Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Publication Date

2-13-1979

Abstract

Law evolves from compromises worked out by legislative and executive committees, courts, and the people. Case law, as opposed to Constitutional and legislative law, results from the judicial interpretation of an existing law or Constitutional principle. There is, however, a great deal of leeway in how a judicial body may interpret such statutes and principles. The purpose of this study was to gauge the impact of selected U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals decisions relative to student control on state courts, state legislatures, and state school boards within the Tenth Circuit. In order to assess the presence or absence of impact, the following questions were considered: (1) which U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals decisions in the area of student control have been cited in Tenth Circuit Court cases?; (2) have U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals decisions from other circuits been used to support legislation in states within the Tenth Circuit, and (3) have U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals decisions from other circuits been used to formulate state school board regulations in Tenth Circuit Court states? Nine cases and three areas of student control were selected for the study. There were four cases in the area of Dress and Appearance, four cases in Suspension and Expulsion, and one case in Marriage and Pregnancy. The primary research instrument was a questionnaire which was mailed to the legal units of the State Departments of Education in the six states (Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming) of the Tenth Circuit. Analysis of the data indicated that the impact of other Circuit Court cases on states in the Tenth Circuit was limited dramatically when cases had already been adjudicated in similar issues at the circuit level. Six of the study cases had impact on state courts in four states. One of the cases had impact on four states, which was the case with the greatest impact. It was also the first case in terms of year of adjudication in the area of Dress and Appearance. None of the cases were cited in state legislatures in the Tenth Circuit. The Constitutional authority for education and control of education may be strong determinants for the lack of impact at the legislative level. Two of the study cases had impact on a State School Board. The other five State School Boards reported no citations of the study cases.

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Educational Leadership

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy

First Committee Member (Chair)

Ronald Eugene Blood

Second Committee Member

Richard Auld King

Third Committee Member

Richard Francis Tonigan

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