School Law topics include: discipline, academic choices, desegregation and race-based admissions, employment, facilities use, federal funding, first amendment and dress codes, harassment, liability, privacy, religion, school governance, school security and discipline, special education, and vouchers.
Legal Issues and BYOD
With the ever-increasing focus on technology in education and limited district resources to purchase technology, more and more backpacks contain personal electronic devices, as schools adopt “bring your own technology” (BYOT) policies. This article examines the legal and policy questions that a district should consider when adopting a BYOT policy.
May 2013
How to Lower Unemployment Costs
Employees pay a tax for unemployment. (Wrong!) When you file for unemployment, you are entitled to it after working for so many years. (Wrong!) Employers just pay some of it, but what? (Sorta wrong.) I had to throw out everything I thought I knew about unemployment.
May 2013
The Value of Networking
It is a truism of ranchers everywhere that the safest place for cattle to be is in the middle of the herd. School boards can learn a lesson from this analogy. When it comes to issues of legal liability, the safest place for a board is to be near other boards.
April 2013
Online Student Speech and Tinker
As school officials encounter student speech that is or may be disruptive to the educational environment, they are learning (sometimes the hard way) just how far the Tinker standard stretches. Attempts to discipline students for online off-campus speech are increasingly met with legal resistance, but decisions differ in the threshold for disruption that is required before student expression can be regulated.
February 2013
Religion and School Food
With the diversity of religious diet requirements, and potential for legal challenges to school action in this area, it is important for school district to understand the constitutional and practical considerations involved when requests are made to accommodate specialized religious diets.
January 2013
Teachers Who Bully
Teacher bullying is more prevalent than most would acknowledge. Given the potential liability to districts, you are wise to recognize this issue as the ticking time bomb that it is, and take affirmative steps to identify, prevent, and address such behaviors before they become the next national headline.
December 2012
First Amendment Lawsuits and Schools
Whether a parent alleges certain components of the curriculum promote a particular religion, a student alleges a curricular activity infringes on his or her right to exercise religious beliefs, or a teacher alleges the free speech clause protects her right to select classroom materials, methods and topics, these challenges nearly always implicate the First Amendment.
November 2012
Choosing School Construction Systems
School districts commonly use three types of project delivery systems for public construction projects: design-bid-build, design-build, and the Construction Manager at Risk project delivery system. Here are some of the benefits and risks of each one.
October 2012
Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in Schools
Because teacher sexual misconduct is alarmingly common, a proactive, rather than reactive, approach at the district level is required to address this issue squarely and directly. Create an environment that is emotionally and physically safe and where teachers and students know in advance what behaviors are both acceptable and unacceptable.
August 2012
Complying with Title IX
Athletic equity is not simply about the number of sports teams available to either gender. Title IX addresses not only whether the allegedly underrepresented gender was denied equitable athletic opportunities, but also the requirement that athletes of both genders be provided with equitable athletic benefits.
August 2012
Title IX's Legacy
Thirty-three years ago, the disparities between boys’ and girls’ teams were striking. Peggy Hausler, a varsity player, shared a uniform with a JV player whose team played immediately before hers. The JV team would peel off their uniforms, and the “Women of Troy” put them on and took to the court.
August 2012
Five Things Your School Board Lawyer Wants You to Know
The arrival of new school board members, whether appointed or elected, almost always causes anxiety and anticipation in the hearts of the people they will work closely with. Here are five pieces of advice from a school board lawyer for new school board members that will help them do their job better.
July 2012
Liable for Student Achievement?
It is safe to assume that states and the federal government will continue their efforts to redefine and reconstitute the governance of school districts, and parents will try to legally hold school boards accountable for poor student performance. Accordingly, the best strategy for school boards is to improve student achievement.
May 2012
Will Autism Changes Mean Special Ed Changes?
Recently, the American Psychiatric Association proposed revisions for inclusion in the upcoming version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. As a school leader, you may find this news important. This version could change how autism is diagnosed, and revisions could result in fewer students receiving special education services.
April 2012
Good Governance: A Legal View
Effective school board leadership is found where there is effective preparation, communication, and teamwork. Each team member comes fully prepared for their role. Each participates in honest communication with others, learning and sharing. Each knows that it takes a team effort to ensure comprehensive success in all the responsibilities of the board.
February 2012
Putting a Face on Data
The public’s image of education has largely been shaped by the publication of test scores. It is essential that the public and the media hear the real story of public education in your schools. Here are five practical ways to serve as effective ambassadors for your schools.
January 2012
Food Allergy Disaster Prevention
When a school learns a student’s food allergy may require accommodations, it must take the same steps it would take to address any potential disability. If medical and anecdotal information support the need for accommodations, schools must address and accommodate an individual student’s needs in a written plan.
January 2012