Denominational Schools in Canada

Because the Dominion of Canada initially included separate areas with English-speaking and Frenchspeaking majorities, constitutional legal protections were provided for denominational schools as a safeguard for minority-religion schools.

Read the full story

Rights of Disabled Persons

The rights of individuals with disabilities in the educational context are governed by three federal laws and numerous state laws. The federal laws are known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Read the full story

Deposition

A deposition is a method of discovery that is used to gather or obtain facts and information that may be relevant to a pending lawsuit.

Read the full story

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), passed in 1998 and effective in 2000, updates federal copyright law to meet the demands of the electronic age, particularly in regard to copyright infringement on the Internet.

Read the full story

Disparate Impact

Actions that negatively affect individuals in particular groups as defined by race, color, religion, sex, or national origin are referred to as having a disparate or disproportionate impact. The concept of disparate impact flows from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the large amount of litigation it fostered.

Read the full story

Distance Learning

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

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

Dress Codes

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

Read the full story

Dog Searches for Drugs

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

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story