School business officials and other education leaders worry now more than ever about facing legal battles. Maybe today's parents are more likely to run to the lawyer's office. Or maybe they simply expect everything to be a certain way--their way. Regardless, the result is the same: today's school leaders are likely to find themselves having to…

Bargaining in Catholic schools is fraught with complex issues. Two cases, "New York State Employment Relations Board v Christ the King Regional High School" and "South Jersey Catholic School Teachers Organization v St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus Elementary School," may help balance teachers' labor rights and theological…

Typical district contracts often impede professionalism and superior school performance. Boston's "Pilot Schools" and Baltimore's contract public schools represent isolated reform efforts. Streamlined master contracts and school-based compacts seem promising. Reform requires enabling changes in legislation, school authority, shared…

Discusses the effects on teacher salaries and employment practices of several Canadian provinces' cost-cutting measures; emphasizes British Columbia's "Public Restraint Act" and public employees' response to it. (MCG)

Today's teachers are increasingly becoming targets of violence, incivility, and tortious acts by minor students. Some teachers have successfully sued threatening students in civil court for punitive damages. About 13 states have made assaulting a teacher a felony. Some tort theories hold parents liable for their children's misbehavior. (Contains…

Within the core of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are a number of measures to hold states, school districts, schools, and school personnel more accountable for student progress. Summarizes state legislation and court cases concerning school administrators, tenure, collective bargaining, and personnel records. (Contains 32 references.) (MLF)