February 2009 Archives » Askthejudge

On February 25, 2009, boys and girls across Canada wore something pink to school in recognition of the country’s Anti-Bullying Day.  Many countries celebrate student campaigns against traditional as well as cyberbullying. Below, Thomas Bridson (9th grade) wearing his official anti-bullying T-shirt, ties Kristin McEwen’s …

That’s right. On February 24, 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that students are persons with fundamental rights in-and-out of school. The Court recognized that the classroom is a marketplace of ideas that depends on the robust exchange of ideas. Students do not “shed their constitutional …

That’s right. Vanessa’s father is serving a 50-day jail sentence in California for failing to keep his daughter in school.  Vanessa is described as a 5th-grade dropout. Her problems started in third-grade with excessive absences. Her attendance in 6th and 7th grade dwindled to only two …

Last week at Wauwatosa East High School in Wisconsin, a 14-year-old girl was texting during her math class. When asked several times by her teacher to stop, she refused and continued her texts. The school resource officer was called and the girl denied having a phone. A search by a …

 The display of the Confederate flag, as shown here, has been the subject of numerous lawsuits. In January, 2009, a federal court ruled against students wearing the Confederate flag at school and agreed with the school district’s ban of this type of symbolic speech.* Three high school …