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The paper is based on the concept of political culture, which is particularly important for the maintenance and functioning of a democratic political system and is closely linked with the political literacy of young people. In this paper research focus is on the two dimensions of political culture -- political values and trust. Specifically, the main research question is: what are the determinants of accepting constitutional values and the trust in political institutions of final year secondary school pupils? The paper use the data provided by research on political literacy of final year secondary school pupils. In order to provide answer to the research question the hierarchical multiple regression is used. In the first step, particular socio-demographic variables (sex, education of mother and education of father) were introduced. In the second step, the type of secondary school education was added. The third group of predictors encompassed the level of religiosity, generalized prejudices and authoritarianism. In the final step political knowledge was included. The introduced model provides certain explanation regarding constitutional values, but fails to explain distrust in political institutions. The phenomenon of low trust in political institutions is discussed in paper.

Background or Context: Public school library book challenges have garnered ample media attention in recent years as many school districts and advocacy organizations have reported record numbers of book challenges. Book challenges are not a new phenomenon, historically speaking, but they have often illuminated values clashes in communities and raise questions about the rights and freedoms of public school students. Judicial rulings and school district policies that address book challenges could provide insights for many members of school communities (including, but not limited to, school board members, students, parents, and teachers) as they experience challenges, but these aspects of the legal record and their influence on responses to book challenges remains underexamined in scholarship. Purpose, Objective, Research Question, or Focus of Study: The 1982 Supreme Court case "Island Trees School District v. Pico" remains the lasting judicial precedent for interpreting public school students' First Amendment rights as they interact with school library books. We examine the extent to which school district book challenge policies align with court precedent set in "Pico" (1982) and the implications for students' rights and democratic participation during book challenges. Research Design: Drawing on elements of the law and society framework as well as political analysis categories, this study uses qualitative methods to illuminate specific elements of district policies that govern book challenges. Specifically, we examine 29 policies in school districts that experienced a publicly reported book challenge between 2017 and 2021 to understand relationships between school district book challenge policies and the "Pico" (1982) precedent. Conclusions or Recommendations: Our findings reveal ample space between judicial rulings and school district policies we examine. In fact, we find a broader array of relevant actors in book challenge processes than conceived by the courts and raise implications for students' constitutional rights and protections related to who policies indicate may or must be involved in these processes, the settings in which book challenge decisions are made, and the limited roles for public involvement during school library book challenges.

The growth of state laws creating private school vouchers and charter schools has mounting and alarming ramifications for students' rights, and those ramifications are shaped by a complex and shifting set of legal rules. This article explains the interplay between the increase of these school-choice programs, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent free-exercise decisions, long-standing antidiscrimination laws, and the now-tenuous applicability of those legal protections for choice students. It concludes by considering the political ramifications of these changes, which will likely be very different in "blue" and "red" states.

Between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court examined three cases that involved states that tried to limit the use of public money to support religious-affiliated schools. The Supreme Court found a violation of the Free Exercise Clause in all three cases. Although not the focus of the Court's opinions, these cases may have created avenues for discriminatory practices in publicly funded state school voucher programs. In elevating free-exercise rights above Establishment Clause concerns, the Court's decisions may have serious implications for students' civil rights in schools. This article specifically examines whether the growth of school voucher programs in the context of these recent Supreme Court decisions creates a pathway for racial discrimination in participating voucher schools. We first explore the impact of the three Supreme Court decisions. Specifically, we argue that when the Court eliminated distinctions between policies denying funding because of religious status and policies denying funding for religious uses and when it elevated free-exercise arguments, it may have opened additional avenues for discrimination. Thus, we next address whether participating voucher schools can refuse admission to Black students. To set the context for this discussion, we provide a brief historical analysis of case law that has previously supported race-based discrimination on religious grounds. We show that although past court cases and federal tax policy have created a bulwark against such discrimination, the recent rulings favoring free exercise rights raise concerns. If free-exercise rights trump civil rights, some voucher statutes may create an alternative funding stream for modern-day "segregation academies."

