In the last few years a variety of questions have arisen in the school context concerning the legal rights of persons seeking to record conversations. Guidance concerning the law governing these situations is based on the following conclusions: (1) neither the common law nor any federal law generally prohibits the tape recording of conversations to which one is a party; (2) however, 14 states have enacted statutes that require all parties to consent to the recording of conversations prior to so doing. In general, because of varying federal and state legislation and a paucity of court decisions, the law governing the recording of conversations is in considerable flux, and school principals desiring to record conversations in school without the consent or knowledge of all parties involved must proceed with considerable caution. This is especially true when these conversations are conducted on the telephone. Face-to-face conversations probably can be recorded without the consent or even knowledge of all parties in those states with one-party statutes in force or where no applicable statute exists. Even in these states, however, the use of recordings will probably be limited to the private refreshing of recollection and should not be released to third parties without careful consideration of their content. (MLF)