased forum for the dissemination of information on current issues in education law.

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Educational Malpractice

Beginning in the 1970s, parents sought to render school boards, teachers, and other educational staff members liable for the inability of their children to perform well in school, charging a variety of school officials with educational malpractice in disputes over pedagogical methods and student outcomes.

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Early Childhood Education

Through most of American history, all early childhood education was provided at home since school systems did not assume any responsibility to educate children prior to first grade.

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Due Process Rights: Teacher Dismissal

Basic procedural due process in disputes over the dismissal of teachers usually includes notice of intended actions, the right to some explanation for proposed adverse employment actions, and the dismissed individuals’ rights to respond to the planned action.

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Due Process Hearing

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) gives parents of a student with disabilities the right to request a due process hearing on any matter concerning the delivery of a free appropriate public education (FAPE), such as the identification, evaluation, and placement of the child.

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Due Process

The U.S. Constitution guarantees every person within the jurisdiction of the United States protection against arbitrary government action through the Due Process Clause.

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Dual and Unitary Systems

Based on precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, dual systems of public education were those that operated separate and distinct schools for students who were White and children who were African American or other minorities such as Mexican American.

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Drug Testing of Teachers

Drug testing of teachers involves the law regarding search and seizure, and it must consider both the general nature of a workplace with the expectation that privacy exists there and the specific nature of a school setting with the special considerations necessary there.

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Drug Testing of Students

Drug testing of students most often arises in two circumstances: tests conducted when a school official reasonably believes that a student is under the influence of a controlled substance not permitted by law or school policy, and tests conducted pursuant to a policy permitting random, suspicionless drug tests.

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Dog Searches for Drugs

For decades, school systems engaged in efforts to stem drug use and violence in schools.

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Dress Codes

School dress codes have their origins in English private schools but only recently became common in American public schools.

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Dowell v. Board of Education of Oklahoma City Public Schools

Dowell v. Board of Education of Oklahoma City Public Schools is the name given to a series of cases that moved back and forth through the federal courts for more than three decades as Oklahoma schools worked to achieve desegregation to the court’s satisfaction.

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William O. Douglas

Justice William O. Douglas holds the record for service on the U.S. Supreme Court, 36 years and 7 months, longer than any other justice in Court history.

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Distance Learning

Among the numerous definitions for distance learning, three in particular stand out.

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