Law – 719 words – Flashcard

The school allows all community groups to use the public school auditorium for meetings in the evenings and weekends, but requires that all groups comply with reasonable health and safety regulations. A group of parents who will use poisonous snakes, toxic chemicals, and fire in their religious ceremony also want to use the school facilities. These practices are based on the ir sincerely held religious beliefs, and the group presents the following to support their practice. "And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any dealy thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:18. "behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19. The principal denies their request and the groups sues.

A new state statute requires all children and teachers to observe a moment of silence at the beginning of the the school day. Because of his sincere belief that this moment of silence is in fact an attempt by the legislature to slide prayer back into schools "through the back door" the teacher begins teaching class immediately each day, refusing to observe the moment of silence. The teacher is fired for insubordination and sues the school for reinstatement and damages.

Your school dress code prohibits wearing anything that is "in bad taste." A student challenges this dress code as being arbitrary and unconstitutionally vague.

While walking through the parking lot to the football field, the Coach sees a bag of pills on the back seat of a student's car. The principal opens the unlocked car and seizes the pills, which turn out to be illegal drugs. The student is suspended and sues the school claiming there was no probable cause to search the car.

Students are making earrings out of empty bullets. Your high school principal has prohibited the wearing of these earrings. Students sue alleging a 1st Amendment right to freedom of expression in their dress.

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00 some public school students leave the school to attend religious instruction in a recreational vehicle parked just off public school property. A parent claims the school is unconstitutionally advancing religion, and sues the school to stop the practice of release time for religious instruction during school hours.

Your school authorizes reasonable corporal punishment consistent with your state's laws. However, one of your assistant principles asked a teacher to hold a student upside down by her ankles while he paddled her with what turned out to be a defective paddle, causing it to pinch and wound her skin so severely that blood soaked through her clothing, leaving a permanent scar. A previous paddling of the same child had bruised her severely enough to require medical treatment. The parents sue for damages in federal court. In defending the school, the school district attorney expresses regret over the matter, but claims that the parents are not entitled to any remedy in federal court, citing the US Supreme Court's decision in Ingraham v. Wright, in which the Court state. "The Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment is inapplicable to school paddlings, and the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement of procedural due process is satisfied by {remedies under state tort and criminal laws}...petitioners cannot recover damages." Who is most likely to prevail?

A group of parents are protesting the school's recently adopted sex education curriculum. The principal did not object to picketers as long as they did not picket on public school property or block entrance ways. Subsequently, the group instructed their children to sing religious songs loudly during the sex education class, and the parents have begun running past the classroom window and shouting verses of scripture. The principal suspended the students and had the parents arrested. The group is suing claiming the school cannot stop these actions because of the group's 1st Amendment rights of freedom of expression.

A Native American student attempts to enroll in your school, but has never received and type of vaccinations. Based on sincerely held religious beliefs, his Tribe does not allow vaccinations of any kind. Citing long-standing regulations and health concerns, the school denies him admission. He sues the school.

On Friday afternoon a student violently attacks another student. After being restrained the student continues in an uncontrollable state of rage and is physically removed from the schoo and released to his parent's custody. The parents are only slightly more reasonable than the student and threaten the principal. The principal believed the removal was necessary for safety reasons, and didn't provide any due process until the following Monday morning. The student claims his due process rights were violated.

One of your principals feels strongly that pregnant unwed students should not participate in the regular educational program or extracurricular activities, a pregnant student is asked to leave and sues.

A group of students are wearing black arm bands to protest US military involvement. Others are wearing yellow arm bands supporting US troops. The principal has been asking all students with black arm bands to remove them. A student objects.

Your school offers a broad range of athletic opportunities for all students but only boys are permitted to try-out for the school's football team. The parents of a female student sue alleging a violation of title IX.

A student is objecting to a brief, non-denominational prayer written by the principal and recited periodically over the public school intercom system.

A student refuses to stand for the pledge of allegiance to the flag despite direct orders from the teacher and principal. School officials do not ask him to say the pledge, but merely ask the he stand respectfully with classmates. The student refuses and continues to sit in silent protest. After a week of this, the student is suspended from school. The student sues.

Students in the school's drama class want to present a version of a recent Broadway play for the spring play. The play contains adult themes and profanity, and the principal forbids its presentation finding it inconsistent with the school's educational mission. The students sue claiming the principal's censorship violates First Amendment rights.

14 year-old Amish children who have completed the 8th grade are claiming a free exercise exemption from public school attendance laws and stop attending school, although statutes require attendance till age 16. The children are charged with truancy, and sue the school.

As part of your drug free schools program, a principal orders a surprise mandatory urine test of all teachers. A group of teachers sue under 1983 for violation of the 4th Amendment rights.

A principal has asked a group of students to stop saying grace in the school cafeteria because of the legal mandate of church-state separation. The students sue.

A teacher asks students to switch exam papers, grade the papers as instruct by the teacher, and then asks each student to call out the name of the student and the grade they received. A parent objects to the practice and sues claiming a violation of FERPA.

A new state statute has just been enacted, authorizing state funded vouchers for attendance at any public or private school in the state. Because the state funded voucher program also allows students and their families to use the voucher to pay for instruction in religious schools, a group of local parents sues your school and the state claiming a violation of the 1st Amendment's Establishment Clause.

The ideals of philosophers including Plato, Hobbes, and Locke influenced our Nation's Founders.

State government has plenary power over public education.

There is no judicial appeal from a decision rendered by the US Supreme Court.

Under the theory of "local control" local school boards may choose to disregard state laws and policies if they believe that doing so is in the best interests of the children.

Although state and local governments play an important role in education, the US Constitution assigns the ultimate authority over all educational matters to the federal government.