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The definition of public education is changing rapidly and radically in our current political landscape. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the debate over publicly funded school voucher systems, which direct taxpayer funds to parents to offset the cost of tuition at the private schools of their choice. Tina Cheuk and Rand Quinn address how three spheres of influence -- the courts, the executive branch, and public opinion -- are contributing to a slow dismantlement of the wall between the church and the state.

Although, at one time, many observers believed that the courts and the schools should have little to do with each other, Justin Driver argues that the public school has, in recent decades, served as the single most significant site of constitutional interpretation in the nation's history. He traces four reasons for this growing intersection between schools and the courts. First, public schools touch a larger number of Americans than any other government institution. Second, decisions related to public schools present a lens through which to view American history. Third, cases involving schools frequently highlight contentious legal doctrines. And, fourth, the Supreme Court itself has highlighted the schools' role in how Americans understand the Constitution.

In this article, we analyse the construction of Finnish constitutional bilingualism in the aftermath of gaining independence, a traumatic civil war and during the construction of a new republican polity based on regulated parliamentarism in 1917-1919. We take a multi-sited and historically informed approach to the dynamics of political discourse at the parliamentary level, analysing the discursive cycles of people, nationality and nation. We demonstrate the interconnectedness of language policy discourses with historically and spatially multi-sited and highly complex contexts and show how language policy confrontations can add important dimensions to increase our understanding of power struggles concerning other aspects of politics. Both sides of the debate utilized a set of nationalistic discourses, derived from the nineteenth century and reactivated by the discursive trends of the post-war situation. These discourses reinforced the ideas of national self-determination and the opening of politics to the people at large--though with a set of limitations to majority democracy. Indeed, the language paragraphs of the Finnish republican constitution of 1919 can be seen as a further set of minority provisions needed in search said ideals and reconstruction of normalcy after a crisis.

In 2008, Ecuador reformed its Constitution after a prolonged period of economic, social and political crises. The momentary rupturing of power structures, that had limited political participation to small clusters of elites, opened participatory spaces for historically marginalised social groups to engage in the process of constitutional drafting. As a result of this unprecedented political shift in participation and inclusiveness, alternative notions of cultural, social and economic rights surfaced. This progressive constitutionalism is thus a novel attempt at overcoming legal formalism in favour of a "Living Law," a law that embraces the contextual settings where it will be applied by scrutinising the historic power structures that have moulded it. "Good Living" as a legal principle underlines the enactment of a "Living Law."

Monica Williams, a beloved counselor of an urban middle school, is shocked to learn that she is being terminated for a comment she made on Facebook. This case was developed for use in an educational leadership course for students to evaluate an educator's right to freedom of speech in relation to social media. Instructors can use the case to encourage dialogue around legal issues and ethical considerations of an individual's rights versus community standards. The discussion questions are designed to guide students in analyzing the scenario through legal policies, ethical considerations, and human resource issues.

This paper aims to extract Iran's philosophy of education from two sources of the constitution and the course of practice in educational institutions. Regarding the first source, it is argued that parallel to the two main threads of the constitution, Iran's main elements of philosophy of education are expected to be derived from; (1) Islam and (2) democracy. The challenge in front of this feature of Iran's implicit philosophy of education refers to the seemingly contradictory relation between the two components of Islam and democracy. It is argued that the hard contrast being held between religion and liberal democracy is not defensible and that there could be compatibilities between the two. As for the second source, it is shown that there are concerns about the main trends that underpin Iranian educational institutions. One trend is that the religious education in Iran is at the threat of becoming dogmatic and being overwhelmed by indoctrination. The second trend, referring to the minorities' education, shows a further challenge regarding recognition of minorities' right to education. Finally, the third trend is related to the embrace of neoliberalism in Iranian educational endeavors. It is argued that this trend provides a tension in the overall corpus of the country's philosophy of education.

In this engaging interview, John D. Inazu identifies confident pluralism as the way for us to thrive in connection even when divided by deep differences. Since our differences are not just going to go away, we need to learn to live with others with whom we do not agree. Inazu explains that tolerance, humility, and patience are the foundational principles to do this. They provide the tools to respect others as people without accepting their viewpoints, to accept that we may not be able to convince people of the correctness of our viewpoint, and to allow room for ourselves and others to make mistakes and still keep the conversation going.

