Critical Theory

Critical theory views the law as a tool of social, political, and economic reform oriented toward addressing social injustices.

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Teaching of Creationism Evolution and Intelligent Design

Four distinct movements in American educational history have approached the interpretation of what may be taught to children regarding the origins of life.

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Crawford v. Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles

Crawford v. Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles (1982) involved two decades of legal wrangling over the desegregation of Los Angeles schools, including several rounds through California’s state courts and a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos

In Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos (1987), former employees of unincorporated divisions of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) who refused or were ineligible to become members of the church challenged their being dismissed from their jobs.

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Corporal Punishment

In the mid-1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of educators to use corporal punishment to foster discipline in the public schools.

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Copyright

Copyrights are intangible rights granted by the federal Copyright Act to authors or creators of original artistic or literary works that can be fixed in a tangible means of expression such as hard copies, electronic files, videos, or audio recordings.

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Cooper v. Aaron

In Cooper v. Aaron (1958), the U.S. Supreme Court responded to an early skirmish in the battle over school segregation, in which nine students who desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the 1957–1958 school year had to confront the fierce resistance of Governor Faubus and the state legislature.

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Contracts

Contracts are legally enforceable agreements between two or more parties to perform obligations resulting from bargained-for exchanges.

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Consent Decree

Consent decrees in educational disputes are negotiated equitable agreements between plaintiffs and defendants in elementary and secondary school settings and in higher education.

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Connick v. Myers

At issue in Connick v. Myers (1983) was whether a former assistant district attorney (ADA) who was dismissed for conducting a survey about morale in the district attorney’s office was speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern.

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Compulsory Attendance

Compulsory attendance laws refer to legislative mandates that school-aged children attend public, nonpublic, or homeschools until reaching specified ages.

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Compensatory Services

Compensatory services are educational services that are awarded to students with disabilities to make up for services that they lost because of a school board’s failure to provide an appropriate educational placement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

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Common Law

The evolution of the common law began when Henry II established a system of English royal courts in 1166. These courts employed juries and were presided over by circuit-riding judges.

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Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Regan

At issue in Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty (PEARL) v. Regan (1980) was the constitutionality of a statute from New York that authorized the use of public funds to reimburse churchrelated and secular nonpublic schools for performing various state-mandated testing and reporting services.

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Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist

In Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state legislation that provided monies for the maintenance and repair of religious facilities as well as...

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