This publication is intended to assist school personnel to expand their professional understanding of the problem of child abuse and neglect, improve their reporting procedures, and deal with prevention and support activities within the school and community. The nature, causes, extent, and effects of child abuse and neglect are treated briefly in…

Enactment of South Carolina's Education Improvement Act of 1984 taught several lessons about successful education reform. The law provides for raising student performance by increasing academic standards; strengthening the teaching and testing of basic skills; elevating the teaching profession; improving leadership, management, and fiscal…

In late 1982 Mississippi passed a massive school improvement program shaped around the effective schools concept as defined by Ron Edmonds. The characteristics of effective schools identified by Edmonds and made the cornerstone of the Mississippi legislation were that (1) the principal is a strong instructional leader; (2) the school has an…

Police are on duty around the clock. As the only available service agency during many hours of the day, they must cope with a variety of social problems, among them psychiatric and drug and alcohol emergencies that may not be criminal offenses but nevertheless pose a threat to the individual and the community. Few jurisdictions have developed a…

This report contains an explanation of the Wisconsin laws relating to school truancy; a review of truancy statistics, procedures, and penalties in selected Wisconsin school districts; and a sampling of alternative programs and procedures from other states to deal with truant pupils. Effective procedures for dealing with truant pupils and effective…

The information contained in this report was gathered from state departments of education and state organizations of local school administrators in 24 states. The purpose of the survey was to gather information on employment practices affecting school superintendents for the New Jersey Task Force on Business Efficiency of the Public Schools. The…

In past decades communities regionalized their high school districts to overcome size limitations. Now, community growth, changes in property values, and concern with self-governance have prompted interest in deregionalization. This is the study of a constituent community's desire to withdraw from a regional district. The study has four…

The most litigated issues involving teachers are the control of conduct of teachers and other employees. The disciplinary measures available are typically expressed or implied in state statutes. These normally include suspension, transfer, nonrenewal of contract, and discharge. The superintendent or board may be empowered to recommend the…

A topical overview of the solicitation and administration of private financial support for institutions of higher Education is presented, with particular attention to associated legal problems, both actual and potential. Contextual considerations discussed include the role of private donor funds in both private and public higher education and…

The report describes regulation of philanthropic organizations by federal, state, and self-regulatory groups within the organizations. It is the final volume in a five volume series examining the relationship between nonprofit institutions and their donors. Topics discussed in the first part of this volume are regulation of the philanthropic…

In the past decade the amount of legislation and litigation involving informal marriages has increased. Historically, a close connection between marriage and property law has existed. However, children today are less important for property inheritance purposes because informal marriages have increased in popularity and are accepted among diverse…

The controversy over whether parents should have the right to determine in detail the type and scope of their children's education harks back to colonial times and has been manifested more recently in court cases considering home instruction in lieu of public school attendance. This first chapter of a book on school law objectively examines both…

The major focus of this book is on patterns of family life that emerge when viewed through the perspective of the different phases of the family life cycle and the various pressures that have changed or reshaped family life during the course of history. Regardless of its title and because the U.S. government does not have a national policy on…

Reproduced here are the text of the 1982 Supreme Court decision "Plyler v. Doe" and its companion cases, "In Re Alien Children Litigation." An introductory statement explains that in this opinion the Court struck down a Texas law prohibiting tuition-free education for children of illegal aliens, on the grounds that education…