Several years ago, the Legislature adopted significant amendments to the basic conflict of interest statute for local elected officials, primarily in the area of financial thresholds, but also in the area of scope of enforcement. This is an important area of the law for board members and superintendents, so a current and thorough knowledge of the…

The third edition of the National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth's (NDTAC's) "Transition Toolkit" provides updated information on existing policies, practices, strategies, and resources for transition that build on field experience and research. The "Toolkit" offers…

A leading introductory text, this authoritative volume comprehensively describes the school psychologist's role in promoting positive academic, behavioral, and emotional outcomes for all students. The book emphasizes a problem-solving-based, data-driven approach to practice in today's diverse schools. It grounds the reader in the concepts and…

This guide is intended to give individual school board directors an introduction to some of the legal issues they may encounter in their board service. This material is not intended to answer every question, even in the subject matter areas they cover. This guide is merely intended to alert directors to the legal issues that they will encounter…

Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are developed by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Each TIP involves the development of topic-specific best-practice guidelines for the prevention and…

This monograph focuses on practical information and offers guidelines for professional counselors who practice marriage and family counseling. It discusses the importance of specialized training for professional counselors to ensure working ethically with couples and families, and it reviews divorce, child custody, and child abuse and neglect,…

This presentation was meant to identify for principals some of the issues surrounding the education of the handicapped by the use of questions and answers that include citations of selected federal court cases. Issues discussed include history of the education of the handicapped, problems related to handicapped student identification and testing…

Cultural differences, socioeconomic conditions, broken homes, and other problems are not grounds for allowing criminal acts to go unchallenged on school property. This publication shows administrators how to control and reduce the incidence of criminal acts, which create fear, anxiety, hostility, and a loss of confidence in the educational system.…

Nearly every legislative session in the last decade has changed state law in a way that requires school board members and superintendents to be more highly sensitized to conflict of interest issues, regardless of the size of their district. Prior state law simply forbade most opportunities for financial conflicts of interest, especially those…

Discusses case law regarding schools and strip searches of students, and offers five generalizations regarding the matter. (SR)

Legal issues in liability for and prevention of injuries through negligence are discussed: proving negligence, who is owed a duty of care, who may be sued, remedies, risk management (shifting risk, insurance, indemnification, waivers and releases), and preventing claims (warning of known danger, proper supervision, school maintenance, security,…

Corporate sponsorship is a marketing strategy by which companies communicate about their products or services by affiliating with events or institutions valued by targeted customer groups. Increasingly, campus communicators are seeking to establish corporate sponsorships but first must resolve legal and ethical concerns. Various types of…

Foundations affiliated with public higher education institutions can avoid having to open records for public scrutiny, by having independent boards of directors, occupying leased office space or paying market value for university space, using only foundation personnel, retaining legal counsel, being forthcoming with information and use of public…

Garland Independent School District (Texas) has a clear-cut policy of free choice regarding union membership and has placed firm restrictions on union activities during shool hours. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld these restrictions but struck down a superintendent's claim that teachers' private communications violated district…

Three categories of legal issues generated by computers on campus are examined: copyrights on programs developed by students, faculty, or staff; contracts in purchasing computers and torts concerning wrongful use; and the expectation that schools will respond to legal/ethical issues differently than commercial organizations. Suggestions for…