In this article, we consider a series of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that place public school students under an expansive shield of constitutional rights while often hampering the ability of administrators to engage in flexible and creative conflict resolution in the context of the school's mission. The court's readiness to adjudicate a large range…

In this essay, Marianna Papastephanou discusses three books--Michalinos Zembylas's "The Politics of Trauma in Education"; Sigal Ben-Porath's "Citizenship Under Fire: Democratic Education in Times of Conflict"; and Kenneth Saltman's "Capitalizing on Disaster: Taking and Breaking Public Schools"--from the perspective of the material causality of…

The purpose for this article is to explore the juxtaposition of legal expectations, conflicting community cultural values, and the role of the superintendent in these connected but often conflicting issues. The authors explore several issues through the lens of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, the "Equal Access Act," and the role of the…

Forest Grove School District v. T.A. involved a student with learning disabilities, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and depression (T.A.) whose parents had moved him to a private academy for students with special needs without first consulting with his public school. In the past, the school district had found T.A. to be ineligible…

Suggests peer mediation as an alternative dispute resolution approach. Indicates the need to shift the focus from crisis intervention to prevention and to integrate dispute resolution skills into the school environment. (JOW)

Responds to Jonathan Beyer's proposal in the January 1999 issue of this Journal (EJ583600) that traditional mediation would be useful for resolving special education disputes by formalizing the way that mediators are trained. Relying on empirical research, warns that Beyer's proposals for further quality controls and consequent formalization may…

Conflict and controversy are facts of school board life. The former president of the Eugene, Oregon, School Board offers eight tips on ways to effectively handle controversy. (MLF)

This book is designed for school principals, for principal figures in a company or in a home, and for those who are the "principal" figure in their own lives. According to the author, it contains ideas "that will help you manage daily life intelligently and compassionately and make tomorrow more manageable." It contains quotes that are selected…

Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of common methods of conflict resolution used in special-education disputes. Argues that "principled negotiation" has been underutilized at the early phase of special-education disputes and shows promise as a means of settling many disputes without the need for mediation or adversarial processes.…

Embedded in political scientists' research findings are three propositions for educators: (1) democracy needs democrats; (2) democrats are created through citizenship education programs emphasizing conflict resolution skills, respect for human rights, good neighborliness and respect for pluralism; and (3) there appears to be a correlation between…

Superintendents need to recognize the two realities that the school board has the ultimate power and that superintendents are appointed to serve a specific term. Offers six remedies to superintendents in the case of real conflict with the school board. (MLF)

The author examines the conduct of educational policy discussion in liberal democracies, argues that American education is undergoing a crisis, and posits that this crisis might be eased by the advent of a libertarian-technocratic society. (MJB)

School business officials will need to lead the way for many of the changes that will take place in the nation's schools. Outlines some strategies to help defuse the tension and defensiveness and clear the way for meaningful change. (MLF)

Examines bias awareness, offering examples from a program in New York City that helps children learn creative skills of nonviolent conflict resolution through cooperation, communication, affirmation, problem solving, mediation, and bias awareness. The paper offers considerations for educators interested in integrating conflict resolution and bias…

Analyzes the history, values, and legal issues involved in the inclusion controversy. Opponents of full inclusion of all students with disabilities in the classroom contend that it is a simplistic answer to complex problems. The Community Engagement Dialogic Model is an approach for dealing with judicial intervention in many special-education…