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1 week ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
A federal appeals court ruling will make it more difficult for library patrons to challenge book removal decisions, with the decision involving a public library in Texas but likely applying to school libraries as well. In its 10-7 decision on May 23, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, ruled that a library’s decision to remove books may not be challenged under the First Amendment based on library users’ right to receive information.
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1 week ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
Over the sharp dissent of two justices, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear the case of a student who was barred by his Massachusetts middle school from wearing a T-shirt with the message, “There Are Only Two Genders.”The court’s refusal to take up the issue offers schools no additional clarity for now on student speech that many school administrators perceive as harmful to LGBTQ+ students or other vulnerable populations. Justice Samuel A.
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2 weeks ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a swift and somewhat surprising resolution of the term’s most closely watched education case, on Thursday announced a 4-4 deadlock in a case challenging Oklahoma’s unprecedented approval of a religious charter school. “The judgment of the Oklahoma Supreme Court is affirmed by an equally divided court,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. announced from the bench this morning.
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2 weeks ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted emergency relief restoring voting privileges to a Maine state legislator who was censured for her social media post critical of a transgender female student’s victory in a state high school track and field championship event. The Feb. 17 Facebook post by state Rep. Laurel D. Libby led to other posts and media appearances in which the Republican lawmaker criticized Maine officials for allowing transgender students to participate in girls’ athletics.
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3 weeks ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments in a case involving President Donald Trump’s executive order that could revoke birthright citizenship from children of some undocumented immigrant parents, an issue being watched closely by educators and policymakers.
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4 weeks ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, a staunch defender of racial equity and the constitutional separation of church and state in education, died Thursday at home in New Hampshire, the court announced on Friday. He was 85. Souter was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to succeed liberal stalwart Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Over the next 19 years, he became a reliably liberal vote in several areas of school law before being succeeded by Justice Sonia Sotomayor in 2009.
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1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared open to arguments that Oklahoma must allow a religious charter school, though the recusal of one conservative justice contributed to uncertainty about the outcome. Four of the conservatives participating in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond appeared likely to support St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would be sponsored and controlled by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Diocese of Tulsa.
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1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared likely to rule in favor of a Minnesota student with a severe form of epilepsy by tossing out a federal appeals court standard that makes it more difficult for families to prevail against school districts under two key federal disability-discrimination laws. The main question after nearly 90 minutes of an often technical but sometimes fiery oral argument in A.J.T. v.
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1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
There are two distinct legal questions before the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears arguments this week in a major case over a religious charter school in Oklahoma. Both are infused with deep ideological divides over the legacy of private religious education in the United States, the more recent history of charter schools and choice in public education, and the future landscape of public and private schooling. The first question in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v.
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1 month ago | 
edweek.org | Mark Walsh
Of the three school cases the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing this month, two have drawn widespread attention for their potential to significantly reshape public education. One is about whether parents with religious objections may opt their children out of LGBTQ+ storybooks. Another is about whether public funding may be provided to a religious charter school. The third case has received far less attention, but is being watched just as closely by educators. A.J.T. v.