In a 2016 survey, just 26% of Americans were able to name all three branches of government, and 31% failed to name even one branch. In 2011, the American Bar Association's (ABA) Commission on Civic Education in the Nation's Schools called the progress of civic education "worrisome" and said, "there is reason to be alarmed at the state of Americans' civic knowledge." The good news is that educational institutions, and law professors in particular, can address this concern by planning activities for Constitution Day (September 17) and Constitution Week (September 17-23). The U.S. government has long encouraged its citizens to use these days, which commemorate the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution, to discuss governance, civil rights, and civic engagement. In fact, federal law requires each U.S. educational institution receiving federal funds to offer a Constitution Day program. This mandate, supported by groups like the ABA, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and the American Democracy Project, is an opportunity for professors to connect their classroom material with current events and present a compelling program that gets students thinking about the U.S. government and their role in it. Part II of this article discusses the origins of Constitution Day and Constitution Week and the development of a federal mandate for educational institutions. Part III addresses the value of Constitution Week activities as cocurricular educational programming. In Part IV, the authors describe the best practices they have developed for planning Constitution Week activities that appeal to students and reinforce classroom learning. In Part V, they discuss the best practices they have developed for executing Constitution Week activities efficiently and with maximum educational benefits. In Part VI, they discuss how they assessed Constitution Week activities, using a survey instrument, to gauge student interest in each activity and the impact of each activity on educational goals. In Part VII, they present their conclusions and encourage other professors to develop their own Constitution Week curricula. The authors hope that professors of business law, ethics, and related fields can use this article as a roadmap for developing their own engaging and impactful Constitution Week activities. One appendix is included.

This article seeks to persuade professors that constitutional law topics are worthy of coverage, as it is the job of legal educators to not just to prepare students for their professional roles but also their roles as citizens. Several authors have taken up constitutional law topics in these pages. This article contributes to the literature, and takes a broad look at free speech protections--a particularly timely and engaging topic in light of landmark Supreme Court rulings in June 2017 and much public debate about our civic culture and free speech after violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Middlebury College, and elsewhere. Part II of this article documents recent widespread calls for universities to do a better job of preparing students to be informed, active citizens. Part III reviews best practices for that civic education. Part IV turns to the role legal studies professors can play in furthering students' civic knowledge. Drawing on recent Supreme Court cases, that part describes a short exercise aimed at helping students understand and reflect on the high level of legal protection that speech enjoys.

Heated battles over free speech have erupted on college campuses across the United States in recent months. Some of the most prominent incidents involve efforts by students to prevent public appearances by speakers espousing controversial viewpoints. Efforts to silence offensive speakers on college campuses are not new; in these endeavors, one can hear echoes from the late 1980s and early 1990s. There is, of course, a meaningful distinction between organized efforts by students to silence speakers and policies adopted by colleges and universities to protect students from objectionable speech. It is, however, important to note that these efforts share a common motivation: They involve questions about the reach of the First Amendment in situations that involve structured or unstructured efforts to silence speakers or suppress ideas that some members of the community deem offensive. To assess the desirability of these efforts, it is necessary to consider the value of the speech being suppressed. Unlike political speech, which is always assumed to have value, courts and commentators have suggested that speech such as racial epithets, defamatory statements, and obscene utterances (referred to by academics and jurists as "low-value speech") should receive less First Amendment protection. This essay challenges this typology, offering a communication-focused (and legally grounded) defense of low-value speech within institutions of higher education committed to debate, dialogue, and the free exchange of ideas. To accomplish their mission, college and universities need to be a place where students and scholars are free to consider a broad range of ideas, most especially those that test conventional wisdom or the prevailing viewpoint.