Higher education in the 2020s remains deeply divided on the role of religion, or what the Council on the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in 2023 describes as "religious, secular, and spiritual identities." In two previous articles in this Journal, one 2010 article by the late Peter Magolda and one in 2014 by Perry Glanzer, detail the ways in which students and the student groups themselves should be considered in relationship with their institutions. However, ten years after those arguments, questions of how religious leadership should relate to and interact with the institution still remain. The ways in which institutions are utilizing critical religious pluralism theory are at the forefront of three relationship-minded considerations the authors wish to highlight. Initially, understanding the relationships requires reexamination of the ways interpretations of the First Amendment affect public and the private university settings for religious life. This article explores the relevance of professionalizing the relationship between religious leaders and the institution, the ways in which such a relationship can support stability of the religious communities themselves, and the importance of progressive Christian groups as a part of a more religiously diverse campus's pluralistic religious and spiritual ethos. The gaps in Magolda and Glanzer's arguments, plus the emergence of critical religious pluralism theory, offers new opportunities to consider higher education policies and practices related to "religious, secular, and spiritual" identities.

Section 28(1)(c) of the South African Constitution (1996) unequivocally affirms that children are the only vulnerable group with an explicit right to social services. Nonetheless, the practical realisation of this right remains elusive for many children, leaving them without access to vital social services. Through the theoretical framework of transformative constitutionalism, this article posits that the evolving field of social services provision within school settings presents a promising avenue to champion children's right to social services and a range of other children's rights, and facilitate and promote their access to basic education. Utilising a qualitative research approach with an exploratory case study design, this study investigates whether providing social services through a programme in Botshabelo schools in the Free State effectively promotes the realisation of children's rights. The results show that social services in schools can contribute to realising various children's rights. It is recommended that there should be a symbiotic partnership between the Departments of Social Development and Basic Education with the latter endorsing and expanding the provision of social services within schools. This integration is recommended on the basis that it not only advances crucial human rights for children, such as child protection, social security, and a safe environment, but also shows promise in enhancing the academic performance of learners grappling with challenging circumstances.

In this article, we provide an overview of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and consider its implications for communication classrooms in higher education. We assert that we as communication educators have a moral imperative to consider the role of intersectionality and reproductive justice in our teaching philosophies and implementation, and to do so, we discuss the interrelated nature of intersectionality, reproductive justice, and critical communication pedagogy.

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College" (2023) and "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al." (2023), hereafter collectively referred to as "SFFA v. Harvard," have garnered attention, especially among higher education administrators (Schermele, 2023). This attention is, of course, justified because the decisions represent a major shift in the way the U.S. Supreme Court has approached race-conscious admissions. The court has changed direction in its willingness to accept the educational benefits of diversity as a justification for utilizing race in admissions programs. In this article, the authors take a look at the "SFFA v. Harvard" decision, offer some context for the role of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and discuss implications for higher education practitioners.

In recent years, the US society has witnessed a sharp growth in political divide, particularly between those holding conservative and liberal views (Pew Research Center, 2014, 2017). Among the multitude of issues that the American people find divisive, the issue on gun regulation has been one of the most controversial ones (Pew Research Center, 2021) wherein attitudes towards guns vary drastically and are divided along partisan lines. Citizens take to platforms of civic participation such as town hall meetings to express concerns about such divisive issues and seek accountability from politicians. This analysis focuses on one such instance and documents how, with the focal issue of high-capacity firearms, both the citizen and politician adjust their next actions in this gun regulation discussion. Specifically, the author observes how the citizen reformulates the notion of gun rights while the politician shifts the perspectives of his responses.

The United States Constitution is the bedrock upon which government and society rest, yet its precepts remain generally unfamiliar to contemporary college students. Considering the extent of its impact and the misinformation regarding its purpose, content, efficacy, and limits, the authors provide suggestions for civic learning based on this seminal document. While all American educational institutions receiving federal funding must celebrate the U.S. Constitution each year on or near September 17th, research suggests that comprehensive and integrative instruction is scarce. Citing a lack of formal Constitution Day programming among honors colleges, the authors present a multi-modal framework for honors students to conduct research, stimulate critical thinking, showcase their findings, and engage in civic dialogues. Historical underpinnings of Constitution Day legislation are provided, and curricular guidelines are included.

In this article we report on a qualitative study done in Pretoria, South Africa, in which we investigated the experiences of 2 representatives of the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE); School Governing Body (SGB) spokespersons from 4 schools located in the Gauteng province, 2 representatives of the Federation of SGBs, 4 principals from 4 schools, and 4 parents from 4 schools regarding public primary schools' admission policies and practices as enablers or disablers of children's rights to basic education. Using structured, open-ended interviews, qualitative data were generated to explore the experiences of the participants on the public primary schools' admission policies and practices as enablers or disablers of a right to basic education. We argue that the implementation of school admission policies as enabler to access to basic education must be based on a system of rights and corresponding obligations established by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and the various legislative and policy frameworks. The findings of the study reveal that the learner admission system in South African public schools remains problematic, which in turn aids as a disabler of children's right to basic education.

