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Student Teachers’ Diversity Rights: The Case Law., Zorka Karanxha, Perry Zirkel

Zorka Karanxha

This chapter provides a concise and up-to-date synthesis of the published case law where a student teacher was the plaintiff, the defendant was an institution of higher education or cooperating local school district, and the issues in dispute were related to diversity. The number of such court decisions was surprisingly small, and the outcomes generally favored the defendant institutions. The court cases fall under three categories: 1) student teachers’ diverse views on religion, 2) student teachers’ diverse forms of free speech, and 3) student teachers with special needs. Constitutional claims were the predominant avenue of litigation against school districts and …