In this paper, I examine the use of litigation as a strategic tool of resistance for thwarting school desegregation. Utilizing "Cowan v. Bolivar County Board of Education" as a case study, I argue that, despite losing the constitutional right to racially segregate public schools according to an explicit white supremacist doctrine, whites in Bolivar County, Mississippi, were successful in stemming the impending tide of social change associated with school desegregation through litigation. Litigious resistance not only provided southern whites with a racially moderate epistemology for undermining school desegregation regionally, but their legal challenges to school desegregation also laid the groundwork for non-southern white animus toward all federal education policies that promoted racial inclusion.

College students who reside in campus dormitories at public universities have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their dorm rooms that is protected by the fourth amendment; and officials cannot search these rooms for law enforcement purposes without a valid warrant. Non-students, however, have no such reasonable expectation of privacy in dormitory rooms that they have vacated or live in as guests in violation of college housing rules. A line of cases indicates that college and university officials may search students' dormitory rooms for non-law-enforcement purposes without offending the fourth amendment if the search is authorized by language in a housing contract or a reasonable regulation adopted to maintain safety, security, and an educational environment conducive to learning. The ninth Circuit has ruled that campus authorities may conduct searches in areas where students have objectively reasonable expectations of privacy without obtaining a warrant if officials are motivated by a "special need" to protect the university's security that is separate and apart from law enforcement concerns. The seventh Circuit has ruled that university student inspectors may conduct a "lawful regulatory search" of a dormitory room to advance "special needs" beyond the needs of law enforcement without the necessity of obtaining a warrant. However, campus officials cannot rely on language in their regulations or student-housing contracts to justify warrantless searches that are conducted pursuant to a criminal investigation. [Discussion questions developed by Alyse Gray Parker.]

Residential communities are a critical component of many students' experience on a college campus, especially during their first year. Residential communities have been associated with a variety of positive outcomes, including persistence, openness to diversity, satisfaction, critical thinking, and personal development (Astin, 1977 & 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Pike, Kuh & Gonyea, 2003; Terenzini, Springer, Pascarella & Nora, 1995). An important part of the students' residential experience is being able to represent who they are and what they value. This is often done within the confines of the private residence hall room or apartment, but just as frequently in the externally-facing venues physically attached to the private living space: bulletin boards, whiteboards, doors, and windows. While this form of communication is protected by the first amendment as freedom of expression, more and more housing programs are being challenged by the need to balance competing priorities. On one hand, public institutions generally may not limit a student's right to free speech. On the other hand, housing staff seek to promote a residential and learning atmosphere that promotes community building, respectful dialogue, inclusion, and safety. This article will provide an overview of the scope and limits of the first amendment as they relate to student-generated speech, manifested as printed or posted material, within campus housing. Particular attention is focused on common communication forums: bulletin boards (RA-managed versus general public boards); student doors; whiteboards or bulletin boards affixed to an individual student's door; and exterior-facing windows.

The public schooling system is supposed to be neutral regarding religion. Constitutional provisions prohibit government from interfering with, or establishing, religion, and ensure equality of all people under the law. This article examines whether public schooling meets these requirements. It first briefly reviews the history of American education and its interactions with religion. Next, it examines the question conceptually and graphically, illustrating from the most encompassing to the most discrete levels how education content and delivery does, and often must, interact with, and have consequences for, religion. It also examines this concretely, drawing on the Cato Institute's Public Schooling Battle Map--an interactive database of values- and identity-based conflicts in public schools--to gauge the reach of religious or religiously connected conflicts in U.S. public schooling, and to supply examples of interactions with religion identified in the conceptual illustration. The article ends with recommendations for changing education policy to achieve the government neutrality required by the Constitution.

An analysis of the jurisprudence related to religious schools and public funding, grounded in the interpretation of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, suggests that religious charter schools may be constitutionally permissible. Moreover, recent Supreme Court cases may provide a stronger argument for supporting the participation of religious charter schools on free exercise and neutrality grounds. The question may come down to whether charter schools are legally regarded as public or private schools, an open question with conflicting jurisprudence. How this question is ultimately resolved has significant implications for the future role of religious schools and an understanding of educational freedom and pluralism in America.

At the turn of the 20th century, Pink Teas (alternately known as "suffrage teas") were held by women who championed women's right to vote. In this article, the author provides historical background on Pink Teas and ideas of how to teach about them in the elementary classroom.

