Brown vs. board of education of Topeka

1954Background: segregation, a girl wants to go to school but she can’t because

she’s black.Issue: 14th amendment; equal

protection clause.

Decision: segregation was ended in public school.

Overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson

Cooper vs. Aaron1958

Background: Little Rock school board wasn’t following the Brown decision.Issue: 14th amendment; Schools needed to be desegregated.

Decision: Unanimously ruled Arkansas must follow Brown decision and desegregate public schools.

Engel vs. Vitale1962

Background: reading of a non-denominational prayer at the beginning of each school day.

Issue: 1st amendment; establishment of Religion.

Decision: no public school sponsored prayer.

Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Board of Education1971 Background: school board bussing

kids to other schools to desegregate.

Issue: 14th amendment; civil rights, desegregation of schools

Decision: unanimously voted for the school board giving them broad powers to desegregate public schools.

Tinker vs. Des Moines1969

Background: students wore black arm bands to school in protest of Vietnam War.

Issue: 1st amendment; freedom of expressions

Decision: court ruled 7-2 in favor of the Tinkers. Students have freedom of speech unless it disrupts education.

New Jersey vs. T.L.O1985

Background: girl caught smoking in bathroom, then questioned and searched where they found drugs and paraphernalia

Issue: 4th & 14th amendment; search & seizure civil rights

Decision: court ruled 6-3 in favor of N.V. school officials need only reasonable suspicion to conduct a search.

Board of Education of Westside Community schools vs. Mergens

1990Background: school denied permission to a

group of students from a Christian club

Issue: 1st amendment; establishment clause

Decision: court voted 8-1 to uphold the Equal Access Act and allow for the formation of the non-curricular Christian club

Vernonia Schools District vs. Acton1995

Background: Acton denied football participation when he and his parents refused drug test

Issue: 4th amendment; right to privacy

Decision: court ruled 6-3 in favor of Vernonia. Drug testing student athletes is not a violation of 4th amendment rights.

Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier

1988

Background: principal had two articles kept from publication because he deemed them inappropriate, Cathy Kuhlmeier and 2 students brought case to court

Issue: 1st amendment; free speech & free press

Decision: court ruled 4-5 in favor of Hazelwood. Schools may refuse to sponsor speech & use editorial rights because it was a school paper.