Education: Law & Legislation

Prepared by K. Townsend, 2007

Legal and Article Databases:

If you are off campus , please login through Blackboard and click through to the USF Libraries homepage.

Lexis Nexis Academic

To locate legal information start at the initial search page and select “Legal Research” from the list on the left side of the screen. From the Legal Research screen, follow the links and search guides to access federal or state laws and cases. You may also search for legal news and articles.

Tips for finding legal information in Lexis Nexis Academic:

• Lexis Nexis will not display the results of any search that retrieves more than 1,000 documents. If the “more than 1,000 documents” message is displayed, try restricting your search by adding additional keywords or by focusing on a smaller date range.
  
• Case law may be searched by topic. Choose the “Area of Law by Topic” link then select the appropriate broad topic from the pull-down menu on the search screen.
  
• Like with Westlaw Campus, Lexis Nexis searches can be focused using connectors and wildcards as listed below. Note: some symbols differ from the symbols used in Westlaw Campus.

Lexis Nexis Congressional

This database provides the full-text of much of the literature published by Congress. Allows searching of the full-text of public laws, the Congressional Record, the U.S. Code, and the Statutes at Large. Also includes full-text access to Congressional committee reports and testimonies from Congressional hearings.

Westlaw Campus

This user-friendly database allows searching of federal and state legislation and court cases. A wide variety of full-text law journals may also be accessed through Westlaw Campus. After conducting a search, be sure to examine the “links for” tab on the left side of the screen for additional information relating to the document.

Tips for searching Westlaw Campus:

• The Natural Language search mode (the system default) is the easiest way to begin your search—just type in a question or a statement and the database will retrieve the 20 closest matches to your search request. After entering your search topic, select a database from the list in the “step 2” portion of the screen. When your selections have been made, click on the “go” button (located near the top on the right side of the screen).
  
• If the Natural Language search is not specific enough for your needs, try using the Terms and Connectors search mode (click on the tab next to Natural Language near the top of the screen). Very focused searches can be constructed using this method; however, you will have the most success if you use some of the connectors and wildcards listed below:

• Pay attention to any yellow or red flagged items—these indicate if a law has been fully or partially amended, repealed, or declared unconstitutional (red flag) or if the law has negative history attached to it but has not yet been reversed or overruled (yellow flag).
  
• Florida Senate or House bills: if a citation to a Florida legislative bill is cited but the full-text is not available through Westlaw Campus, try locating the text of the bill through the Florida Senate or Florida House web sites (web addresses for these sites are listed at the end of this document.)
  
• For Additional help using Westlaw Campus

Index to Legal Periodicals Full Text (WilsonWeb)

User-friendly access to the contents of a variety of legal periodicals and law books. Links to full-text are available for some of the legal journals from 1995-present; indexing and abstracting for older publications.

Finding Books:

Books on this subject can be found on the third floor of the library in classification KF4117-KF4150. Additional materials may be located through the online catalog using the subject heading Educational Law and Legislation. This phrase can be used as a standard subheading for other educational topics, e.g., “Early Childhood Education—Law and Legislation” or “Religion in the Public Schools—Law and Legislation.”

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

First published in 1891, this renowned dictionary continues to provide basic definitions for more than 20,000 words and phrases relating to the study of law.

Detailed instructions on how to cite legal resources from the “definitive style guide for legal citation in the United States.”

Lengthy entries, arranged alphabetically, on major points in school law, including
landmark court cases. A short bibliography, a table of cases, and an index are at the back.

An extremely useful and current handbook on how to conduct legal research. Includes information on interpreting legal citations, searching tips for Westlaw and Lexis Nexis, etc.

Defines legal terminology in a progressive format—basic terminology is given before more complex discussions. A number of the chapters deal specifically with business law topics.

An “introduction to the current status of student rights as well as to contemporary
controversies affecting them.” Chapters examine the major topical areas, including explanations of important Supreme Court cases (chap. 9). A glossary and an index are at the back.

Attempts to cover the “variety of legal problems that . . . school teachers actually
face.” Written for the layman, chapters give extensive overviews of areas likely to invoke controversy or litigation. Endnotes list the court cases involved. A table of cases and a subject index are at the back.

“Contains digests and analyses of court decisions affecting education.” Poynter Library subscribes to the bound edition every third year; this title is also indexed and abstracted in Wilson OmniFile Full-Text (see under Databases) back to 1988. The latest edition is located in the Reference Collection, while older editions may be found upstairs in the Circulation Collection.

Government Resources

Florida Department of Education
Click on the Rules and Policies link for Florida Education Law and Legislation including the Office of General Counsel, Florida K20 Education Statutes, State Board of Education Rules, Community College Policies, Colleges & Universities Rules & Memoranda, and the Education Budget.

Florida House of Representatives
The toolbar on the left side of the main page allows searching of Florida House bills by either bill number or text (back to 2001).

Florida Senate
Choose “publications-bills” to find a link to the text of Florida Senate bills back to 1998.

Florida Statutes for 2004
Searchable links to the text of the 2004 Florida Statutes.

THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet
Provides access to the official text of bills passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives back to the 103rd Congress. Full text of Public laws are provided back to the 93rd Congress (1988). Includes a record of the activity leading to the passage of legislation such as sponsoring legislators, committee reports, roll call votes.

U.S. Department of Education
Site highlights publications, programs, policy, federal education legislation, funding programs, and news at the department.

Still Need Help?

Please contact the Nelson Poynter Library Reference Desk at 727-873-4124.