Education Law

Supreme Court Declines to Decide Need for Cop Warrant in School Interviews, Says Case Is Moot

The U.S. Supreme Court is declining to decide whether police and social workers must get a warrant before interviewing a child at school about alleged sexual abuse. The issue is moot, the Supreme Court held in a 7-2 decision (PDF). The Fourth Amendment lawsuit had been filed on behalf of…

May 26, 2011 4:40 PM CDT

UC Davis Law Student Jailed, is a Suspect in Two On-Campus Sexual Assaults Involving Alleged Groping

A law student and Iraq war veteran at the University of California-Davis is reportedly a suspect in two on-campus sexual assaults last night near a bicycle path that led university officials to send out an alert to other students. Robert David Schaerges, 26, has been arrested and is being held…

May 25, 2011 11:32 PM CDT

NJ High Court Orders $500M in Extra School Funding, Short of the $1.7B Feared by the Governor

The New Jersey Supreme Court in a 3-2 ruling has ordered the state schools to spend additional money on public education in poor school districts, an amount estimated to be $500 million. The figure is less than the $1.7 billion feared by Gov. Chris Christie, the Associated Press reports. The…

May 24, 2011 3:23 PM CDT

DC School Obama Daughters Attend Faces $10 Million Suit from Parent

Washington D.C.’s Sidwell Friends School, whose students include Sasha and Malia Obama, is being sued by a parent, who alleges that a former staff psychologist there had an affair with his wife and continued to treat his daughter while the affair was ongoing. The plaintiff, Arthur “Terry” Newmyer, is the…

May 13, 2011 10:51 PM CDT

After 46 Years, Lawyer Submits His Bill in Desegregation Case: Nearly $10M

It’s been 46 years since lawyer Marion Overton White filed a desegregation suit against the St. Landry Parish School Board, and now he’s submitted his bill. White is seeking nearly $10 million in fees. The U.S. Justice Department settled the case with the school board in March, 2theAdvocate reports. White…

May 12, 2011 12:44 PM CDT

High Schooler Faces Disorderly Conduct Charge re Sex-Appeal Ranking of 50 Classmates Posted Online

An unidentified former student at a suburban Chicago high school has been charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly posting online and distributing at Oak Park-River Forest High School earlier this year a list ranking some 50 female classmates based on their physical appearance and claimed sexual activity. After being arrested…

May 10, 2011 10:12 PM CDT

Federal Judge Accuses DC of a Discovery Violation ‘of Exotic Magnitude’

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth is making no secret of his displeasure over Washington, D.C.’s admission before trial that it had failed to turn over relevant emails in discovery. The city had a plan, though. It vowed to release thousands of additional emails on a rolling basis—but after the April…

May 10, 2011 3:07 PM CDT

DOJ Considers Antitrust Probe of Bowl Championship Series, Asks NCAA to Explain Procedure

In a letter to the National College Athletic Association made public today, the U.S. Department of Justice announces that it is considering an antitrust probe of the way the participants in the Bowl Championship Series are selected. Unlike many other college sports, college football doesn’t have a playoff to determine…

May 4, 2011 8:18 PM CDT

New Test Results Show Crisis in Civics Education, Say Retired Justice O’Connor, ABA President

Updated: Less than half of America’s eighth graders know the purpose of the Bill of Rights, and only one in 10 show knowledge about checks and balances, according to test results released today. See our May cover story and related features: Cover story: Flunking Civics: Why America’s Kids Know So…

May 4, 2011 6:22 PM CDT

Supreme Court Declines Appeal by Ex-Cheerleader Who Wouldn’t Cheer Alleged Rapist

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by a Texas cheerleader kicked off the squad because she wouldn’t cheer for an athlete she had accused of rape. The Supreme Court denied cert Monday, report the San Francisco Chronicle and Education Week’s School Law blog. The cheerleader, identified…

May 3, 2011 6:17 PM CDT

Big Sky Country to the Heartland: Teachers Get Kids to Care About Civics Despite Political Taboos

You can probably name all 9 Supreme Court justices. But most people can't even name one. How can we change this for the younger generation? ABA Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward spoke with educators and experts about why civics ed matters in a constitutional democracy and how some young folks are already putting their lessons into action.

May 2, 2011 2:02 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Tip Led to Theft Charges Against Woman for Lying to Get Son into Better School

A lawyer’s tip has led to felony charges against a Connecticut homeless woman accused of lying to get her child into a better school. Police investigated Tanya McDowell after a lawyer for the Norwalk Housing Authority contacted authorities, the New York Times reports. The Housing Authority alleged that McDowell had…

Apr 28, 2011 12:59 PM CDT

ABA President to Boxer: Law Grads Shouldn’t Be ‘Shadowed by Overwhelming Debt’

Nobody is more concerned about the future of the legal profession and the value of a legal education than the ABA, association President Stephen N. Zack said Wednesday. Zack wrote in a letter (PDF) to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) that the ABA already distributes information that can help prospective…

Apr 27, 2011 9:50 PM CDT

A Dozen Baltimore School Parents Sentenced to Jail for Truant Kids

A dozen parents of Baltimore school students were sentenced to jail this year because their minor children missed excessive amounts of school. One of the parents was Barbara Gaskins, who served 10 days in jail on five consecutive weekends, the Baltimore Sun reports. Her son missed 103 out of 130…

Apr 25, 2011 4:45 PM CDT

Man Accused of Driving Rutgers Roommate to Suicide Faces New Grand Jury Charges

A grand jury in Middlesex County, N.J., has issued new charges against an 18-year-old former Rutgers University freshman who is accused of driving his roommate to suicide by secretly recording a same-sex romantic dorm encounter with the help of another student. Dharun Ravi now faces allegations of witness and evidence…

Apr 20, 2011 5:32 PM CDT