When can schools curtail students' political speech? Can a student be paddled for simply writing "Trump 2016" on a classroom whiteboard? We discuss T.S. v. Talladega County Board of Education, a fascinating case about a school navigating the political tensions following the 2016 presidential election. This one has it all! Politics, free speech, discipline, corporal punishment, and, of course, Ricky Bobby quotes. We also talk about recent efforts to promote diversity in Seattle Public Schools and a new law in West Virginia that we term a "hydra law" because it cropped up after previous efforts to inject creationism into schools had failed. Keywords: First Amendment, Political Speech, Due Process, Student Discipline, Corporal Punishment

When can school officials search students' belongings? In this episode, we branch out into the world of true crime! We go back to the early 80s to discuss the landmark Supreme Court case that defined the boundaries of privacy and authority in schools. We discuss New Jersey v. TLO, a delinquency case involving a search of a 14-year-old freshman's purse that continues to influence how we balance students’ rights with school authority. We also talk about a recent settlement in one of the cases challenging Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act, or as it's commonly known, "Don't Say Gay." Keywords: Fourth Amendment, Search and Seizure, Student Discipline, Cigarettes and Drugs, Educational Gag Orders, LGBTQ

How can a school district seek to achieve a diverse student body at its elite magnet school? We discuss the case of Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, another case in the evolving legal battle over race-conscious admissions and the pursuit of diversity in school admissions. At issue in this case was whether the Board's race-neutral admissions policy violated the Equal Protection Clause by having a disparate impact on Asian American students and being motivated by an invidious intent to discriminate based on race. We briefly covered this case when the Supreme Court denied review, but it was too interesting and too important not to get its own episode. We also talk about escalating and evolving legal conflicts over the curriculum. Keywords: Diversity, Equal Protection Clause, Fourteenth Amendment, Race, Discrimination, School Admissions