"School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders" provides comprehensive, practical information on relevant topics that impact the organization and administration of public schools. Students learn how to apply specific legal knowledge to real issues of daily life in the classroom and school through…

These qualitative case studies give the prospective superintendent a real-life look at life on the other side of the district CEO's desk. Two dozen superintendents reflect upon their first challenges and growth opportunities that arose during that all-important first year. They tell it like it is, no sugar-coating. The experiences they listed, in…

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…

Answers questions related to collective bargaining in education. Includes discussions of monitored meetings, health benefits, attorneys at the bargaining table, and hiring demand. (Author/DN)

Provided are guidelines for administrators in terms of the student newspaper function, the law, and journalistic ethics. (Author)

Boards of education should undertake the process of devising acceptable grievance procedures with great care and with the most expert advice available. A sensible, workable, and fair system is most likely to evolve if the board takes the initiative rather than waiting for demands by the teachers' associations. (WM)

Argues that the establishment of a solid working relationship with a competent lawyer is a regular part of the business of running a library, and provides practical advice on lawyer selection, fee arrangements, and the ground rules of legal representation. (RAA)

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…

The events surrounding legal challenges to minimum competency testing programs are described, and ways of coping with the experiences are suggested. Discussion primarily is based on five legal challenges to the Florida program although reference is made to suits in other states for contrast. Whenever a student is faced with a threat to promotion…

Describes in detail how one school board dealt with the problems of a school sex scandal, and offers nine pieces of advice for administrators who might find themselves confronted with a similar crisis situation. (WM)

This article presents 11 concrete policy guidelines to help school districts avoid some of the most common problems associated with the implementation of minimal competency testing. (Author/SJL)

The guide lists resources for the provision of vocational education to handicapped students. Each entry includes information on title, specific concern, groups served, intended users, contents, source, cost, availability, and ease of use. Entries are organized into the following four areas (sample subtopics in parentheses): exceptional students…

An insurance consultant explains some common misconceptions about school fire insurance and recommends steps for checking coverage. (Author/DN)

Explores the problems that embezzlement can cause to a child-care center and suggests ways to recover embezzled losses. Proposes accounting controls, fidelity insurance purchases, and criminal record checks of all prospective employees as some solutions for reducing the risk of embezzlement. (AA)

This handbook summarizes the legal obligations that public schools in Massachusetts have toward the state's children. It explains relevant state and federal laws and describes illegal but common school practices that can have a negative effect upon children. Primary emphasis is on informing the parents of school children about the legal…