Coy Mathis, born a male, has identified as a female since the age of 18 months. Now at six-years old she must confront issues that far exceed the normal trials and tribulations of the first grade classroom. Coy has dressed in girls’ clothing and presented herself as a female since being enrolled in Eagle Elementary [...]
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Author Archives: James G. Ryan
The Pledge of Allegiance . . . Translated?
February 26, 2013 – 4:12 pm
Standing in class, staring up at the American flag, placing your right hand over your heart, and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, this is a memory we can all recall from childhood. Recently, however, a cloud of controversy has entangled a Colorado High School were a student recited the Pledge in Arabic. Tom Lopez, the [...]
The Department of Education Requires that School Sports be open to the Disabled
January 28, 2013 – 4:53 pm
Over 40 years ago, Title IX mandated that schools balance the resources allocated to men’s and women’s educational programs including extracurricular sports. The sweeping overhaul dramatically improved the athletic opportunities for females by expanding both high school and college athletic programs. The Education Department has now issued its latest “guidance” requiring that students with disabilities [...]
Students First Amendment Rights and the Schoolhouse Gate.
December 21, 2012 – 8:13 pm
The ability of school officials to limit student free speech has been a matter of significant debate since the seminal case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969). In Tinker the First Amendment rights of several students were violated when the students were suspended for wearing black armbands in [...]
Copyright Issues in Textbook Case
November 19, 2012 – 6:21 pm
On Monday, October 29, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on an action involving a college student who sold overseas editions of college textbooks to help finance his education. While attending graduate school at the University Of Southern California, Kirtsaeng, a Thailand native, resold $900,000 worth of textbooks manufactured overseas on eBay for [...]
Students Turn to Drugs for Good Grades.
November 8, 2012 – 7:19 pm
The abuse of prescription stimulants, once relegated to over-worked college and graduate students, has found its way into the halls of high schools across the country. The pressure to succeed academically and secure a highly coveted seat among the most prestigious institutions of higher education has led many students to seek refuge among a variety [...]
Cheerleader Banners with Bible Verses
October 22, 2012 – 2:23 pm
In Kountze, Texas a lawsuit is pending on students’ right to religious expression. The dispute arose in September 2012 when the Kountze school district received a letter from the national Freedom From Religion Foundation stating that the school’s cheerleaders were holding banners that violated constitutional doctrine.[1] The dispute arose when the cheerleaders painted Bible verses [...]
High School Student Publicly Criticized in Class for Wearing Romney Shirt
October 5, 2012 – 3:56 pm
At Charles Carroll High School in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, 16-year-old Samantha Pawlucy was publicly disparaged and embarrassed for wearing a Mitt Romney shirt. After wearing a pink Mitt Romney / Paul Ryan t-shirt on dress-down day at Charles Carroll High School, 16-year-old Samantha Pawlucy was told by her geometry teacher “to take [...]
Second Circuit Upholds New York’s Ban Against the Use of “Aversive Interventions”
August 22, 2012 – 8:29 pm
Bryant v. New York State Education Department, No. 10-4029-cv, — F.3d — (2d Cir. August 20, 2012). On August 20, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a divided 2-1 decision in Bryant v. New York State Education Department, No. 10-4029-cv, — F.3d — (2d Cir. August 20, 2012), upholdingNew [...]