Supreme Court Upholds High School Recruiting Limits
Legal News Center
[##_1L|1012041590.jpg|width="131" height="91" alt=""|_##]The Supreme Court said Thursday that athletic associations can enforce limits on recruiting high school athletes without violating coaches' free speech rights. The high court ruled in a longstanding dispute between a Tennessee athletic association and a football powerhouse, the private Brentwood Academy near Nashville. The school challenged a rule of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, which governs high school sports in the state. The association bars schools from contacting prospective students about their sports programs.
In a unanimous ruling, the court said that "hard-sell tactics directed at middle school students could lead to exploitation, distort competition between high school teams and foster an environment in which athletics are prized more highly than academics."
Games have rules, Justice John Paul Stevens said for the court. "It is only fair that Brentwood follow them," Stevens said.
Brentwood argued that the restriction violated its free-speech rights, even though it voluntarily joined the association.
The dispute arose from a letter that Brentwood's football coach sent to a dozen eighth-graders in 1997, inviting them to attend spring training at Brentwood. The students already had been accepted and signed enrollment contracts for the fall.
Related listings
-
Schools fail to meet law on dyslexia
Legal News Center 06/17/2007[##_1L|1179760637.jpg|width="130" height="98" alt=""|_##]Hundreds of thousands of Texas children who struggle to read aren't getting the help they're entitled to because public schools are not following state law. Twenty-two years ago, Texas passed l...
-
Supreme court holds fast to legal deadlines
Legal News Center 06/16/2007[##_1L|1316613613.jpg|width="90" height="119" alt=""|_##]Deadlines set in law for filing motions cannot be waived, a divided Supreme Court said Thursday, even if a judge's error causes someone to submit a motion two days late. The 5-4 decision not on...
-
Teen sex case sentence goes to high court
Legal News Center 06/15/2007[##_1L|1343808829.jpg|width="101" height="102" alt=""|_##]The state Supreme Court agreed to hear the state's arguments for keeping in prison a man who had consensual sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. Atty. Gen. Thurbert E. Baker has been cr...
Is Now the Time to Really Call a Special Education Lawyer?
IDEA, FAPE, CHILD FIND and IEPs: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees all children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE starts with a school’s responsibility to identify that a child has a disability (Child Find) and create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to suit the needs of the child.
Forte Law Group is one of only a very few law firms within the state of Connecticut that is dedicated to exclusively representing families and children with special needs.
Parents need to be persistent, dedicated and above all else aware of the many services and accommodations that their child is entitled to under the law. As early as this point within your child’s special education, many parents will often find themselves in the situation asking, “is now the time to really call a special education lawyer?” Here are a few things to consider when asking yourself that question.