Sexual orientation continues to be an explosive issue in American classrooms. Increasing the political knowledge of students can reduce the volatility of this explosive issue by increasing tolerance toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. This relationship between political knowledge and political tolerance has been recognized since Stouffer's seminal work (1955) examining respondents' tolerance toward unpopular groups. Since then, a number of political scientists have worked to further our understanding of the link between political knowledge and political tolerance. This manuscript expands upon the existing literature by examining the effect of political knowledge on political tolerance toward same-sex marriage equality using 10-minute lectures involving the U.S. Constitution. Findings will show that significant changes can be made to political tolerance levels by using a limited amount of time and information to increase the political knowledge of survey respondents.

Despite existing research that demonstrates the benefits of racial diversity in education, the Court has become increasingly disinclined to allow the use of race or ethnicity in education policy targeted to increase race/ethnic diversity, absent a compelling state interest. The debate over the merits of educational diversity has almost exclusively focused on individual-level outcomes, ignoring consequences for society at large. We argue that this restricted conception of the goals of diversity may limit our understanding of how diverse learning opportunities represent compelling societal interests. Using macro-level data of 29 U.S. metropolitan areas, we examine the societal impact of K-12 diversity on an important societal attribute, intergroup social cohesion. This research has the potential to inform education policy and judicial sentiment about diversity as a compelling state interest in an increasingly diverse society.

With the maturation of the internet more and more colleges and universities are offering online courses. As these courses enter the mainstream, public policy issues are beginning to emerge. Many of these involve the tension between the "work for hire" doctrine and academic freedom that occurs when educational institutions offer these courses with a profit motive and then claim ownership of course materials. When a university begins to offer courses with a for profit motive, issues involving copyright infringement may also arise due to the inapplicability of the "fair use exception". Other issues involve a developing disparity between the rights of public university faculty over those of private university faculty to the ownership of course materials as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in "NLRB v. Yeshiva University" as well as the Due Process and the Takings Clauses in the Fifth Amendment and the Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The lack of clarity in U.S. copyright law over ownership of professorial created academic works has led some commentators to suggest the time has come to amend the law to return a "teacher exception" to the definition of a "work for hire" in the U.S. copyright statute. In the meantime, faculty must negotiate ownership issues with their schools on a individual basis, through collective bargaining or by both. In the case of private university faculty, there is no guarantee of any right to negotiate with their employer.

The main focus of this paper is on the triangulated work of the 1996 South African Constitution, the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), and one of the latter's eleven language subsidiaries: the English National Language Body (ENLB), with special reference to the ENLB's likewise triadic projects on literature; on variation and standardisation; and on language in education. It thus deals with both macro- and micro-policy issues. My choice of title is predicated upon the proposition that discourse in language is evidently much like the traditional African cooking pot, standing firm on three legs. An explication of the title's invocation of a holographic triad follows, with examples of triple categorizations of usage from Randolph Quirk, Stanley Ridge and Braj Kachru. Informed by the medieval educator's emphasis on acquisition of the 3Rs and the 2008 Oxford Round Table's call for a three-pronged approach, the discussion explores aspects of proficiency, education (multilingual rather than bilingual) and acquisition, shifting from practice to policy making and implementation in South Africa, including Richard Ruiz's three types of orientation to language in policy and planning: language as problem, language as right, and language as resource. The paper makes early reference to and ends with references to Judge Albie Sachs's sage caveat and his injunction for all to take part in the language discussion, respectively. I close with my own plea for a paradigm shift from prescription to choice and from rigidity to balance.

