The law is a constant companion for public school districts.

While talk of accountability, testing, standards, and student achievement dominate the conversation about quality schooling, an invisible elephant weighs in behind the scenes with this: What will the law allow?

On these pages, we guide readers through this thicket with a series of briefs written by Edwin Darden, a recognized attorney in the K-12 public education arena. The briefs use clear and simple language to provide information and perspective for non-experts. 

The law and its influence on public school districts: An overview
How do public schools work through the thicket of laws that weigh upon them? And how do these laws work to serve students and ensure that public education as a whole meets its role of developing an educated citizenry? Read this overview to answer these questions and more.

Free speech and public schools
How does the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause balance forceful ideas that occasionally clash? This brief answers that question and more.

Religion and public schools
When it comes to religion, what are the clashing and equally forceful commands contained in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Read on to find out.

Search and seizure, due process, and public schools
How do public schools deal with the occasional misdeeds of students or employees? When can they legally can conduct searches or seize a students belongings? Does the law say anything about zero tolerance policies? This brief answers these questions and more.