FYSM 113 - Student Rights,the Courts,and the Consitution

Institution:

Trinity College

Subject:

Description:

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education established that segregation in public schools violated the United States Constitution. Fifteen years later Justice Abe Fortas, writing for the majority of the Supreme Court in the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, made the following statement: "School officials do not possess absolute authority over their students. Students in school as well as out of school are 'persons' under our Constitution. They are possessed of fundamental rights which the State must respect, just as they themselves must respect their obligations to the State." Since the Brown and Tinker cases, the courts have addressed a wide variety of issues concerning student rights and liberties, including censorship, prayer in public schools, mandatory drug testing, school busing, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and gender equity in sports. Students in this seminar will explore both the reasons why students have brought their conflicts with school officials to court and the ways in which the courts have attempted to resolve those conflicts. As we seek to understand how the courts have come to define the scope of student rights, we will read cases and legal briefs, study the historical context in which the cases developed, and listen to recordings of oral arguments made before the Supreme Court of the United States. 1.00 units, Seminar

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.Trincoll.edu

Phone Number:

(860) 297-2000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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