School Law Links
Ch. 2 School
and the State
Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) U.S.
·
Compulsory Attendance
o
Affirmed right of state to compel school attendance for
students between the ages of 6-18.
o Right of private
school to exist
·
Parents should have freedom of choice in the
education of their children
Engel v. Vitale (1962) U.S.
·
Prayer in
schools & freedom of religion
o
State-mandated or state-sponsored prayer, no matter how
innocuous, is contrary to the spirit and command of the First Amendment's ban
against the establishment of religion.
Murray v. Curlett (1963) U.S.
·
Prayer and Bible Reading
o Bible may be read
for literature only.
o Laws that require
reading the Bible and/or reciting the Lords Prayer are unconstitutional.
Lee v. Weisman (1992) U.S.
·
Prayer at graduation
o Prayers mandated or
organized by school officials and delivered by local clergy at graduation
exercises were unconstitutional.
Equal Access (p.62) 1984
·
Public Forum – Gov’ t property, park,
parade
·
Limited Public Forum – School, PTA, 4H club,
Subject Matter Neutral
·
Non-Public Forum – Military Base
·
Private Property – No right to speak on
someone’s private property
Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) U.S. p.78
o Teaching creation
science with evolution violates the First Amendment’s prohibition against
establishment of religion.
Good News Club v.
Milford (2001) U.S.
·
Use of
Facilities
o In an open forum,
can’t exclude a group because it has a religious aspect.
Hartzell v. Connell (1984) CA
·
School Feels
o
Can not charge fees for extracurricular activities
o
Violates free school guarantee of the California
Constitution
Berg v. Glen Cove (1994) New York District Court
·
Immunization Waivers
o Allowed waivers for
immunization due to religious beliefs.
Lemon
v. Hurtzman (1971) U.S.
·
Lemon dealt with Rhode
Island and Pennsylvania programs that supplemented the salaries of teachers in
religiously based, private schools for teaching secular subjects.
·
Court found states violated the Establishment Clause of
the 1st Amendment
o
Lemon Test
§
Does the action have a secular purpose?
§
Does the action have an effect that neither advances nor
hinders?
§
Does the action avoid excessive entanglement with
religion?