Education and the Courts, 3rd Edition

Written by one of the country’s foremost specialists, Education and the Courts illustrates the approach of the courts to education litigation, and is the leading text in this area. It provides high-level analysis of the legal principles of those subjects most commonly litigated in the courts.

This authoritative title has been substantially rewritten and expanded to take account of the considerable changes in legislation and case-law since the previous edition was published.

Recent Changes

Devolution has meant a considerable divergence between the law in England and Wales. Both case-law and a new statutory framework have revolutionized the law in virtually every area.

In the field of school organisation Academies now loom large. This has acerbated the long standing problems created for local authorities by the discrimination legislation in this field. The Equality Act 2010 has overhauled the law in this area but the problems created by single sex schools and Equality duties remain.

There is a new statutory framework in relation to school transport. Those who have statements of special educational needs now not only can litigate pure transport issues in the First-tier tribunal but also have a right to free transport to the school of their choice even if it is not the nearest suitable school providing this is not prejudicial to the efficient use of resources as a result of the decision of the Court of Appeal in S v Dudley.

Religion and school dress codes has been a fertile source of litigation. Following R (Begum) v Denbigh High School, which held that a school’s uniform policy which did not permit the wearing of strict Islamic dress did not interfere with a child’s rights under article 9 of the ECHR, further litigation by claimants in the area was largely unsuccessful although this trend seemed to have been halted by Silber J in R (Watkins-Singh) v Governors of Abderdare High School for Girls.

In Special Educational Needs disputes the vast majority of litigation in this area takes place in the First-tier tribunal and the role of the Courts is much reduced in the light of the right of appeal to the Upper Tribunal.

Education and the Courts provides expert coverage of the law applicable to the full range of education-related disputes.