School Laws
And Past and Pending Court Cases
Involving Education in Nebraska
FEDERAL SCHOOL LAWS:
http://www.nebr-schoolboards.org/NASBmain/index.asp?area=Legal&pid=federalschoollaw.html
STATE SCHOOL LAWS:
http://www.nebr-schoolboards.org/NASBmain/index.asp?area=Legal&pid=stateschoollaw.html
SCHOOL ATTORNEYS IN NEBRASKA:
http://www.nebr-schoolboards.org/Council%20Of%20School%20Attorneys/index.html
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PENDING IN THE STATE COURTS:
n
Learning Community challenge, contending that the breakup of the Omaha Public Schools
into three districts and the consolidation of governance and revenue sharing
among the metro Omaha school districts into one mega-school board is
unconstitutional, is temporarily stayed by Douglas County District Judge
Michael Coffey. The stay is pending the Legislature's action in spring 2007 on
revising or scrapping the law, passed in 2006 as LB 1024. This lawsuit was
filed by the Chicano Awareness Center and several Omaha school district
residents. (stay granted 2/9/07)
n
Financial equity and adequacy lawsuit is pending in the Nebraska Supreme
Court. It was filed against the governor and other state officials by the
Nebraska Coalition for Educational Equity and Adequacy, www.nceea.com This group of leaders of dozens
of mostly rural Nebraska districts contend that a fairer way to allocate tax
dollars is needed to equalize resources between rich and poor, urban and rural,
majority and minority populations. For background, see: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/btp/pdfs/nebraska.pdf
TEACHER DISCIPLINE:
Nebraska
Professional Practices Commission,
http://nppc.nol.org/rev.htm
SELECTED STUDENT LAWSUITS:
n
Millard
South senior Mitch Jennings lost his bid to be allowed to compete in the
district wrestling tournament and state championships after Douglas County
District Judge John Hartigan upheld the Nebraska School Activities Association.
It had declared the student ineligible because he flunked physiology and wasn't
taking enough credit hours. He countered that he hadn't received notification
of grade problems, and athletes who flunk spring classes can retake them in
summer school, while athletes who flunk fall classes but compete in the spring
are stuck. (2/9/07)
n
A rape
at Burke High School in Omaha resulted in suspensions for both the boy and the
girl when the principal determined that it had been consensual. No criminal
prosecution was undertaken. However, the girl later sued. The boy was a
football player and her attorneys argued that the school's pro-sports
environment fostered a climate in which sexual aggression was allowed to
flourish. However, District Judge Michael Coffey ruled that the school cannot
be held liable for unforeseen criminal acts. (2/26/04)
PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEE CONTRACT AND
WORK DISPUTES:
Nebraska Commission on Industrial
Relations,
http://www.ncir.ne.gov/filings&opinions.htm
U.S. SUPREME COURT CASES SHAPING
EDUCATION:
Meyer v. Nebraska, 1923.
The Supreme
Court overturned a 1919 Nebraska state law which predates today's push for
"English only" instruction in our schools. The Nebraska law had stated that "no
person, individually or as a teacher, shall, in any private denominational,
parochial, or public school teach any subject to any person in any language
other than the English language." The case stemmed from a teacher in Hamilton
County who taught a 10-year-old child a Bible story in German, the child's
native language, in the stormy days around World War I, when the Germans were
feeling a little political pressure in the United States. The Supreme Court
ruled, though, that teaching in German should be acceptable; the state-required
language restriction violated the 14th Amendment and overstepped the
state's role, the court said. The case is expected to come forward as the push
for "English only" language restrictions are made in the United States, in the
wake of immigration and language controversies. See: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/meyer.htm
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 1925.
This Oregon
case established that "children are not the mere creatures of the State," and
that parents have the right to choose what school their children go to,
including whether they would prefer to homeschool them. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_v._Society_of_Sisters
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954.
The high
court ruled in a landmark case out of Kansas that "separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal." Race-based segregation had to end, as well
it should. School discrimination policies fell by the wayside, and various
efforts, including busing, came into play in an attempt to integrate schools.
The case's effect on schools, race relations and the civil rights movement
worldwide continues today. See:
http://brownvboard.org/index.htm
Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969.
School
officials have to prove that the exercise of student free-speech rights on
campus iimpinges on the rights of other students, or are posing a "substantial
disruption" of or "material interference" with school activities, if they want
to lawfully prohibit it, under this Vietnam era case. It basically established
the right to say unpopular things without fear of retribution from school
officials. Some 13- and 15-year-old students at a high school in Des Moines
wanted to wear black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War, but the
school board got wind of it and passed a ban. The students were suspended and
their parents sued. The Court said they should have been allowed to carry out
their protest. The Court's ruling has been interpreted to mean that school
officials can't just declare what THEY think is orthodox, although students
must not be allowed to advocate for violence, illegalities, indecencies and so
forth.
http://www.landmarkcases.org/tinker/background3.html
Plyler v. Doe, 1982.
This is the
case out of Texas which decided that schools cannot bar the enrollment of a
child simply because the child's parents are illegal aliens. The decision has
cost Nebraska public schools untold extra dollars in providing special
programming, including English as a Second Language facilities, for these
children:
https://www.tourolaw.edu/Patch/Plyler/Brennan.asp
Westside Community Schools v.
Mergens, 1990.
District 66
in Omaha refused to let some teenagers start an after-school Bible club at
Westside High School. They thought it would constitute government endorsement
of religion. The Court ruled against the district, 8-1, saying that schools must
grant access equally to all kinds of student extracurricular activities and cannot
practice "content discrimination" just
because they may not like the theme or message of an extracurricular
activity. The Court also ruled that the club sponsor should be unpaid to remove
all doubt that there was any government endorsement of its activities. Schools
must neither promote nor prohibit religious activities, the decision means:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westside_School_District_v_Mergens
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 2001.
The stage
is set for school choice initiatives across the country thanks to this case out
of Cleveland, Ohio. The nation's high court ruled that it does NOT constitute
government establishment or endorsement of religion if tax dollars flow into
private schools, including mostly religious ones, at parental direction. If
parents have the choice of where to enroll their children, and they can choose
a secular public or private school, then a school-choice tuition assistance
program for low-income children does not violate the First Amendment's
Establishment Clause. The key is that it is the parents' choice of where to
enroll the children. See:
http://www.ij.org/pdf_folder/school_choice/ohio/zelman_victory.pdf
