The Role of the Courts in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Role of the Courts in Education - Essay Example Three of the issues where the courts have successfully resolved the problems in the education arena are the teaching of religion in public schools, the racial integration issue and the issue regarding the education of handicapped or disabled persons. The first amendment under the Bill of Rights states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." This is the basis when the Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that prayer as sanctioned by the public school system has no place education (Prayer and the Public Schools n.d., par. 3). It simply meant that the state must stay out of what is basically a matter of private belief and at the same time, it protects the rights of all students who have different religious beliefs. The group called Americans United for the Separation of Church and State states that the 1962 ruling has been misinterpreted by some sectors that it forbids religious activities inside schools (Prayer and the Public Schools n.d. par. 4).