Education Law
Education news, analysis, and opinion about important court cases dealing with education
Law & Courts
If Critical Race Theory Is Banned, Are Teachers Protected by the First Amendment?
Bills to rein in how race and other controversial topics are taught have thrust K-12 teachers into a thicket of free speech issues.
Law & Courts
Diverse Array of Groups Back Student in Supreme Court Case on Off-Campus Speech
John and Mary Beth Tinker, central to the landmark speech case that bears their name, argue that even offensive speech merits protection.
Law & Courts
School Sports a Fresh Front in State Battles Over Transgender Students' Rights
Lawmakers in at least 10 states are pushing legislation that would prohibit transgender students from playing on single-sex sports teams.
Law & Courts
U.S. Supreme Court to Weigh Whether Schools May Discipline Students for Internet Speech
The justices will hear the appeal of a school district whose discipline of a student for her vulgar message on Snapchat was overturned.
Law & Courts
A Full U.S. Appeals Court Lets Federal Right-to-Education Case Go Forward
The suit says Mississippi’s lack of a “uniform” education system violates a post-Civil War era law readmitting the state to the union.
Law & Courts
Federal Appeals Court Lifts Block on Kentucky School Closure Order
The injunction would have let private religious schools reopen despite the governor's order barring in-person instruction.
Law & Courts
U.S. Supreme Court Blocks New York State COVID-19 Limits on Religious Services
The 5-4 decision reveals a fault line that may prevail when the high court confronts pandemic restrictions on religious education.
Equity & Diversity
Q&A
A Look Back at How Undocumented Children Won the Right to Attend U.S. Schools
The fight over the rights of undocumented students has its origins in Tyler, a northeast Texas city where municipal leaders feared their school system would be overrun with immigrant families and students.
Law & Courts
Supreme Court Rules Job Discrimination Law Shields LGBTQ Workers
The sweeping 6-3 civil rights ruling has implications for school districts as employers as well as for continuing legal battles over the rights of transgender students.
Law & Courts
Right-to-Education Ruling Jolts Education-Advocacy World
The decision by a federal appeals court recognizing the right to a basic minimum education may be felt far beyond the substandard Detroit schools underlying it, but hurdles could remain.
Privacy & Security
Opinion
How the Ed. Department Threw a Wrench in Student-Privacy Laws
An incoherent FERPA rule change is facing legal challenges. As it should, writes Frank D. LoMonte.
Law & Courts
The U.S. Supreme Court and Schools in 2018-19
A look at both the policy takeaways from the Supreme Court's 2018-19 session and a look ahead to a couple of major cases on the docket for the coming year, including Montana school choice/religious rights case and DACA.
Law & Courts
Trump Drops Fight to Add Citizenship Question to Census
The issue has been followed by education groups who feared the question would harm response rates and affect the allocation of federal school aid.
Law & Courts
In Campaign Season, a New Look at Busing
An exchange between two of the top-tier candidates for president highlighted how segregation in education could prove to be a potent issue in the Democratic Party's 2020 primary.