In New York State, private and religious schools are required to offer a curriculum "substantially equivalent" to what is available in local public schools. Substantial equivalency--which has been law for nearly 130 years--allows parents to direct the education of their children by enrolling them in the school of their choice, while also…

Challenges confront lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender public school teachers or those who are perceived as such or who desire to be open about their sexual orientations or gender identities or expression. Teachers who do not conform to gender and sexual orientation norms currently are and historically have been the subject of…

In this article, we explain how overly prescriptive, rigid state statutory and regulatory policy frameworks regarding teacher evaluation, tenure and employment decisions outstrip the statistical reliability and validity of proposed measures of teaching effectiveness. We begin with a discussion of the emergence of highly prescriptive state…

Recent efforts to change the teaching profession and teacher preparation include a number of innovations to use portfolio assessment, value added measures (VAM), accountability metrics and other corporate education reform ideas. These approaches may provoke considerable potential legal consequences. Traditional constitutional and civil rights…

This document describes Minnesota statutes and cases that provide rights, responsibilities, and protections for young people different from those applicable to adults. It gives legislators an overview of all laws affecting young people, serving as a reference aid for current state policies toward youth. It is basically a state guide, including…

The degree of proof needed for conviction in a criminal action (which is "proof beyond a reasonable doubt") is greater than the proof needed to obtain a judgment in a teacher-dismissal civil action (which is "a preponderance of the evidence"). (Author)

During the last two years, New York State has made considerable progress toward opening its government to public inspection. This report discusses New York's open-records law and the creation of the Committee on Public Access to Records, a group of individuals who "interpret the law, oversee its implementation, establish procedures, and…

This paper sets out the legal grounds for sexual harassment claims in education settings, and notes a number of pertinent cases that are illustrative of common legal and factual issues. Sexual harassment, including sexual abuse, is prohibited by federal and state statutes. Sexual harassment in the context of employment constitutes employment…

Intended for the professional workers with the deaf as well as for members of the legal profession, the text considers problems, including interpretation, that the deaf may have in coopeating with the legal system. Specific areas of legal concern covered include the following: contracts and relationships, injuries and accidents, criminal offenses,…

Summarizes federal regulations concerning academic advising, including defamation, negligence, privacy, disabilities, civil rights, duty to report crimes, and privilege. Relevant state laws, interpretations, hypothetical situations, and the possible institutional and personal penalties, both civil and criminal, of not following current laws are…

This report provides lawyers and service providers with legal information and analysis about issues affecting persons with developmental disabilities and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The report reviews relevant medical facts, discusses federal and state laws which define the rights and responsibilities of disabled individuals and…

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…

This monograph provides a comprehensive, concise, and current overview of the law-- specifically, legislation, regulations, and published court/administrative decisions--relating to gifted education for K-12 students. For students whose legal rights are based solely on their gifted status, the law largely boils down to (a) varying state statutes…

Frustrated by the federal government's new approach to desegregation of public colleges, states are taking steps to help more minority students persist and succeed in higher education. Conflicting court rulings over race-conscious desegregation remedies have added to the confusion. The most extensive state proposals are in Maryland, where public…

Several variants of the "melting pot" ideology have informed the actions of those responsible for educational policy-making in the United States. This ideology has increasingly come under attack by a variety of persons. The purpose of this paper is to outline several legal grounds on which this ideology has been and will be challenged and to spell…