College experiences can contribute to teaching, learning, and instruction within higher education. The framework for this essay treats the college community as prototypic of the U.S. political society. Several aspects of the national political culture have been approximated within a collegiate culture. For example, every political problem within our society can be represented in a miniature fashion within a program of studies in a university. Much of students' political information can come from the interaction between teachers and students. However, a sizable portion of this learned information can extend through interaction among students. At that point, teachers would point students to information that expands their reservoir of collegiate information. Ultimately, students would refine their political information by exchanging valuable information with one another, as well as with their teachers. We have chosen to target higher education rather than pre-collegiate levels in emphasizing how higher education and our democratic system of government can be intertwined. We highlight the possibilities of college students' understanding and appreciating others' political views in working with one another rather than against one another in educational and political planning. Specifically, we include in this report the following issues: (a) political information resources routinely available in higher education, (b) college students' learning to participate in broader political conversation, (c) college students' examination of high profile U.S. constitutional declarations, (d) college students' deepened comprehension of their own political perspectives, and (e) college students' understanding that the knowledge derived from higher education can strengthen our democratic system of government.

The problem is the widespread practice by many campuses in defining community membership in ways that deny their students the civil liberties and civil rights all other Americans are guaranteed. Thus, when forty-year old veterans enroll for even one part-time course, they may find that First and Fourteenth Amendment rights existing off campus no longer apply to them as students. They may seem to have joined a different nation with various sets of ambiguous rules. Some campuses place those sanctions not only on campus-based actions, but on social media comments made in the distant past as well. The reality is that there are more than 3,000 campuses in the United States. The efforts by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Speech First, and other organizations have been essential in establishing legal precedents and at least providing temporary relief to victims of speech suppression on various campuses. But the new judicial openness to holding campus authorities accountable through the imposition of personal damages offers an alternative to the "whack a mole" approach now used. In this article, George La Noue argues to create damage precedents, litigation will have to be more time consuming and expensive requiring attorney fees to be sought when cases are won. Extensive discovery and depositions with the creators of speech suppression policies will be necessary. Who drafted the policy and which administrators and board members reviewed it? What role did campus activists or outside groups play in policy design? Was legal counsel involved and what was their advice? Given that sort of record, a court can determine whether damages should be assessed, how much they should be, and who should pay them? When those sorts of precedents are established, more responsible speech policies consistent with constitutional rights in higher education nationwide will start to be seen.

This article is a summary discussion of the main issues faced by faculty at private, often church-sponsored, universities who sought to be represented by a union in collective bargaining with their employers. The discussion begins by tracing the origins of the rule that faculty at private universities are managers and not employees under the aegis of the National Relations Act in the Supreme Court case of Yeshiva University. The summary then follows developments over the years up to the most recent decision of the National Labor Relations Board that sanctioned the efforts of adjunct professors at Elon University to seek union representation. In examining these two book-end cases, the article discusses issues relating to the effect of the religion clauses of the First Amendment in the context of the National Labor Relations Board's shifting views on the topic. Last, the authors discuss unionization in the context of church-sponsored colleges and universities. Is it now time for the Supreme Court to review its seminal decision in Yeshiva University and for church-sponsored colleges and universities to rethink their positions as well?

This research aimed: (1) to study the political participation of the monk and novice students in MCUKK as the guideline to develop the political participation instruction for MCUKK students; and (2) to suggest the ways to promote the political participation instruction of the monk and novice students. The population of the research was the bachelor degree students: monks and novices (n = 266) of MCUKK. The key informants (15) including 1 educational administrator, 2 directors of Political Science Programs (Bachelor and Master), and 2 lecturers, 10 students selected by Purposive Sampling. This study was conducted by means of the mixed research methodology: quantitative research and qualitative research. The tools used in this research were the five-rating scale questionnaire and an in-depth interview. The research findings indicated that: (1) the political participation of the students in four studied aspects were statistically rated the moderate level; and (2) the university lecturers should pay attention to educating the legal rights and importance of political participation in terms of voting, political news, political campaign and political rally for the students. The finding suggested that teaching political participation should be managed properly, although there is the law that prohibits monks or novices to get involved in politics.

