Part of a 13-volume series designed to help Lutheran communities assess the feasibility of starting a Lutheran elementary school and to assist ongoing schools in current operation, this volume is intended to help Lutheran boards of education clarify their role and make policy. The first part of the document deals with role, function, and…

The recent United States Supreme Court decision in "Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools" highlights the additional risks facing school districts and employees under federal statutes and the common law as a result of sexual misconduct by school employees. The "Franklin" case illustrates that damages could be available to…

Over 100 former board of education members from Oregon completed a questionnaire originally prepared by the "American School Board Journal" for the purpose of investigating why school board members leave their positions. This document presents the full results of the Oregon survey and also provides a summary of the findings and an…

A survey of a random sample of 165 Oregon school board members examined the degree to which they agreed with four standards for appropriate school board behavior. The standards were drawn from the literature intended to educate school board members about their proper roles. The respondents agreed strongly with three of the standards: that the…

A study of school board presidents and superintendents in Washington, Missouri, and New Jersey reveals that strict financial disclosure laws tend to reduce the number of professionals on boards; however, board members with professional occupations differ from other board members on a number of measures. (MLF)

Unless school boards link member training and school improvement plans to performance evaluations for themselves and their schools, the exercise might not be worth the time and effort. Board evaluation should focus on three general areas: board dynamics, policy process, and educational quality. Three evaluation approaches should be considered:…

In focusing on local school board response to citizen desires for change in public school operations and on significant issues changing education from the perspective of school boards, three principles must be kept in mind: (1) public schools are controlled by three arms of government at three levels; (2) the federal government has limited powers;…

The director of curriculum support services at Oregon's Wasco Education Service District discusses methods that superintendents, board members, and school leaders can use to control conflicts in their school organizations. Surveyed were 239 Oregon school board members and 135 superintendents who were asked to identify which of the following…

Addressed to school board members, this article attempts to summarize requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its implications for school districts. It warns against hasty purchase of private compliance assistance; then provides an overview of each of the Act's five Titles which address employment practices, activities…

This bulletin explores the roles that various stakeholders have in systemic reform and offers some recommendations for action. Data were derived from a review of research on systemic education reform and interviews with four Oregon administrators. Chapter 1 provides a sampling of the diverse groups that are calling for reform and offers some of…

This School Research Newsletter presents the research program of the National Swedish Board of Education (NBE), as adopted by the NBE Board of Directors in June 1982. The successive decisions on decentralization taken in the educational sector since 1976 have led also to a decision to alter the thrust of the research and development work within at…

These four consecutive issues of the quarterly newsletter, "Board Focus," distributed by the Community College League of California, are dated spring, summer and fall 1997, and spring 1998. The spring 1997 issue discusses the "town vs. gown" conflict, which entails trustees balancing their obligations to operate the college on…

This document contains 4 issues of the Trustee Quarterly: fall 2000, spring 2001, summer 2001, and fall 2001. The fall 2000 issue contains seven features and six departments. Among the features are: "The New Economy: Who Will Lead the Education Movement," by Rucker; "Community Colleges Tackle IT Staffing Challenges," by Matina; and "Looking at…

Behavioral scientists maintain that a board-superintendent relationship thrives only within a total organization that is sound and healthy. To develop such an organization, agreement should be reached at the onset on what exactly is board policy and prerogative and what is in the administrative domain. A board must develop its goals with the…

Representatives of Saskatchewan school boards have formed the Small Schools Network, which met three times in 1995 to share ideas regarding small schools. This first report from the Small Schools Network articulates significant concerns and questions related to education in small schools. Unclear definitions of the small school present a barrier…