student rights

Article from Thrun Law Firm 

Article from Thrun Law Firm 

FEDERAL COURT DEFERS TO PARENTS WHEN IT COMES TO PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Article from Thrun Law Firm

Article from Thrun Law Firm

ARE PARENTAL WAIVERS WORTH THE PAPER THEY'RE PRINTED ON?

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently ruled that a pre-activity waiver of liability signed by a parent or legal guardian does not waive a child's right to sue for injuries sustained while engaging in that activity. Woodman v Kera,
L.L.C., __ Mich App __ (2008).

By Marshall W. Grate
A public school district must exercise caution in monitoring off-campus speech. In Layshock v Hermitage School District, (WD PA 2007), a public school district was held to have violated the First Amendment rights of a senior high school student when it issued a 10-day suspension for his creation of a parody profile of the high school principal on the student’s MySpace.com website during non-school hours at the student’s grandmother’s computer.

by Andre F. Mayes

Upholding the principle that students do not “shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” a California state court judge recently blocked a middle school from enforcing a strict dress code policy. Scott v Napa Valley Unified School District, No. 26-37082 (Cal Super Ct July 2, 2007).

In 1998, Redwood Middle School adopted a student dress code policy to control an emerging problem with gangs in the school.

By Robert Ebersole, Assistant Legal Counsel
Michigan Association of School Boards

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, OH, has recently released an opinion, Brannum v Overton County School Board, ___F3d___, 2008 WL 441436, that concerns the use of surveillance cameras in a school setting. The decision clearly states that there are limits on the use of video surveillance technology in the school setting.

Recent Court Rulings on Student T-Shirts