U.S. Supreme Court Cases in Education

To paraphrase Alexis de Tocqueville, an early writer on the American democracy, every educational issue eventually becomes a judicial question, and those judicial questions eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Indeed, it seems that there is virtually not a single aspect of education that the Court has not addressed at some point in its history. In many instances, the foundations of modern constitutional law have been laid in education cases. Insofar as the Court hears approximately a half dozen cases per term that have a direct or indirect impact on education law, those who work in education law, whether as advocates or as academics, must constantly monitor its docket and decisions.

The Supreme Court's impact on education law has paralleled its influence on broader American society. ...