Course Description Schools are not only a place where civics and citizenship skills are taught and practiced. They are also a central forum for the making of constitutional law. This course examines the role of schools in the development of American constitutional law. We will consider a range of constitutional topics, including equal protection, free speech, religious freedom, and student privacy. Students will engage with cases and the contexts in which they arise in American schools, considering questions about the role of education in the American constitutional system, the constitutional responsibilities schools have toward students, and the ways schools cases have driven American law.
Department of Education Guidelines Each week, students will read selections from books (Schoolhouse Gate and others) as well as edited versions of the cases discussed in the books. These readings will serve as the basis for classroom discussion, which will be evaluated as a component of course engagement and which students may be assigned to lead for particular sessions. Students will complete up to 3 short response papers (up to 800 words), one of which will be shared with and reviewed by a peer. There may be some flexibility regarding format of the response papers, such that students may complete a comparable assignment in a different form (such as a presentation or short video). At the conclusion of the semester, students will complete a final project, which may include responding to a hypothetical case in writing or orally or presenting a brief research project.
Prerequisite: Students must have completed 32-credits at Rhodes