The Virginia Board of Education's "Student Conduct Policy Guidelines" were first developed in 1994 in response to action by the 1993 General Assembly requiring the Virginia Board of Education to establish such guidelines. In 2004, the "Guidelines" underwent a major revision in response to requirements of § 22.1-279.6. of the…

Education leaders are re-examining acceptable use policies in light of the increasing use of highly mobile information technologies. While acceptable use policies were developed to manage and control behaviour, a digital citizenship policy takes a more comprehensive approach by recognizing the important role of education in preparing digital…

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…

The number of staff members serving American higher education institutions has more than doubled in the past twenty years, as occupations in technology, development, government relations, and even athletic administration have grown as never before in the history of the academy. As the number, variety, and importance of these positions have grown,…

This paper provides an overview of legal responsibilities of school districts relating to "Do Not Resuscitate" (DNR) orders for children who are medically fragile. It addresses the incidence of school children who are medically fragile and differences in state laws that affect DNR orders. Attitudes that are preventing school districts…

Several cases are examined in which students with criminal records, disclosed and undisclosed, were admitted to colleges and universities illustrate issues in college responsibility and liability, including duty of reasonable care in protecting other students and staff, application of standards of negligence in hiring to college admissions, risk…

Discusses use of age-related criteria in hiring/continued employment practices in higher education, focusing on an exception in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act allowing employment-related decisions based on "reasonable factors other than age." The language appears to allow limited use of express age criteria where the employer's…

This paper provides school districts with information about determining the need for and providing assistive technology services and devices to children and youth with disabilities. Determinations about the needs of students are made on a case by case basis through the development of a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP). Once the IEP…

The amount of knowledge that site and central office administrators possess about the ethical use of computer software in schools is assessed in this report. Specific questions addressed included the existence of related policies, administrators' knowledge of policies, and degree of site compliance. Four district and 10 site administrators were…

Summarizes and compares Public Health Service rules and National Science Foundation policy concerning conflict of interest in research projects, and describes how large research universities have implemented them and developed appropriate conforming documents for disclosure and reporting purposes. Also discusses institutional considerations and…

Current approaches used by private colleges and universities to manage trustee conflicts of interest are analyzed, and recommendations are made for developing appropriate trustee conflict-of-interest policies. Many of these institutions have not expressly adopted adequate policies that procedurally and substantively address the problem, despite…

Sexual harassment of students by their teachers, teaching fellows, professors, school administrators, and peers is a growing problem in the educational institutions of the United States. Offers a legal framework for analyzing the problem with a review of the literature, legal arguments based on federal legislation, and analysis of the principles…

Specific training materials are presented in this handbook to help principals accomplish five critical tasks: which include preparation of an annual school improvement plan; supervision of student discipline; management of student activities; supervision of course content guides; and student evaluation. A section module on each task includes an…

One reason all 50 states have passed laws requiring school personnel to report suspected child abuse is that the school may be the primary setting in which children interact on a regular basis with nonfamily members. Because teachers interact with children on a daily basis, they are particularly well positioned to spot unusual behaviors in…

This guide for administrators provides a step-by-step process for establishing new or revised policies to deal with student misuse of alcohol and other drugs on college campuses. Emphasis is on a new doctrine of environmental management which stresses the school's responsibility to take measures against foreseeable hazards and risks in the school…