Despite having one of the largest and fastest-growing post-secondary sectors in the world, there has been increasing protest against the lack of academic freedom within HEIs in India in the past decade. This research study carries out a comparative analysis of academic freedom within HEIs in India and the U.S., with a specific focus on how the notion is formulated within key policy documents and the provisions to safeguard it. Preliminary data from the systematic review revealed that while policy documents within both the countries frame the notion along similar lines, various sections within the Indian Penal Code are used to criminalize useful dissent and freedom of expression within HEIs. The study recommends that in order to safeguard academic freedom in India, certain specific sections within the Indian Penal Code (Section 124A, Section-153A, Section-292, Section-295A) should be either repealed or reformulated so that they are not amenable to misuse by the government.

Ongoing sociolegal conflicts over affirmative action in race-conscious admissions in U.S. higher education have significant modern-day relevance. This article, informed mainly by Asian American women's scholarship, explores discourse in U.S. Supreme Court rulings and oral arguments and how litigation actors continue to recycle this discourse in more recent legal strategies that maintain and normalize inequitable access to selective, historically White institutions. The author revisited and extended critical race feminist Kimberlé Crenshaw's metaphor, the "Colorblind Hustle," which describes the anti-affirmative action strategy of deploying Black spokespersons as advocates for eradicating policies that promote racial equity. The author proposes a new metaphor, the "Color-Evasive Hustle 2.0," to describe current anti-affirmative action strategies with Asian Americans as plaintiffs in a 2018 lawsuit against Harvard University. Finally, this article elevates interdisciplinary scholarship and legal strategies with potential to expose the Color-Evasive Hustle 2.0 and affirm and sustain educational equity.

This case presented in this article involves a transgender middle school student-athlete (BPJ) and the West Virginia State Board of Education (WVSSAC). BPJ, who at the time was preparing to enter sixth grade at a new school, alleges that Defendants Burch, Stutler, the WVSSAC, and Attorney General Morrisey deprived her of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. The claim goes on to indicate that the WVSSAC and Harrison County Board of Education are complicit in violating Title IX.

The authors feel there is a need of a new and different kind of classroom conversation about free speech--one that not only considers the legal and aspirational dimensions but also weighs the practice and impact of speech in daily life. Two factors make this new conversation particularly urgent. First, the avalanche of social media communication, particularly the rise of digital mobs, has dramatically altered the speech environment. Second, state legislatures and school boards are taking actions that mute teacher speech about selected topics. Indeed, as of August 2022, Pen America report that 36 states had introduced 137 bills designed to restrict instruction on topics such as race, gender, sexuality and U.S. history in K-12 and higher education--a 250 percent increase from 2021 when 22 states introduced 54 similar bills. In light of these challenges, they would like to propose, in this article, three priorities for civic educators concerned with the issue of speech and its role in fostering a more inclusive democracy: (1) Analyze--don't merely celebrate--the First Amendment; (2) Engage students in discussions of speech-related laws, policies, and practices; and (3) Involve students in developing an aspirational vision for robust speech.

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in "Carson v. Makin" that Maine violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by excluding religious schools from a private-school-choice program--colloquially known as "town tuitioning"--for students in school districts without public high schools. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts concluded that "the State pays tuition for certain students at private schools--so long as the schools are not religious. That is discrimination against religion." "Carson" leaves at least two important questions unanswered. The first concerns the decision's scope. The holding makes explicit that "a State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious." Carson is silent, however, on what it means for the government to "subsidize private education." The second question concerns which regulations states may lawfully impose as a condition of participation in private-school-choice programs. "Carson" was an important victory for religious liberty that promises to have wide-ranging implications, both within and outside of K--12 education. The full extent of those implications, including the answers to the two questions addressed here, remains to be seen.

