State agrees to go “fee free” at public schools [Los Angeles Times / Thoughts on Public Education [TOPEd], 12/10/10]: California will crack down on myriad illegal school fees charged to students taking part in such programs as art, athletics, band, cheer and gym if a landmark lawsuit settlement announced Thursday is approved. Read the ACLU press release.


Breast Cancer Bracelet Fight Is Latest School Free Speech Battle [The Legal Intelligencer, 12/10/10]: The latest student speech issue is whether schools can prohibit wearing pink bracelets to promote breast cancer awareness that are emblazoned with the phrase "I [heart] Boobies."

Judge tentatively OKs plan to spread the pain of L.A. Unified layoffs [Los Angeles Times, 12/9/10]: Ruling comes in a suit filed by the ACLU and others charging that some schools suffered unfairly because their teachers didn't have seniority.


Ramanathan: CTA and Quality Education Investment Act: selling the same old snake oil [TOPEd, 12/9/10]: Drug companies often hire researchers to evaluate the prescription medicines they’ve designed. Without fail, the studies reveal – surprise! – that the drugs work.


Fensterwald: Schools likely on Schwarzenegger’s hit list [Educated Guess, 12/6/10]: Democrats aren’t likely to pay much attention to the midyear budget cuts and ideas for closing a $25 billion deficit that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to offer today.


Anastasoff: Highly skilled interns should be considered ‘highly qualified’ teachers [Thoughts on Public Ed, 12/5/10]: The word “intern” conjures up visions of a high school student making copies as a volunteer, a college student struggling through their first unpaid office job, or – depending on where you sit – free help.

Blum: Positives, negatives, problems and some suggestions for tenure [Thoughts on Public Education12/3/10]: The term tenure describes the employment status of a permanent teacher in most public school systems. Tenure provides permanent teachers a “property right” to employment and provides significant guarantees of due process for a teacher facing dismissal charges.

5th Circuit: Elementary Students Have Rights on Christmas Messages, Court Rules [School Law Blog, 12/2/10]: Just in time for the holiday season, a federal appeals court has given a boost to parents and children who challenged a Texas school district's refusal to allow elementary school students to distribute items with Christmas and other religious messages at school parties and events. Read Morgan v. Swanson.

High Court Broadens Protection Against Municipal Liability  [School Law Blog, 12/2/10]: In a decision with potential implications for school districts, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday strengthened protections against municipal liability in federal civil rights lawsuits. The justices ruled 8-0 in Los Angeles County v. Humphries a 1978 high court decision about municipal liability for civil rights violations applies even when a plaintiff is seeking only an injunction or a declaratory judgment, in contrast to monetary damages.

Court says parents can force schools to provide PE [San Luis Obispo Tribune, 12/2/10]: A California appeals court says parents can force public schools to provide state-mandated physical education.

Justices Decline Special Education Teacher's Free-Speech Case [School Law Blog, 11/29/10]: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the appeal of a Michigan special education teacher who claimed she was fired for complaining that the size of her teaching caseload kept her from providing the proper amount of instruction to each of her students.: The Court of Appeals decision is Fox v. Traverse City Area Public Schools (6th Circuit, 5/17/10). Garcetti v. Ceballos was decided by the Supreme Court in 2006.

$1B in teacher compensation under attack [California Watch, 11/29/10]: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is taking aim at the more than $1 billion California school districts spend each year in extra pay to teachers with master's degrees, a core feature of teacher compensation in California and the nation.

New York Court: Court: Hazing Law Covers High School Gang [School Law Blog, 11/24/10]: A high school gang was an "organization" within the meaning of New York state's anti-hazing law, and a prospective member of the gang may not consent to being hazed, a state appellate court has ruled. Read In the Matter of Kahil H.

MPUSD revises grading policy [Monterey Herald, 11/23/10]: A revised grading policy at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District that relies more on individual performance than on traditional scales has raised a few hackles and has been described as "lowering the bar" for students.