Week 2 student rights

1. Reviewing Court Cases Related to
Students’ Rights and Responsibilities
ADM513
Larry Kaiser II

2. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
Society of Sisters, a
corporation empowered to
establish and maintain
private schools
Pierce, the Governor of Oregon U.S. District Court
May a state require parents to send children
between the ages of 8 and 16 to public
school?
No. While the state can regulate
laws and require children of a
certain age to attend some
school, they can not require it to
be public.
U.S. Supreme Court affirmed
Oregon passed a law requiring children between the ages of 6 and 16 attend public
school. Failure to comply with this law was considered a misdemeanor. The Society of
Sisters who maintained private schools, filed suit claiming the state law violated the
parents right to choose where and how their children would be educated.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 94)

3. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
New Jersey Mr. and Mrs. Massa, parents of a
child they taught at home
State Municipal Court
Does home schooling of children in subject
matter equivalent to that provided in public
schools meet the requirements of state
compulsory education laws?
Yes. Homeschooling of children
in subject matter equivalent to
that provided by public schools
meet the requirements.
State Superior Court reversed
The Massas taught their 12 year old daughter subjects that were regularly taught in public
schools using their own material supplemented with other educational tools. Their
daughter scored higher than the national median on standardized tests, with the
exception of math. The Massas were prosecuted in court for the misdemeanor of not
having their child in public schools or providing equivalent instruction. They were
convicted, but appealed the New Jersey Superior Court, who reversed the decision.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 95)

4. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
Kuhlmeier, former student and
student newspaper staff member
Hazelwood School District U.S. District Court
May school officials exercise editorial control
over the contents of a school-sponsored
student news- paper when such control is
reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical
concerns?
Yes. A student does not have the
same first amendment rights as
that of an adult in other settings.
The school does not have to
tolerate speech inconsistent
with the school’s educational
mission.
U.S. Court of Appeals reversed.
U.S. Supreme Court reversed
The principal of Hazelwood school district removed two articles the school journalism
class was attempting to print. In one case it talked about the pregnancy of three students
in the school. The principal feared the students could be identified and would violate their
rights to privacy. The second article was about the divorce of a student’s parents, and the
conduct of the father. Kuhlmeier filed suit claiming violation of his first amendment rights.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 117)

5. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
State of New Jersey T.L.O., a high school student State Juvenile Court
Is the standard for Fourth Amendment
searches of students the same “probable
cause” standard required for police
searches? Can evidence found by a school
official during a search of a student’s
belongings based on reasonable suspicion be
suppressed?
No on both. A school conducting
a search only needs reasonable
suspicion, as opposed to
probable cause. Also, evidence
found can not be suppressed.
State Appellate Court affirmed.
State Supreme Court reversed
U.S. Supreme Court reversed
Two girls were caught smoking in the bathroom at school. One student admitted to it, the
other claimed she wasn’t a smoker. The assistant vice principal took her to his office
where he searched her purse and found wrappers. He thoroughly searched the purse to
find marijuana and other paraphernalia. The student filed suit claiming the search
unconstitutional under the fourth amendment. The state court affirmed the decision of
the juvenile court to allow the evidence. The State supreme court reversed the decision to
suppress the evidence, and the U.S. Supreme court reversed it again to allow the
evidence.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 117)

6. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
Tinker and other public school
students in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines Independent
Community School District
U.S. District Court
Are the activities of students who engage in
silent, passive, symbolic acts of pure speech,
such as wearing arm bands, protected by the
First Amendment if they do not pose a threat
of substantial or mate- rial interference with
school order?
Yes. The students are fully
protected under the first
amendment.
U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed en
blanc
U.S. Supreme Court reversed
Tinker and two other students wore black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War. The Des
Moines principal told them to remove the bands or face suspension, as the protest was
disruptive. The students continued the protest and did not return to school until after the
winter holiday. They filed suit for violation of their First Amendment rights to free speech.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 122)

7. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
Lopez and eight other public school
students in Columbus, Ohio
Goss, superintendent of
Columbus, Ohio, Public
School System
U.S. District Court
Does the Fourteenth Amendment
requirement of procedural due process
mandate that students threatened with
suspension from school for 10 days be given
a prior opportunity to informally contest
their suspension?
Yes. Unless the student poses an
immediate threat, they must be
given the chance to due process
in face of a suspension.
U.S. Supreme Court affirmed
Lopez and other students were involved with demonstrations that led to their suspensions
from school for 10 days. They were not given the chance to challenge their suspensions.
The parents were orally notified the day after the suspension, in contrast to Ohio law
requiring notice 24 hours in advance of a 10 day suspension. Lopez filed suit for violation
of his Fourteenth Amendment rights.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 123)

8. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
Kristja Falvo, mother of
schoolchildren
Owasso School District U.S. District Court
Are peer-graded classroom work and
assignments education records?
No. Papers are only considered
education records if maintained
by educational agency or
institution, or a representative of
those.
U.S. Court of Appeals reversed.
U.S. Supreme Court reversed and
remanded
Some teachers at Owasso school district have students grade papers after they explain the
answers to the class. Kristja Falvo claimed her children were embarrassed by this practice,
and it violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and filed suit to have the
school ban these peer graded papers.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 136)

9. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
Jane Doe, student Knox County Board of Education Trial Court
Is a school board liable for discussions with
the media in violation of a protective order
issued under the provisions of FERPA?
Yes. The Eleventh Amendment
does give immunity to school
boards.
N/A
A 13 year old hermaphrodite filed suit against the Knox County board of education
claiming they violated her civil rights as they shared sensitive information to a newspaper
reporter, even after receiving a protective order banning the release of this information.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 140)

10. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
William Anderson, father of the
deceased Brian Anderson
Palm Beach School Board State Court
After being put on notice of foreseeable
criminal acts, does a school district owe a
duty to make its premises safe?
Yes. Though the district is not
required to take precautions
against a sudden , unanticipated
act from a third-party.
State Court Appellate Division
affirmed
In May of 1976 two students at Pam Beach had an altercation. It was between a white
student, Anderson, and an African American student, Ransom, that resulted in the fatal
shooting of Anderson. There was a history of other crimes committed by African American
students against white students at the school. The father of Anderson filed suit claiming
the district did not act accordingly to ensure the premises was safe after a history of
criminal activity.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 372)

11. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
Darlene Logan City of New York State Court
Can the school board be held liable for a
sexual assault on school grounds during the
school day?
Yes. The board did not provide
the same care and supervision
that a parent would exercise.
State Court Appellate Division
reversed
U.S. Supreme Court reversed
Darlene Logan, a 12 year old student was in her art class when the social studies teacher
requested her to come to the classroom to cleanup papers she had left behind. On her
way back to art class she was confronted by three boy students, who took her into a
locked room, and one raped her. The boy were arrested and found guilty in family court.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 373)

12. Plaintiff Defendant Court Hearing the Case
Main Issue
Facts of the Case
Court Decision Appeals
J. S. was an eighth-grade
student at Nitschmann Middle
School, which is part of
Bethlehem Area School District
Bethlehem Area
School District
Court of Common Pleas of
Northampton County
May a school district discipline a student for
creating and posting from home onto the
Internet a Web site that contained
derogatory, profane, offensive, and
threatening statements directed toward one
of the student’s teachers and his principal?
Yes. The post disrupted the
entire school district.
Commonwealth Court of Appeals
Affirmed.
Common Wealth Supreme Court
affirmed.
J.S. created a website on his own time, not relating to any school project, that made
derogatory and threatening comments towards his algebra teacher an middle school
principal.
(Aquila, 2008, p. 373)

13. References
Aquila, F. D. (2008). School law for K-12 educators: Concepts and cases. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.