This document consists of the speeches given at the 1971 New Jersey School Law Forum. The Forum is held to encourage the research of timely legal issues involving the structure and operation of the New Jersey public schools, to assist the school law practitioner by affording him the opportunity to hear and discuss research and opinion on selected…

Eleven annotations from the ERIC system concern school districts' experiences with declining enrollments. Some of the abstracts deal with forecasting models; some with suggestions for expanding educational services to the community; and others with the effects that declining enrollments will have on teacher tenure and negotiation agreements. (MLF)

Articulates the four most significant areas of potential tenure reform. Offers the strengths and weaknesses of each proposal and provides examples of why such suggestions have been made and what has occurred. Concludes with some alternative suggestions for addressing current problems in academia that do not involve eliminating tenure. (MJP)

This report attempts to summarize recent attitudes toward and developments in tenure-related issues in American higher education. Modern academic tenure rests on the principles of academic freedom and economic security. Currently, public perceptions of the notion of tenure are often quite negative, with some critics charging that educators have…

Issues concerning an aging faculty are discussed, including faculty vitality and quality in an era of institutional constraints and limited career opportunities, restricted mobility of faculty between institutions, and limited recruitment of young faculty. Perspectives of the faculty and their institutions about these issues are outlined, and…

This paper discusses a variety of incentives that can make a difference in attracting and retaining high quality teachers. These incentives include salaries, retirement benefits, working conditions, quality of life, tenure and seniority rights, and sick leave. The states in the Northeast vary considerably in their ability to attract quality…

This in-progress program and resource study presents an actual case study in developing an alternative to tenure. The College of St. Francis implemented during the 1979-80 academic year an alternative system, the Three Year Rolling Contract. It stated that all faculty members have academic freedom under any form of appointment; upon appointment as…

This handbook is designed to help Illinois school administrators and school board members achieve fairness and legality in teacher dismissal proceedings. In their discussion, the authors focus entirely on the procedures to be followed once it appears that dismissal is warranted; they make no attempt to define the legitimate causes for dismissal or…

Examines a group of cases showing there are few restraints on a board of education's right to hire and reappoint only the best teachers and administrators. A board's decision not to renew the contract of an "average" teacher in order to look for a better teacher will stand. (MLF)

The use of seniority in current school layoff and transfer practices and the impact of seniority provisions on school operations are examined in this paper. The data for the study came from two sources: interviews with teachers, principals, union leaders, and district administrators in four school districts (drawn from a national sample) facing…

The appropriateness of proposed Standard 405(e), which stipulates employment conditions of full-time clinical (law) faculty members, is considered. This proposal of the Accreditation Committee of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) would establish job security, economic equality, and a governance voice for clinicians who are not…

The outcomes of court decisions concerning faculty employment (e.g., nonrenewal and termination) during 1976-80 were evaluated, along with the level of knowledge among college and university officials about these judicial developments. The primary data source is the "Yearbook of Higher Education Law"; the secondary data source was a sample of 97…

An overview of current literature about alternatives and variations to existing concepts of tenure of faculty is presented. Tenure continues the appointment of faculty until retirement unless there is dismissal for adequate cause or unavoidable termination because of financial exigency or change of institutional program. Academic freedom is…

School districts are increasingly squeezed between increasing operating costs and the growing difficulty of raising new revenue. Most causes of this situation are beyond the control of school officials; they can only control staffing and educational programs. Because 80 percent of most school budgets go for salaries and related expenses, any major…

At issue in this case is the validity of specified uses by North Carolina of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE), a standardized testing program produced and administered by Educational Testing Service. This brief amicus curiae is designed to assist the Court in distinguishing among the valid and inappropriate uses of the NTE and the different…