The First Amendment in Schools

Charles C. Haynes, Sam Chaltain, John E. Ferguson Jr., David L. Hudson Jr., and Oliver Thomas

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About This Book

What are the First Amendment rights? How do you resolve questions about the rights of students, educators, and parents in a school setting?

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the most basic and cherished rights of society—religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly. Anyone who wants to know more about those freedoms in the context of schools will find The First Amendment in Schools a rich resource for study and application. The book includes

• An explanation of the origins of the First Amendment
• A concise, chronological history of 50 legal cases, including many landmark decisions, involving the First Amendment in public schools
• Answers to frequently asked questions about the practice of the First Amendment in schools, covering specific issues of religious liberty, free speech, and press as they affect school prayer, use of school facilities, dress and speech codes, student press, book selection, and curriculum
• General information on First Amendment expression and practice in schools
• Information on more than 60 educational and advocacy programs and organizations for First Amendment resources
• A profile of First Amendment Schools

This book provides a civic and legal framework for giving all members of the school community—students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members—a real voice in shaping the life of the school.

See the book's table of contents and read excerpts.

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About the Authors

CHARLES C. HAYNES is senior scholar at the First Amendment Center and director of the center's education programs in schools. The First Amendment Center, with offices in Virginia and Tennessee, works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education. Haynes was one of the principal organizers and drafters of a series of consensus guidelines on religious liberty in public education endorsed by a broad range of major religious and educational organizations.

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SAM CHALTAIN is the coordinator of the First Amendment Schools project at the First Amendment Center. He came to the First Amendment Center from the public and private school systems of New York City, where he spent five years teaching high school history, English, and journalism, and coaching soccer and basketball.

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JOHN E. FERGUSON JR. is the education coordinator for the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. While at the First Amendment Center, Ferguson authored several articles for legal and educational journals, and acted as associate editor on the newest revisions of Finding Common Ground: A Guide to Religious Liberty in Public Schools. He also travels around the nation speaking to educators and civic groups about religious liberty in the public schools.

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DAVID L. HUDSON JR. is a research attorney at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a First Amendment contributing editor to the American Bar Association's Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases. He also is the author of two books for young people: The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments of the Constitution and The Fourteenth Amendment: Equal Protection Under the Law.

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OLIVER THOMAS is a lawyer, minister, author and school board member. He serves as director of the Niswonger Foundation, a private operating foundation designed to provide educational opportunities in Southern Appalachia.

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