This paper is part of a series of studies designed to ascertain what policies and practices, if any, are currently in effect regarding rights and privileges connected with retirement in higher education. This study sought information about the perquisites furnished to retired higher education faculty in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through a…

Teachers with tenure possess certain privileges. For instance, they are permitted a hearing before the school board when they are threatened with dismissal. The failure of tenured teachers to maintain standards must be proved by the administration. In the case of probationary teachers, the school board has almost unlimited power to renew or not to…

Use of nationally standardized tests to determine teacher competency continues to be a subject for review in state and federal courts. School district policies have promoted minimum score requirements as a basis for employment decisions concerning certification, hiring, renewal, promotion, and merit pay. Legal challenges to these policies focus…

Presents a discussion of the legal context of evaluation systems upon which merit pay programs are based. Following the discussion of the law, a model merit pay program is presented. (MLF)

The goal of this book is to provide comprehensive and practical knowledge of relevant legal issues that affect the administration of public schools. It will allow educators to effectively perform their duties within the boundaries of constitutional, statutory, and case law. It is also designed to be easy to understand for those with little or no…

Urges that teachers be allowed to play a more active role in school restructuring. Argues that democratic ideals cannot be taught by a school system that is not run democratically. Insists that proponents of restructuring and educational renewal must see as central the teachers' control over professional affairs. (DK)

This booklet addresses responsibilities and rights of faculty interacting with postsecondary students who have disabilities and the legislation determining those responsibilities and rights. It focuses on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For each of the two laws,…

This volume of seminar presentations covers a broad range of legal issues affecting public schools. The first chapter summarizes employee free speech developments since "Connick v. Myers" (1983), a United States Supreme Court decision upholding a district attorney's right to dismiss a transferred assistant for circulating a controversial…

To guarantee an efficient educational system, effective evaluation and supervision of teacher performance are necessary. However, the evaluation of teacher performance presents two major problems: first, no clear definition or measure of effective teaching exists, and second, evaluation is perceived to have conflicting purposes, either as a…

Teacher improvement programs must comply with federal and state constitutional requirements for due process, equal protection, and freedom of speech, as well as state and federal laws covering collective bargaining, civil rights, and the authority to institute improvement programs. This booklet explores these legal considerations, focusing on…

This pamphlet provides information necessary to analyze existing grievance procedures and sets forth principles to guide the formulation of a more effective grievance process. The introduction defines the grievance procedure in a contractual contest, describes its benefits to management, union members, and private citizens; and briefly reviews key…

Intended as a practical legal guide for Texas educators and lawyers, this book contains three major sections dealing with several chapters on various school law topics, each prepared by Texas attorneys. Section 1, "School Boards and Superintendents," includes chapters on school board members authority and relationship with staff, the…

This book discusses personal safety issues of concern to teachers, offers common sense rules, and provides information about crime and violence. Chapter 1, "Recognizing the Problem," discusses characteristics of violent schools, myths about school crime, teachers' right to know, denial and under-reporting, and discovering problem sources. Chapter…

This chapter addresses developments concerning faculty tenure, examines institutional responses to new pressures and the litigation by faculty over those reponses, and explores faculty and administration rights and responsibilities. Academic administrators have realized that the reappointment, tenure, and promotion processes are an opportunity to…

In problems pertaining to faculty dismissal, public higher education institutions are subject to both constitutional and contractual constraints, whereas private schools are subject almost solely to self-imposed contractual limitations. In public institutions, teachers alleging termination for protected free speech bear the burden of establishing…