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…

To guarantee an efficient educational system, effective evaluation and supervision of teacher performance are necessary. However, the evaluation of teacher performance presents two major problems: first, no clear definition or measure of effective teaching exists, and second, evaluation is perceived to have conflicting purposes, either as a…

Teacher improvement programs must comply with federal and state constitutional requirements for due process, equal protection, and freedom of speech, as well as state and federal laws covering collective bargaining, civil rights, and the authority to institute improvement programs. This booklet explores these legal considerations, focusing on…

At least 17 university faculty members have been the direct objects of unfavorable public commentary by the conservative organization Accuracy in Academia, Inc (AIA). Two case studies that have received much attention involve two political science professors: Dr. Terry Anderson of Texas A & M University, and Dr. Mark Reader of Arizona State…

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 pamphlet provides information necessary to analyze existing grievance procedures and sets forth principles to guide the formulation of a more effective grievance process. The introduction defines the grievance procedure in a contractual contest, describes its benefits to management, union members, and private citizens; and briefly reviews key…

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…

Intended as a practical legal guide for Texas educators and lawyers, this book contains three major sections dealing with several chapters on various school law topics, each prepared by Texas attorneys. Section 1, "School Boards and Superintendents," includes chapters on school board members authority and relationship with staff, the…

Argues that parents and special interest groups should not be allowed to ban books from school libraries. States that an uncensored school library contributes to freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom to understand other cultures, and freedom to examine controversial issues. Notes that these freedoms contribute to helping children become…

The article explicates the rights and responsibilities of special educators and administrators in the suspension and expulsion of handicapped students from school. In addition to a discussion of Honig versus Doe, the article presents the common law principles that have been developed in federal litigation. (JDD)

Describes teachers' understanding of individualized instruction by presenting data collected from interviews with seven elementary school instructors. Finds a positive relationship between teachers' understanding of individualized instruction and their moral development as measured by the Defining Issues Test. Provides a number of interpretations…

Shows how political campaigning and legal action won a three-year battle (beginning in 1986) for tenure by an Asian Pacific American professor, D. Nakanishi, at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Describes the case's academic context, explains the legal alternatives, and analyzes the legal/political strategy adopted. (JB)

The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reexamine the free-speech case of a controversial City University of New York black studies professor, demoted from department chairman for making racially biased statements seen as disruptive. The rights of public universities to make such decisions was a central issue. (MSE)

In a lawsuit brought by six Virginia public university professors, a federal district court ruled that access to Internet material for academic purposes was a matter of public concern and that plaintiffs' interest in that material outweighed the state's regulating interests. The Fourth Circuit's reversal gave the state extensive authority over…