Background/Context: In the 1973 "Rodriguez" decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not guarantee a substantive federal right to education. So far, this holding has not been adequately contextualized with many other statements the Court has made concerning the nature of education in the constitutional order. For example, since the 1969 "Tinker" decision, the Court has repeatedly justified curtailing student free speech by appealing to important educational goods, but the necessity of providing these educational goods has not been harmonized with the Court's denial of a federal right to education. Purpose/Objective/Research Question or Focus of Study: Is the Court's denial of a constitutional right to education consistent with how education is formulated in the Court's other decisions related to education, particularly as found in the student speech cases? Research Design: A "holistic analysis" is employed to examine the Supreme Court decisions related to education. This approach interprets the different strands of the Court's decisions related to education in light of one another (a "dialogic task") and places the Court's decisions into a larger context of educational thought (a "contextual task"). Specifically, with respect to the dialogic task, the focus is on reading the Court's decisions related to a federal right to education in light of its jurisprudence related to student speech; with respect to the contextual task, the focus is on clarifying the Court's statements related to educational goods by putting them into context with educational philosophy and theory. Conclusions/Recommendations: The holistic analysis leads to three observations. First, the authors find that the Supreme Court has endorsed a range of goods associated with education, including both public and private goods. Second, the Court has framed these educational goods as being closely associated with constitutional norms and the democratic order. Third, in the student speech cases, the Court has argued that these public and private educational goods are so critical that they justify the curtailment of student speech rights under the First Amendment. Bringing these observations together, it is concluded that, because education is being linked to constitutionally relevant private individual goods, and because the attainment of those goods is critical enough to overcome student speech rights, then the attainment of those goods should itself be considered a substantive, individual, constitutional right.

National constitutions determine the foundation and the operation of universities in a country. Constitutions are renewed to meet changing societal needs. In Turkey, universities have also been affected by constitutional changes. This study examines how universities have evolved in the history of Turkey's written constitutions and seeks to use this development to shed light on the structure and activities of today's universities. To this end, those articles in the six Turkish constitutions which have affected universities were identified and used as data sources. The work examines the first constitution written in 1876 up to the most recent 1982 constitution. The document review method was used to collect the data and the articles found were evaluated using the descriptive analysis method. The findings show that there were no articles which affected universities in the 1876, 1908 and 1921 constitutions. These were put into force in the 1924 constitution, which was introduced after the start of the Republic. It was found that universities were granted considerable powers and scientific autonomy in the 1961 constitution, but this autonomy was limited by the changes made in the 1982 constitution. In addition, it was found that military coups were responsible for some of the constitutional changes which affected the universities.

The chairman of the drafting committee of the modern Indian Constitution, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, emphasized that education cultivates democracy in society, strengthens the roots of democracy, and brings about social transformation. The social transformation includes a way of life that will promote liberty, equality, and fraternity, which are Dr Ambedkar's "key elements of an ideal society". This paper discusses the implications for higher education campuses for achieving an ideal society in light of the emerging evidence on peer group formation around identities and issues of discrimination associated with caste in the context of increasing student diversity. The paper also emphasizes the important role of a civic-learning approach to higher education; meaning an active engagement with values of liberty, equality, and fraternity. There is a shared belief that higher education has a great potential to be a social laboratory for civic learning and to inculcate democratic values and foster peaceful interactions among members of diverse groups.

This article discusses the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and their application in legal cases related to K-12 and higher education. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments are important because, among many things, they declare that before any person can be accused of any crime or wrongdoing, he or she must be allowed due process to prove his or her innocence. Without due process, all decisions related to an individual's innocence or guilt are thus null and void. Using content analysis methodology, this research looked at 11 Supreme Court decisions related to due process in education. It was discovered that decisions mainly related to student classification versus self-identification and wrongful termination of faculty and school personnel. The findings of this study help educational leaders at all levels to better understand the vastness of both amendments and how they work in tandem with drafting equitable, equal, inclusive, and fair policies and procedures for all students, faculty, and staff in educational settings.

Libraries still stand as a source of knowledge that can guide us to make informed decisions through the use of credible sources. A balanced collection that provides access to all points of view empowers a community to use information responsibly and make decisions independently. Intellectual freedom and equity of access are still important issues today, especially when confronting uncertain times with the COVID-19 virus and distance education. Through education and the information found in libraries, democracy allows citizens to experience free speech through dialogue not diatribe and to support our opinions with a respect for the diversity of our fellow citizens and a desire to realize equity and justice. From physical access to material selection to policies dealing with challenges to privacy of patron information, the article argues that school librarians must demonstrate intellectual freedom to maintain a free and open forum for ideas. They should be protectors of intellectual freedom for minors just as public libraries protect the rights of all citizens regardless of age.

