Court decisions regarding the right of teachers to select instructional materials and methods show teachers have some authority, as do administrators and boards of education. None of the groups has limitless power. Offers guidelines to help prevent misunderstandings and conflicts. (MLF)

Suggests that the constitution or structure of schools should be democratic to foster democracy. Discusses the value of parents' voices in decision making, but warns of the tendency toward bureaucracy. Argues that structural indexes must be formulated so that they can be transformed into instructional processes by a coupling of…

Survey of 24 midwestern school attorneys, 31 midwestern school administrators, and 22 law professors identified the most important school law cases in 10 categories: students' rights, due process, search and seizure, school attendance, rights of the handicapped, school curriculum, church and state, school desegregation, school finance, and…

The purpose of this book is to answer questions regarding Illinois statutes, case law, and an administrative rules in force as of January 1, 1998. The book is designed for the lay men and women serving on school boards and in other official capacities, but it also answers legal questions commonly raised by teachers, parents, students, and others…

The focus of this chapter is on the substantive constitutional protections of the public school employment relationship guaranteed by the First Amendment, particularly freedom of speech, and by the Fourteenth Amendment's right to privacy. Included are burden-of-proof standards required for establishing a prima facie case of denial of these…

Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, providing for legal action to redress deprivation of constitutional rights by agencies of the state, has become a popular medium for remediation of alleged substantive and procedural wrongs by school officials. The success of Section 1983 actions against public schools has led to attempts to extend such…

Examines two related issues: the right of teachers to select instructional materials and to select instructional methods. Court decisions indicate that materials and methods must have educational value, relevance, and suitability to the age and maturity of the students. Prior administrative approval, while not necessarily required, is beneficial.…

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…

Discusses the differing legal issues involved when a teacher-coach wishes to retain a coaching assignment, in contrast to one who desires to relinquish it. Case law shows that the coaching position has no tenure and teacher-coaches can lose their teaching position when they request relief from coaching. (MLF)

Teachers and coaches once held a special place in the hearts and minds of the American public; however, times have changed. Students are quick to question authority and parents are more willing to retain the services of an attorney to solve their problems. Elementary and secondary school physical education teachers are especially vulnerable…

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…

A nationwide controversy over the right of privacy has arisen as a result of companies probing into their workers' habits and health through such means as mandatory drug tests, electronic databases, and lie detector tests. The legal claims arising from these civil suits against employers for invasion of privacy have established precedents that are…

This speech reviews the power of school boards with respect to dismissal, and identifies implications of due process for supervision and evaluation, particularly as it relates to incompetence as a basis for dismissal. The first section defines the state-sanctioned powers of a school board, including the difference between discretionary and…

This paper--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002--is an outline of a presentation on monitoring the activities of students and school personnel. The dilemma, according to this paper, is that public schools are obliged to prevent persons under their supervision from…