Tenured teaching staff member in New Jersey cannot be dismissed from their positions unless a board of education establishes just cause in a hearing before the Commissioner of Education. This pamphlet, designed to assist boards in filing dismissal proceedings for unsatisfactory tenured teachers, provides a comprehensive review of all recent tenure…

Courts generally rule against drug testing of public employees. A urine sample represents "unreasonable search" under the Fourth Amendment. Testing unreliability was illustrated in "Jones v. McKenzie." Factual, "reasonable suspicion" must exist for judicial approval. Tests do not resolve employee drug abuse;…

Intellectual property questions, as they concern college faculty, are composed of many issues and have substantial and far-reaching implications for the work of faculty and students and for administrative decision making. Both faculty and the American Association of University Professors must become involved to guard against incursions of academic…

A central issue in litigation arising from adverse employment decisions affecting school personnel is the adequacy of due process procedures. Due process is required only if a teacher is able to establish a protected property or liberty interest. The first section of this chapter accordingly discusses the circumstances under which due process is…

In view of the dramatic increase in the numbers of laws and lawsuits since the 1960s, teachers must become aware of the privacy considerations and potential legal problems that may arise when writing a letter of recommendation or giving a verbal reference. They should become familiar with present common law doctrine and recent legislation…

Discusses five areas of the school environment lending themselves to the possibility of teacher and student teacher liability: negligence, malpractice, rights to privacy, field trips, and search of students and school property. Suggests specific guidelines for decreasing the possibility of adverse legal action. (NEC)

A discussion of legal aspects of college faculty efforts to profit from their research activities considers whether judicially acknowledged distinctions between faculty's academic and personal pursuits will apply in such cases of commercialization. Implications for increased regulation of core institutional and faculty activities are examined.…

This checklist is designed to reduce the prospect that a termination decision will be reversed in a grievance procedure, arbitration, state agency hearing, or court proceeding. The checklist is arranged under the following headings: (1) What is the real reason for considering firing this individual? (distinction between reduction-in-force and…

Questions and answers address: defining financial exigency, how tenure affects termination, selecting faculty for severance, faculty's due process rights, tenured faculty challenges to termination, the institution's responsibility, and the governing board's responsibility in policy formation and implementation. (MSE)

This handbook is the 16th in the series of monographs designed to summarize judicial decisions on elementary and secondary education. The cases included in the book were selected from judicial decisions found in federal and regional reporters for the period July 1, 1993, to June 30, 1994. The cases provide a general overview of school law issues…

This bulletin reviews the 1990-91 term of the U.S. Supreme Court in terms of its impact on public schools, finding that the Court tended to decline to review decisions by lower courts that gave school districts discretion to resolve questions of student and employee rights. Court opinions that were handed down are discussed, and the impact of…

The legal status of tenure rights threatened by financial exigency and the role of the American Association of University Professors in protecting those rights are considered. Accommodations of competing managerial, employee, and institutional interests that must be addressed are also discussed. Court cases are reviewed that deal with managerial…

Consists of 10 articles relating to various legal issues that could affect agricultural educators. Topics covered include (1) expectations for laboratory safety, (2) professional malpractice, (3) liability, (4) sex equity, (5) teacher rights and responsibilities, and (6) legal issues in supervised occupational experience programs. (CH)

This handbook makes clear what the legal rights and responsibilities of California teachers and students are with regard to moral and civic education. For example, the duty of teachers concerning the instruction of pupils in ethics, morals, manners, religion and democratic principles is explained through discussion of the values that teachers are…

Although the main purpose of a school district's evaluation system is to improve employees' performance, the evaluation procedures and the supporting documentation must also serve as evidence in the termination hearings of an unsatisfactory employee. Accordingly, this chapter provides practical advice to school administrators concerning…