Reviews judicial decisions involving school staff evaluation systems. Courts remain reluctant to interfere with the summative evaluation process of a school district. Administrators must apply reasoned, ascertainable standards in employment decisions in order to withstand judicial scrutiny amid the array of legal constraints on the evaluation of…

Recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court appear to create similar standards in employment discrimination cases harmonizing the theories of disparate treatment and disparate impact. Implications of the emerging judicial unification between the two theories are addressed and its relevance to school districts summarized. (MLF)