You know what we miss? With everything happening at the federal level, we haven’t talked about Oklahoma in ages. Well, today we're doing something about that! Today’s case deals with Oklahoma, school libraries, allegations of “sexualized” material, and a state superintendent determined to enforce new rules about what students can and cannot read. But this one isn’t just about book bans. It’s about who gets to decide what belongs in a public school library: the state board of education or local school districts. And when the state tried to enforce its new rule against a district, that district went straight to the Oklahoma Supreme Court and said, you don’t have the authority to do that. This is the case of Edmond Public Schools v. the Oklahoma State Board of Education. We also talk about new guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (yes, it still exists!) on constitutionally protected prayer in public schools.---

CHALK & GAVEL IS LIVE AT #SXSWEDU THIS WEEK!

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Keywords: Oklahoma, Curriculum, Book Bans, School Governance, Libraries, Religious Freedoms, Prayer#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #BookBans

Can a state, like say, South Carolina, consistent with its state constitution, create a school choice program that allows families to pay for private school tuition from a state-funded education savings account? That's right, today we're doing a completely apolitical case. Just kidding! That would be a nice change, but this is education law; everything is political! So today, we're talking about school choice with the case Eidson v. the South Carolina Department of Education. In 2023, South Carolina created a program to fund education savings accounts (ESAs). Eligible families could then use those accounts to pay for qualifying educational programs or activities, including private school tuition. But the South Carolina constitution says that no public funds can be spent for the direct benefit of private schools. Can you see the potential conflict? We also discuss a recent decision by the Trump administration to abandon its appeal of a Court order pausing some of the administration's anti-DEI efforts, meaning that the efforts remain on hold.---Check out our updated website (⁠www.chalkandgavel.com⁠) to sign up for our newsletter, support the show, find our episode database, and order some NEW MERCH.Don't forget - ⁠Chalk and Gavel was selected to record a live episode at SXSW-EDU in March.⁠ We're pumped about this one. Help us spread the word!Interested in staying up to date on education law as an educator? Check out ELA's new publication, Law and Policy in Schools, available at https://www.educationlaw.org/lapis---Keywords: school funding, school choice, vouchers, education savings accounts, South Carolina, parents' rights, DEI#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #SchoolChoice

What happens when district officials censor a student’s article for the high school newspaper because they don’t like what it says? Probably nothing good. Some people might consider that viewpoint discrimination and frown on that sort of thing. On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about a pretty interesting case from about 20 years ago that pitted a high school student journalist against her school district in a fight over free speech and censorship. When the school didn’t like how Katy Dean reported on a lawsuit against the district, officials shut it down. This is the case of Dean v Utica Community Schools. We also discuss recent litigation in California regarding whether schools must disclose to parents when their children request to be called by different names and pronouns at school.---Check out our updated website (⁠www.chalkandgavel.com⁠) to sign up for our newsletter, support the show, find our teaching guide, and order some NEW MERCH.Don't forget - ⁠Chalk and Gavel was selected to record a live episode at SXSW-EDU in March.⁠ We're pumped about this one. Help us spread the word!Interested in staying up to date on education law as an educator? Check out ELA's new publication, Law and Policy in Schools, available at https://www.educationlaw.org/lapis---Keywords: free speech, student journalism, censorship, Hazelwood, transgender students, parents' rights#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #FreeSpeech #teachers

It’s time to cover the oral arguments in the transgender student athlete cases! Which means we need some expert guidance, and who better to join us than Dr. Suzanne Eckes? This is one we’ve talked about before, but can states prohibit transgender girls from playing on the girls team? We first covered BPJ v. West Virginia in episode 57. In that case, Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender girl, challenged West Virginia’s law that defined athletic teams based on biological sex assigned at birth. Well, she won at the lower court, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case along with another transgender student athlete case, Little v. Hecox, which involved a similar law and situation out of Idaho. So now the nine justices of the Supreme Court have to grapple with the question of whether Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause prohibit states from having sex-separated sports teams based on biological sex, even where as both Becky and Hecox argue, they have no biological advantage as compared to cisgender girls. ---Check out our updated website (⁠www.chalkandgavel.com⁠) to sign up for our newsletter, support the show, find our teaching guide, and order some NEW MERCH.Don't forget - ⁠Chalk and Gavel was selected to record a live episode at SXSW-EDU in March.⁠ We're pumped about this one. Help us spread the word!Interested in staying up to date on education law as an educator? Check out ELA's new publication, Law and Policy in Schools, available at https://www.educationlaw.org/lapis---Keywords: transgender student athletes, Title IX, Equal Protection Clause, LGBTQ+, sex discrimination#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #TransRights #SupremeCourt

What happens when a principal’s retirement gift to a friend causes a community uproar? In this episode, we discuss the case of Stirling v. North Slope in which a principal made a questionable gift, on a school printer, that resulted in him getting fired. While that may not sound so bad, the gift repurposed the school's official motto and logo in ways the community found problematic. Well, the principal challenged his termination, arguing that it violated his free speech rights. This is an interesting one! It involves community values, educators' free speech rights, employment issues, school authority, and the most northern school district in the United States, which is pretty cool, literally. We also discuss recent efforts by the Trump administration to shift the Department of Education's work to other federal agencies.

