IN THIS ISSUE:
- Kindergarten Students Subject to Compulsory Attendance Requirements Upon Enrollment:
After obtaining custody of her twin daughters, Jennifer Ann Kerstetter enrolled them in the kindergarten program at the West Beaver Elementary School in the Midd-West School District in Snyder County, Pennsylvania for the 2011 2012 school year.
- Constitutional Challenge to Student Drug Testing Policy Denied:
In February 2011, the Loyalsock Township School District adopted a policy providing for the random and suspicionless testing of students as a condition to participation in extra-curricular activities or to obtain a school parking permit. As justification for the testing program, the policy cited examples of documented prior drug and alcohol incidents, the longitudinal results of a biannual survey of school district students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 regarding drug and alcohol usage and anecdotal evidence of drug/alcohol-related abuse among students. The policy was the result of a year-long study of drug and alcohol abuse among students, multiple committee meetings involving school directors, administrators, students and parents, the review of the student drug-testing programs at other school districts and several public meetings.
- Third Circuit Affirms Students’ Right to Wear “I [Heart] Boobies!” Bracelets:
Two middle-school students (“Students”) purchased bracelets bearing the slogan “I [heart] boobies! (KEEP A BREAST)” as part of a nationally recognized breast- cancer-awareness campaign. The Easton Area School District (“District”) banned the bracelets, relying on its authority under Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986), to restrict vulgar, lewd, profane, or plainly offensive speech, and its authority under Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969), to restrict speech that is reasonably expected to substantially disrupt the school.
- Right-To-Know Law Update:
The following is a collection of recent decisions by Pennsylvania courts and the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR), interpreting the provisions of Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq.
Please see full publication below for more information.