As outlined in the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan; digital health, safety, and citizenship skills reflect the full set of knowledge and habits students can adopt to protect themselves and others in online spaces. For schools and districts, protecting student health and safety while those skills develop means taking an approach that can…

Indefinite school closures have left some school districts unprepared to manage the necessary provisions to provide an equitable education for all students. As learning hubs were launched for at-home learning guided by parents and students, accommodations for English Learners (EL), students with disabilities, and students receiving Special…

As the charter sector grows and evolves, information regarding these autonomous public schools of choice evolves as well. Prior to 2015, only a handful of reports included information about the status of students with disabilities in charter schools. In fall 2015, the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (NCSECS) published a…

Bullying is a common occurrence in U.S.'s schools and is currently at the forefront of national attention. Unfortunately, students with disabilities are frequently the targets of peer-on-peer bullying. The purpose of this article is to examine the legal ramifications when students with disabilities are bullied in school settings. We address court…

The National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (the Center) is deeply committed to ensuring that students with disabilities have equal access to charter schools and that charter schools are designed and operated to enable success for all students. To accomplish this goal, the Center conducts analyses and releases a comprehensive…

Scant information exists regarding the status of students with disabilities in the charter sector. With the release of the most recent U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (NCSECS) embraced the opportunity to examine these issues across the universe of…

Discusses a United States Supreme Court decision upholding Section 504 protection for an elementary school teacher fired due to recurrent tuberculosis. The school board may need to make reasonable accommodation for employees handicapped by contagious diseases. The Court might also interpret Section 504 as covering AIDS carriers. (MLH)

Pressured by public safety concerns, school boards have begun to adopt exclusionary policies and screening programs for pupils and employees infected with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) virus. This article reviews recent court decisions based on the "handicapped individual" defense and urges administrators to present…

Addresses the law as it pertains to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in public elementary and secondary schools. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has been used successfully in the majority of the AIDS cases discussed. (MLF)

School systems that allow handicapped students to participate in athletics may be open to liability suits if injury occurs; yet systems with a policy of excluding all physically impaired students from sports may be sued under Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act for denial of equal opportunity. (Author/JM)

Handicapped students are now protected by specific statutes in addition to the broad constitutional protection offered all students. As the number of related statutes, regulations, and case law decisions grew, assimilation became increasingly difficult. This publication attempts to meet educators' need for a succinct guide in special education…

This book provides school business administrators with an introduction to a variety of legal issues relevant to their professional roles. The book is divided into three major sections: management issues, employment issues, and constitutional issues. The topics covered in the seven-chapter section on management issues include board and district…