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Check out our updated website (⁠www.chalkandgavel.com⁠) to sign up for our newsletter, support the show, find our teaching guide, and order some NEW MERCH.

Don't forget - ⁠Chalk and Gavel was selected to record a live episode at SXSW-EDU in March.⁠ We're pumped about this one. Help us spread the word!

Interested in staying up to date on education law as an educator? Check out ELA's new publication, Law and Policy in Schools, available at https://www.educationlaw.org/lapis

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Keywords: free speech, labor and employment, employee termination, community values

#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #FreeSpeech #teachers

Live from Kansas City (well, recorded live at the Education Law Association conference in Kansas City), we've got a special episode for you today. We're going behind the scenes of Chalk & Gavel to answer your questions about the show and education law! To help us out, we're joined by friend of the show, Dr. Janet Decker. Ever wondered how the show gets made or how to successfully navigate social media as an educator? Maybe you're curious about what our favorite Supreme Court cases are, which constitutional amendment would go viral on social media first, or the most lawyerly thing Chris has ever said. Let's get personal as we answer all your burning questions.

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Check out our updated website (www.chalkandgavel.com) to sign up for our newsletter, support the show, find our teaching guide, and order some NEW MERCH.

Don't forget - ⁠Chalk and Gavel was selected to record a live episode at SXSW-EDU in March.⁠ We're pumped about this one. Help us spread the word!

Interested in staying up to date on education law as an educator? Check out ELA's new publication, Law and Policy in Schools, available at https://www.educationlaw.org/lapis

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Keywords: Chalk & Gavel, Behind the Scenes, Education Law Association

#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #EducationLawAssociation

When warning signs of violence appear in a school, what does the law actually require educators to do? And when tragedy occurs, who can be held legally responsible? In this episode, we examine how courts are addressing these questions through two recent and legally significant cases: Our Bellringer covers the Virginia case in which a jury found an assistant principal negligent after repeated warnings went unaddressed, and our main cases focused on the 2021 tragedy at Oxford High School in Michigan, where courts ultimately rejected constitutional claims against school officials. Through these cases, we break down the difference between negligence and constitutional liability, explain why the “state-created danger” doctrine sets such a high bar, and explore how courts evaluate school safety decisions based on what officials reasonably knew and when they knew it...not based on hindsight. This episode isn’t about blame or perfection; it’s about understanding how the law views action, inaction, and responsibility in the most difficult circumstances school communities may ever face.

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Check out our updated website (⁠www.chalkandgavel.com⁠) to: sign up for our newsletter, support the show, find our teaching guide, and order some NEW MERCH.

Don't forget - ⁠Chalk and Gavel was selected to record a live episode at SXSW-EDU in March.⁠ We're pumped about this one. Help us spread the word!

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Keywords: school safety, educator liability, education law, podcast, negligence, school violence

#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #StudentSafety #Negligence

Can a state forbid the teaching of Critical Race Theory? Do students’ First Amendment rights to receive information place limits on state curricular decisions? Are you ready for some “1984” George Orwell references, because Chris calls today's decision "double-plus ungood." That's right, it’s a bright cold day in November, and the clocks are striking 13. Again. This is another timely and relevant case! We’re talking about the constitutionality of an Arkansas law designed to regulate how educators in the state teach and discuss sensitive subjects like race and gender. As we all know, these kinds of laws have popped up all over the place over the last few years, and in many cases, they’ve had some pretty chilling effects on what happens in classrooms. Whether these laws allow you to engage specific topics or ideas, the dialogue around all of this stuff is loud, often confusing, and pretty emotionally charged… leading lots of folks to self-censor, even when they may not have to. So, we’re going to unpack Walls v Sanders on today’s episode. We also discuss recent efforts to reduce staff at the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs and the implications for federal special education law, like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

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Please check out our updated website (⁠www.chalkandgavel.com⁠) to sign up for our newsletter, find our teaching guide, check out OUR NEW MERCH, and for ways to support the show!

Lastly, some exciting news! ⁠Chalk and Gavel was selected to record a live episode at SXSW-EDU in March.⁠ We're pumped about this one. Check us out and spread the word!

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Keywords: Curriculum, First Amendment, Anti-CRT Laws, Government Speech, U.S. Department of Education

#educationlaw #k12 #podcast #ChalkandGavel #CurricularGagOrders