Legal Decisions and Curriculum Practices

Since early attempts by state legislatures to formalize public school systems and standardize curriculum, the courts have played a critical role in shaping the requirements and limits of curriculum. [Page 538]The greatest impact of case law on school curriculum is on the role of religion, but litigation over school finance, secular values, and student equity has also affected curriculum practice.

Religious influence on public school curriculum has been a topic of debate since Ye Olde Deluder Satan Law of 1647 established publically funded, religious-based curriculum in schools of Colonial Massachusetts. Throughout the 20th century the courts established a legal framework that balances the desire of some communities to infuse religion into its public school curriculum, with the requirements of the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Although a limited forum remains for the discussion of religious texts, observance of religious holidays, and learning religious-based music, the courts have clearly rejected school curriculum that advances or inhibits religion. There have been several attempts to challenge restrictions on prayer in schools. Similarly, court battles continue that attempt to address the conflicts between religious teachings and science curriculum.

School finance litigation has evolved since the early 1970s from an emphasis on student equity to adequacy. Outcome-based measures of adequacy have increasingly injected the courts influence into matters of school curriculum and assessment. Although the courts traditionally avoid acting in the role of a school board, in some cases they have been uncharacteristically prescriptive regarding school funding and outcome measures. The reason for this is that the courts must, to some extent, develop a working definition of adequacy in order to determine whether a state educational system is in compliance with an adequacy standard. The result has been a judicial discussion not only of what constitutes an adequate curriculum, but also of how different parts of the curriculum are to be funded.

Social values have long been the driving force behind curriculum development at the local level. The courts have often been put in the position of determining the constitutionality of structuring schools based on, and teaching children, certain social values that may be in conflict with individual rights. Attempts by the state to impose cultural assimilation through bans on non-English language curriculum and compel acts of nationalism through forced pledges have been litigated and struck down by the courts. However, efforts by the state to compel both education and medical treatment that serves the greater social welfare have largely been supported by the courts. The greatest conflicts of social values have dealt with student equity as schools have served on the frontlines of social change movements promoting individual rights. The fair treatment of students and equal access to curriculum for people of different race, gender, and sexual orientation has been influenced greatly by court decisions.