scholarly journals “GOD’S NOT DEAD 2” DILEMMA: SELECTED RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ISSUES OF K-12 SCHOOL TEACHERS

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-51
Author(s):  
Iwona Zamkowska

The aim of the research is to confirm whether “God’s Not Dead” (2016) production is an adequate portrayal of religious liberty of school officials in present-day K-12 schools in the United States. The author limited the discussion to the essential problem questions inspired by the production, such as teachers’ right to express their religious views both in the formal setting of a class discussion, and out-of-class informal exchange with students and fellow faculty members. The problem was discussed against the backdrop of selected legal and legislative acts that determine the scope of teachers’ religious expression, such as selected courts’ decisions, official federal guidelines issued by the Department of Education as well as the guides published by non-government organizations. The results of the Bible Literacy Project as well as interviews with several school officials were utilized to further verify the basic concepts of the research. The source texts were analyzed using a close reading method. The study seems to prove that due to the complexity of the legal system as well as the discrepancy between the lines of decisions reached in lower courts it difficult to unambiguously assess the probability of the scenario featured in the movie. However, observable trends in case law and governmental control over teachers’ in-class speech appear to imply that the script is definitely accurate in its portrayal of a legal liability of teachers, and possibly less so in respect of the favorable outcome of the dispute.

This chapter presents the conclusions to the book. It discusses ideas for the future of the off-campus student-speech jurisprudence. This discussion includes guidance for school officials and students on how to navigate the jurisprudence. The discussion urges school officials to exercise censorship restraint when confronted with off-campus student speech unless the speech constitutes a true threat. It also implores school officials and lower courts to treat students as citizens entitled to the right to free speech under the United States Constitution. Consonantly, the chapter recommends that school officials leave censorship of off-campus speech to law enforcement as well as the civil and criminal judicial processes as obtains for the citizenry at large. The goal of the chapter is to recommend ideas that students, school officials and lower courts can consider in order to minimize the abridgement of students' right to speech in off-campus settings.


The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education brings together preeminent scholars to craft a comprehensive survey and assessment of the study of religion and education in the United States. Religion has been inextricably entwined with education in the United States since the days of colonial British America. Beginning with mothers schooling their children at home from the Bible, to the first establishment of Harvard College in 1636 with the principal mission to prepare clergy, the place of religion—and more to the point, whose religion and for what purpose—has been vigorously contested for nearly 400 years. This handbook aims to examine the current state of religion and American education from homeschooling to private religious schools to public schools to religious institutions and on through the range of public and private higher education. The book is organized into five sections: Frameworks; Lifespan Faith Development; Faith-Based K-12 education; Religion and Public Schools; and Religion and Higher Education. Within these sections forty leading scholars in the field of religion and education review these topics in thirty chapters. The contributors offer an in-depth synthesis of major issues within the field, while contributing to lively debates about the links between landmark research contributions and contemporary research agendas. Designed for an interdisciplinary audience, the Oxford handbook serves as a legacy project for leading scholars who are critically shaping the future direction of the field of religion and American education.


This chapter assesses the current state of the off-campus student-speech jurisprudence. It discusses the lower courts' application of the United States Supreme Court's student-speech tests to off-campus student speech. The discussion reveals that there is no uniformity in this application. It further reveals that the lower courts do not uniformly embrace school-censorship authority over off-campus speech. While a majority of courts have been willing to extend school-censorship authority beyond the school campus, a few courts remain resistant to this extension. The chapter also presents data on the judicial trends in the off-campus student-speech jurisprudence. This data reveals that most courts use the material and substantial disruption test when reviewing the constitutionality of school censorship of off-campus student speech. On the other hand, no court has applied the Hazelwood test to off-campus speech. The data also shows that most off-campus speech cases involve speech directed at or against school officials rather than students. The ultimate goal of the chapter is to provide insight into the current unsettled off-campus student-speech jurisprudence.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony G Picciano ◽  
Jeff Seaman ◽  
I. Elaine Allen

The purpose of this article is to examine online learning at the macro level in terms of its impact on American K-12 and higher education. The authors draw on six years of data that they have collected through national studies of online learning in American education as well as related research to do a critical and balanced analysis of the evolution of online learning in the United States and to speculate where it is going. Their collection of data represents some of the most extensive research examining online learning in the totality of K-20 education. Issues related to the growth of online learning, institutional mission, student access, faculty acceptance, instructional quality, and student satisfaction are explored. Of particular importance is an attempt to determine if online learning is in fact transforming American education in its essence and to speculate on the future.


Author(s):  
Sara Moslener

For evangelical adolescents living in the United States, the material world of commerce and sexuality is fraught with danger. Contemporary movements urge young people to embrace sexual purity and abstinence before marriage and eschew the secular pressures of modern life. And yet, the sacred text that is used to authorize these teachings betrays evangelicals’ long-standing ability to embrace the material world for spiritual purposes. Bibles marketed to teenage girls, including those produced by and for sexual purity campaigns, make use of prevailing trends in bible marketing. By packaging the message of sexual purity and traditional gender roles into a sleek modern day apparatus, American evangelicals present female sexual restraint as the avant-garde of contemporary, evangelical orthodoxy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109830072110033
Author(s):  
Amy M. Briesch ◽  
Sandra M. Chafouleas ◽  
Jennifer N. Dineen ◽  
D. Betsy McCoach ◽  
Aberdine Donaldson

Research conducted to date provides a limited understanding of the landscape of school-based screening practices across academic, behavioral, and health domains, thus providing an impetus for the current survey study. A total of 475 K–12 school building administrators representing 409 unique school districts across the United States completed an online survey, which assessed current school-based screening practices across domains from the point of data collection to intervention selection. Whereas 70% to 81% of the respondents reported the use of universal screening across health and academic domains, respectively, only 9% of the respondents endorsed the use of universal social, emotional, and behavioral screening. In addition, discrepancies were identified across domains with regard to such factors as (a) who reviews screening data, (b) how screening data are used to determine student risk, and (c) how interventions are designed for those students demonstrating risk. The lack of consensus in practice calls for dissemination concerning best practices in the implementation of social, emotional, and behavioral screening; risk identification; and Tier 1 intervention.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105984052110263
Author(s):  
Ashley A. Lowe ◽  
Joe K. Gerald ◽  
Conrad Clemens ◽  
Cherie Gaither ◽  
Lynn B. Gerald

Schools often provide medication management to children at school, yet, most U.S. schools lack a full-time, licensed nurse. Schools rely heavily on unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) to perform such tasks. This systematic review examined medication management among K-12 school nurses. Keyword searches in three databases were performed. We included studies that examined: (a) K-12 charter, private/parochial, or public schools, (b) UAPs and licensed nurses, (c) policies and practices for medication management, or (d) nurse delegation laws. Three concepts were synthesized: (a) level of training, (b) nurse delegation, and (c) emergency medications. One-hundred twelve articles were screened. Of these, 37.5% (42/112) were comprehensively reviewed. Eighty-one percent discussed level of training, 69% nurse delegation, and 57% emergency medications. Succinct and consistent policies within and across the United States aimed at increasing access to emergency medications in schools remain necessary.


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