Amy Jordan addresses the need to balance the media industry's potentially important contributions to the healthy development of America's children against the consequences of excessive and age-inappropriate media exposure. Much of the philosophical tension regarding how much say the government should have about media content and delivery stems from the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protection against government interference in free speech, including commercial speech. Courts, Jordan says, have repeatedly had to weigh the rights of commercial entities to say what they please against the need to protect vulnerable citizens such as children. This balancing act is complicated even further, she says, because many government regulations apply only to broadcast television and not to non-broadcast media such as the Internet or cable television, though Congress has addressed the need to protect children's privacy online. The need to protect both free speech and children has given rise to a fluid media policy mix of federal mandates and industry self-regulation. Jordan describes the role of the three branches of the federal government in formulating and implementing media policy. She also notes the jockeying for influence in policymaking by industry lobbies, child advocacy groups, and academic researchers. The media industry itself, says Jordan, is spurred to self-regulation when public disapproval grows severe enough to raise the possibility of new government action. Jordan surveys a range of government and industry actions, from legislatively required parental monitoring tools, such as the V-Chip blocking device on television sets, to the voluntary industry ratings systems governing television, movies, and video games, to voluntary social website disclosures to outright government bans, such as indecency and child privacy information collection. She considers the success of these efforts in limiting children's exposure to damaging content and in improving parents' ability to supervise their children's media use. Jordan concludes by considering the relevance and efficacy of today's media policy given the increasingly rapid pace of technological change. The need for research in informing and evaluating media policy, she says, has never been greater. (Contains 4 tables and 65 endnotes.)

This case is for use in graduate courses pertaining to student affairs and higher education administration. It presents challenges higher education professionals face concerning anonymous social media, and specifically how threats made through anonymous social media platforms such as Yik Yak affect the entire university community. The anonymity of Yik Yak users poses difficulties for administrators when harassment and threats occur, whether directed toward one student or an entire campus community. This case highlights the complex issues that administrators must confront as well as provides students the opportunity to evaluate such issues via the deconstruction of this multifaceted case.

American high school graduates' readiness for higher education or employment in the global economy may depend on the state where they live. Since the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution makes education a state function, the 50 states and the District of Columbia vary significantly in their policies and practices for (a) preschool access and enrollment, (b) compulsory attendance, (c) instructional standards, (d) school funding, and (e) student outcomes. The variance in state requirements and student outcomes is a high-stakes equity issue. If every child is to be well educated and prepared to live productively in the 21st century, principals, professional associations, and allies can assess their own states' policies and outcomes on these five criteria and determine where their advocacy may be needed to strengthen them.

United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas writing for a plurality of the Court in "Mitchell v. Helms" in 2000 advanced the idea that state constitutional prohibitions against public funding of religious schools were manifestations of anti-Catholic bigotry in the late 19th century. Thomas' reading of history and law led him to believe that James G. Blaine a political leader in the United States of that era who advanced a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would have prohibited states from funding Catholic schools was himself imbued with anti-Catholic bigotry and that his proposed amendment was a well-spring of religious intolerance that today prevents public funding of Catholic schools. This article attempts to look further into the issue to determine whether Thomas' understanding is accurate and whether it comports with the reality of conditions of the era and whether Blaine in fact had such motivations as ascribed to him by Justice Thomas. The article concludes that Thomas' view is overly simplistic and is based on an insular perception of Protestant versus Catholic intolerance in the United States and leaves out of consideration the fact that the real and larger issue of the era in the western world was the struggle between secularism and sectarianism, modernity and tradition, science and superstition, and individual liberty and clerical control. Importantly, the article concludes that Thomas's narrow thesis ignores international dimensions of conflicts of the era that pitted the impulse of nationalism and republican government against control of ecclesiastics regardless of whether they were Catholic or Protestant. Such conflicts prevailed especially over control of education, throughout Europe, as well as the United States, and were even more intense in countries that where the people were predominately Catholic, such as Italy and France, than in the United States and where the majority of the citizenry adhered to Protestantism. Thus, this paper concludes that the motivation of Blaine and others who sought to prevent religious control of education by denial of public funding to clerical institutions was part of a trend in the western world to advance nationalism and to reduce internal divisiveness, religious, ethnic or racial, to build unity--"e pluribus unum."

Blackstone's Commentaries stated that the common law imposed a duty on parents to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of their children, and of these, the duty to provide an education was "of far the greatest importance." Early on American courts cited Blackstone for the proposition of the common law duty of parents educate their children. As the nineteenth century progressed, public and private schools were formed in most American states, and a number of states enacted compulsory education laws. American states also sometimes also enacted laws that interfered with the freedom of parents to direct the education of their children. In 1919, in the wake of the anti-German hysteria of World War I, Nebraska passed a law that prohibited the teaching of German in the Lutheran sectarian schools. In 1922, Oregon passed a law prohibiting parents from enrolling their children in private and sectarian schools. The Supreme Court held that both of these laws were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause, because they interfered with the liberty of parents to control the education of their children. In the United States, Blackstone's common law duty of parents to provide an education for their children had evolved into a constitutional right of parents to control the education of their children.

