Court Cases

Education news, analysis, and opinion about lawsuits and legal proceedings
Image shows lady justice standing before an open law book and gavel.
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Law & Courts Federal Appeals Court Backs Socioeconomic-Based Admissions Plan for Boston 'Exam Schools'
The court denies an injunction to block the plan for next year and says considering family income in admissions is likely constitutional.
Mark Walsh, April 29, 2021
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3 min read
Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021.
Members of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the court on April 23. The justices heard arguments Wednesday in a major case on student speech.
Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP
Law & Courts U.S. Supreme Court Wary About Extending School Authority Over Student Internet Speech
In arguments, the justices looked for a narrow way to decide a case about the discipline of a cheerleader over a profane Snapchat message.
Mark Walsh, April 28, 2021
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7 min read
Image of the Supreme Court.
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Law & Courts Supreme Court to Weigh When School Board Censure of a Member Violates the First Amendment
The justices will decide an issue that has become more salient as a few board members rant inappropriately on social media.
Mark Walsh, April 26, 2021
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5 min read
In this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019 photo, Bloomfield High School transgender athlete Terry Miller, second from left, wins the final of the 55-meter dash over transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood, left, and other runners in the Connecticut girls Class S indoor track meet at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Conn. In the track-and-field community in Connecticut, the dominance of Miller and Yearwood has stirred resentment among some competitors and their families.
Bloomfield High School transgender athlete Terry Miller, second from left, wins the final of the 55-meter dash over transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood, left, and other runners in the Connecticut girls Class S indoor track meet in New Haven, Conn., in February 2019.
Pat Eaton-Robb/AP
Law & Courts Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge to Transgender-Inclusive Athletics Policy in Connecticut
A federal district court judge said the lawsuit by cisgender female athletes was moot because two transgender track athletes had graduated.
Mark Walsh, April 26, 2021
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3 min read
Image shows a picture of Brandi Levy in her cheerleading uniform in front of Mahanoy Area High School.
Brandi Levy, 18, through her parents, sued her school district under the First Amendment’s free speech clause over her discipline for an off-campus Snapchat message.
Danna Singer/Provided by the American Civil Liberties Union
Law & Courts 7 Things to Know About the Cheerleader Speech Case Coming Up in the U.S. Supreme Court
The justices hear arguments on Wednesday in the case about whether school officials may discipline students for off-campus speech.
Mark Walsh, April 24, 2021
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4 min read
The Supreme Court in Washington as seen on Oct. 7, 2020. After more than a decade in which the Supreme Court moved gradually toward more leniency for minors convicted of murder, the justices have moved the other way. The high court ruled 6-3 Thursday along ideological lines against a Mississippi inmate sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing his grandfather when the defendant was 15 years old. The case is important because it marks a break with the court’s previous rulings and is evidence of the impact of a newly more conservative court.
The high court rules 6-3 along ideological lines against a Mississippi inmate sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing his grandfather when the defendant was 15.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Lowers Bar for Life-Without-Parole Sentences for Juvenile Offenders
The justices rule 6-3 that a state does not need to find a juvenile offender “permanently incorrigible” before imposing the harsh sentence.
Mark Walsh, April 22, 2021
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6 min read
Image shows a courtroom and gavel.
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Law & Courts Decades-Old Desegregation Case Drawing to a Close in Tucson, Ariz.
After more than 40 years, the Tucson Unified School District is being released from court oversight for its decades-old desegregation case.
Danyelle Khmara, The Arizona Daily Star, April 22, 2021
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5 min read
Image of Brandi Levy.
Brandi Levy, now an 18-year-old college freshman, was a cheerleader at Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania when she made profane comments on Snapchat that are now at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case on student speech rights.
Danna Singer/Provided by the American Civil Liberties Union
Law & Courts How a Cheerleader's Snapchat Profanity Could Shape the Limits of Students' Free Speech
Brandi Levy's social media post is the basis for a case before the U.S. Supreme Court on whether schools may punish off-campus speech.
Mark Walsh, April 12, 2021
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9 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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Law & Courts Supreme Court Sympathetic to College Athletes' Challenge to NCAA Rules on Education Aid
The justices weighed a case about the definition of amateurism in college athletics that may trickle down to high school and youth sports.
Mark Walsh, March 31, 2021
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6 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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Law & Courts High School Sports World Watching U.S. Supreme Court Case on NCAA Compensation Rules
The body that sets high school sports rules worries that any change on amateurism in college athletics would trickle down to K-12.
Mark Walsh, March 26, 2021
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5 min read
Image shows lady justice standing before an open law book and gavel.
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Law & Courts Court Backs Texas Education Agency Over U.S. Education Dept. on Whistleblower Complaint
A federal appeals court ruled in a case in which a TEA employee alleged retaliation for raising concerns about a special education contract.
Mark Walsh, March 24, 2021
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4 min read
Image of a gavel.
Marilyn Nieves/E+
Law & Courts Appeals Court Rules for School Resource Officer on Role in Police Interrogation of Student
A federal appellate panel says an SRO had only a "minimal" role in escorting a high school student to be questioned by other officers.
Mark Walsh, March 22, 2021
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3 min read
Image of a gavel.
Marilyn Nieves/E+
Law & Courts Appeals Court Again Backs School District Against Football Coach Who Prayed on Field
The federal court at least partially answers a U.S. Supreme Court justice's concerns about the effect of its ruling on educator speech rights.
Mark Walsh, March 18, 2021
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4 min read
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Law & Courts Major Case on Student Off-Campus Speech to Be Heard by U.S. Supreme Court April 28
The justices will consider a school's discipline of a cheerleader over a vulgar message on Snapchat, with a decision expected by summer.
Mark Walsh, March 12, 2021
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1 min read
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