Democracy, courts, and the schools

Abstract

James P. Shaver Professor and Associate Dean for Research College of Education Utah State University Logan, Utah The role of the courts in our democratic society is a topic that should be of interest to every teacher and administrator. Perhaps the most obvious reason for concern is the substantial potential of the courts for influencing school policy and practices. The exertion of judicial power became particularly salient for many professional educators, as well as the lay public, with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the now famous Brown case' that racial segregation in public schools denies the equal protection of the law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and is, therefore, unconstitutional. The Court's follow-up decision2 on the implementation of Brown gave the U.S. District Courts broad discretion in evaluating and approving remedies for the school segregation complaints brought before them. And an extensive series of cases dealing with desegregation plans has followed, involving remedies such as modifying attendance zones, busing students, and merging school districts, all considered with an eye to the educational risks or benefits for children.3 Litigation about other educational matters for example, school finance,4 the need for bilingual instruction,5 and the obligation of school districts to provide education for handicapped children6 has also had widespread implications for schooling. Nevertheless, there is some evidence (e.g., Zirkel, 1978) that school leaders often lack knowledge of school-relevant court decisions. It might appear from the selected cases mentioned above that matters involving school policy have been before the courts only in recent years. But the adjudication of school-related policy issues is not a recent phenomenon. The Massachusetts courts decided in 18507 that it was not, on the face of it, unreasonable for the Boston School Committee to segregate schools by the race. The famous Tennessee Monkey (Scopes) Trial was held in 1925. The concern of the U.S. Supreme Court with the denial of students' civil rights was evidenced some 35 years ago in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. 8 In that decision, the Court held that an attempt to force a student to participate in saluting the American flag was a denial of First Amendment