The adoption of the Canadian Constitution Act in 1982, with its embedded Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ushered in an era of unprecedented judicial influence on Canada's public policy. The Courts, the Charter, and the Schools examines how the Constitution Act has affected educational policy during the first twenty-five years of the Charter by analyzing landmark rulings handed down from appellate courts and the Supreme Court.

The contributors consider the influence that Charter cases have had on educational policies and practices by discussing cases involving fundamental freedoms, legal rights, equality rights, and minority language rights. Demonstrating why and how the Charter was invoked, interpreted, and applied in each of these cases, this volume also highlights the resulting consequences for Canada's public schools. An illuminating collection of essays by prominent legal scholars and educational commentators, The Courts, the Charter, and the Schools is a significant contribution to the study of educational law and policy in Canada.

Michael Manley-Casimir, PhD, is a professor of education and director of the Tecumseh Centre for Aboriginal Research and Education at Brock University. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago. Prior to his appointment as dean of education at Brock in 1998, he spent 24 years in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University in a variety of academic and administrative roles. In 2004, he completed an LLM through the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia and wrote a thesis on the meaning of “freedom of conscience” in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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Kirsten Manley-Casimir is a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia and co-director of the Intensive Program in Aboriginal Lands, Resources, and Governments at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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