College students have a widespread history of exercising their rights to free speech through protest as a means of expressing displeasure with the status quo. While some administrators consider it a disruption to academic learning on college campuses, extensive research has found that student activism as a form of involvement on campus lends itself to the development of leadership qualities that contribute to being an agent of social change and higher levels of civic engagement (Biddix, 2014; Chambers & Phelps, 1993; Kezar et al., 2017). Several institutions are working to balance speech protections while maintaining an inclusive environment for students. Some states and universities, however, have implemented or revised policies to protect freedom of expression regardless of its content in order to uphold students' First Amendment rights. Speech rights are actively debated by college administrators and policymakers across the country in response to the increase in campus demonstrations and have garnered attention from all sides of the political spectrum (Selingo, 2018). Though the First Amendment provides the framework for the right to free speech, there is a divide on where the line, if any, should be when it comes to protecting the freedom of speech on college campuses that is considered hateful or offensive. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the conflicting opinions around speech rights on college campuses and offer recommendations to higher education administrators working to maintain a safe environment for students while complying with sanctioned free speech guidelines at their respective institutions.

The study subject in this article is aims to educate the concepts of judiciary principles in Eastern eroup. We substantiated the conclusion on constitutional structuring of the formalization of judiciary principles in the sections devoted to the state foundations (constitutional system); human and civil rights and freedoms; judiciary; higher judicial authorities (usually the constitutional court). A comparative legal study of the norms of special sections on judiciary contained in the constitutions of Eastern European countries allowed the author forming a list of principles that organize and constitute the basis of activity of this kind of judiciary; identify the specific nature of their consolidation; present quantitative and qualitative features of the declared fundamental principles.

The authors, on the basis of the importance of the activities of constitutional courts in the system of separation of powers in most countries, propose a comparative legal analysis of the normative and legal acts governing the procedure for the adoption and legal nature of decisions of these bodies. On the basis of the study of the legal consolidation of the activities of the constitutional courts, it was concluded that the decisions of the constitutional courts, possessing such characteristics as the possibility of abolishing the legal norm; the final character; the obligation of execution for all state authorities, organizations and citizens; and the moral authority, perform a law-making function, establish rules governing important relations in society and play a special role in ensuring and protecting fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms plays an important role in ensuring and protecting fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms and constitutions of the countries considered in this article.

The United States Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist. held that a local school district violated the First Amendment freedom of religious expression rights when it directed an assistant football coach to stop praying on the fifty-yard line of a high school football field after each game. In finding for the high-school football coach, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrowed the use of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution to limit workplace religious activities of public-school teachers, school administrators, and other school district employes. The article argues that the decision will force school districts across the country to reassess their policies regarding the workplace religious activities of their employes including teachers. The article examines how the decision will impact school districts' regulation of workplace prayers by public school teachers and several types of symbolic religious speech. Finally, the article argues that school districts may need to update their policies and practices governing the workplace religious activities of their employes including teachers.

Background: Over the past decade, courts increasingly have considered cases that involve clashes between public, secular private, and religious institutions in education. Such clashes appear to have intensified as recently as the 2019-2020 Supreme Court term, and the confirmation of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Court in 2020 suggests that issues centered on these institutions will continue to receive significant judicial attention. While these recent cases have focused on a range of education law and policy issues, some have focused on arguably the most fundamental legal issues applicable to such schools--the instances in which the legal distinctions between public, secular private, and religious schools are strong or weak. Purpose: This study examines three recent, major federal cases as both historical and legal cases to highlight the restructuring of the distinctions among public, secular private, and religions schools in the institutional setting of the courts. I examine how the courts have historically structured these distinctions; how these three recent cases have restructured these distinctions; and the education law and policy implications moving forward. Research Design: This article is a legal analysis and historical case study. Findings: Three recent and high-profile education cases reflect a spectrum of how the highest courts have restructured distinctions between public, secular private, and religious schools in a short period. In some instances, courts have blurred the legal distinctions between these types of schools by allowing religious schools to receive governmental support even in situations in which states have directly attempted to exclude institutions like them from receiving such support. In other instances, courts have strengthened these distinctions by differentiating how public, secular private, and religious schools are treated with respect to their abilities to discriminate. Conclusion: Taken together, the three cases underscore the intensifying attention of the courts to restructuring the distinctions between the public, secular private, and religious spheres in education. These distinctions reflect judicial engagement with major educational and political goals, such as pluralism, communality, and discrimination, and are grounded in a long history of courts' involvement in this field. Especially in a field characterized by highly politicized debates, attention to the distinction between the public, secular private, and religious spheres in education is critical for understanding how and why fundamental educational policy decisions have been and continue to be made.