Articles by nishanmohammed_114

A federal appeals court has ruled that a school district violated the First Amendment rights of a student when it punished Justin Layshock for speech posted on a social networking website, holding that this off-campus speech was beyond the power of the school to control.

With the assistance of The Rutherford Institute, the mother of two students in the public schools has filed a complaint with the United States Department of Education over a Massachusetts school district’s practice of requiring students to complete surveys asking overtly intimate and sexually suggestive questions without their parents’ knowledge or written consent.

The Circuit Court of the County of Spotsylvania has refused to reverse the expulsion of a 14-year-old honor student charged under a school zero tolerance policy with “violent criminal conduct” and possession of a weapon for shooting plastic “spitwads” at classmates.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.— John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, is warning school officials in the Albemarle County Public Schools against failing to respect the constitutional rights of its students and their parents, particularly in regards to their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by government agents.

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio— The Rutherford Institute is defending a Christian teacher who was allegedly fired for keeping religious articles in his classroom and for using teaching methods that encourage public school students to think critically about the school’s science curriculum, particularly as it relates to evolution theories.

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Supreme Court has reversed a federal appeals court decision striking down Arizona’s tax credit for contributions to organizations providing private school tuition assistance, ruling that taxpayers challenging the law do not have the authority to maintain the lawsuit.

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. — School officials at an Illinois high school have agreed to stop organizing and leading students in transcendental meditation exercises, which are rooted in the Buddhist religious practice, during class time and as part of the honors English curriculum.

SHICKSHINNY, Penn. — The Rutherford Institute has come to the aid of a Pennsylvania elementary school student who was prohibited by school officials from passing out Christian pamphlets to her classmates during non-instructional time.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — After being criticized by The Rutherford Institute for misapplying zero tolerance policies and suspending a seventh grade honor student over allegations that he was in possession of the Italian herb oregano, school officials at Hickory Middle School have agreed to rescind the 10-day suspension and the recommendation for expulsion for “possession of an imitation controlled substance.”

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The Rutherford Institute has filed a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of a 28-year-old K-12 bus driver who was fired for displaying a Confederate flag (with the word “redneck” emblazoned across it) on his personal vehicle.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Pointing to yet another instance of zero tolerance policies being misapplied, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have criticized school officials at Hickory Middle School for grossly overreacting when they suspended a seventh grade honors student over allegations that he was in possession of the Italian herb oregano.

GRANTS PASS, Ore.—The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a 28-year-old K-12 bus driver who was fired for displaying a Confederate flag on his personal vehicle.