Empowerment is the expansion of asserts and capabilities of poor people to participate in negotiate with influence, control and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives. Education is one of the important sources of empowering women with the knowledge, skill and self confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process. It enhances better socio-economic development. Women empowerment in India is highly dependent on several variables that include caste, class, family background and culture. Geographical location may be urban or rural and age. The barriers of dalith women empowerment are discrimination in the society, economic disadvantages, religious practices, social beliefs and violence against women. They are unable to access health and educational services, lack decision making power and face higher level of violence. There is an immediate need for empowering dalith women in present scenario.

Darwinian evolution is accepted by the great majority of scientists as the method by which the diversity of earth's organisms, including humans, evolved. Current research continues to expand our knowledge of evolutionary mechanisms. However, certain religious groups, supporting teaching the creation of earth's species as outlined in Genesis ("Creationism"), challenge in US courts teaching only Darwinian evolution in biology classes. The Courts must decide whether teaching creationism violates the Constitution's First Amendment prohibiting government "establishment of religion". In a 2005 challenge (US District Court, Pennsylvania), a local school board mandated a disclaimer be read to biology classes stating there were gaps in Darwin's theory and that "Intelligent Design" (ID), propounded as science, provided a different explanation of life's origins. ID proposes that many living structures exhibit "irreducible complexity", could not have evolved via natural selection and, therefore, exhibit evidence of an intelligent designer. After expert testimony, the judge ruled (12/05) that ID was a form of religion, a modernized concept of creationism, and should not be taught in biology classes because it violated US and Pennsylvania Constitutions. Similar challenges to teaching Darwinian evolution are occurring in at least nine other US states.

Many educators are committed to multicultural education and are constantly seeking an inclusive curriculum voicing the diversity of the many cultural groups in the United States. The influential work of James Banks (1981, 1997, 2001) has encouraged a generation of educators to design a multicultural curriculum. Yet while this task remains an important goal for all educators so students may develop an understanding of their own history as well as a respect for the history of others, exclusion of the historical experience of the other is still apparent in many social science textbooks adopted by local and state boards of education. This article explores the topic of the unconstitutional deportation of Mexican Americans (American born citizens) during the 1930s and advocates for its inclusion in elementary and secondary social studies curricula, especially through the use of family history and oral history. Actual quotes from oral history interviews conducted by the author and others are included. This deportation is estimated to have involved 1-2 million people across the United States, with the majority of individuals involved being American born. Actual quotes from oral history interviews conducted by the author and others are included here. This deportation is estimated to have involved 1-2 million people across the United States, with the majority of individuals involved being American born (Balderrama, Rodriguez, 1995).

Saying the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools has generated controversy for more than sixty years. On Flag Day, June 14, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped an opportunity to clarify the constitutionality of public school students reciting "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. But this issue is not going away. Following the Supreme Court's decision, several families voiced interest in mounting new challenges to the religious reference in the Pledge. This article analyzes the 2004 decision and explores how the Supreme Court might rule in a subsequent case regarding the constitutionality of saying the current Pledge in public schools.

This article outlines the significant legal decisions regarding collective bargaining in Catholic schools, identifies the governance structures employed in Catholic schools and the methods of translating these governance structures into documents required by civil law, and concludes with the citation of two recent court decisions that demonstrate the method of incorporation and the day-to-day governance practices utilized in Catholic schools that are of great importance to educational leaders.

When considering the issues associated with addressing faith, spirituality, and religion on campus, it is important for student affairs professionals, especially those at public colleges and universities, to be cognizant of the associated legal issues. The Constitution protects the freedom of religious exercise and against the establishment of religion by the government or its agents. Common issues faced by student affairs professionals include those associated with prayer on campus as well as the official recognition of student religious groups and their access to university resources.