This issue introduces a new feature for the journal, a section on legal issues related to personnel evaluation, instituted because litigation and legislation in the area of personnel evaluation seem to be on the increase. (SLD)

Unlike private parties, school districts have legal restraints on their ability to settle disputes in secret. Open records laws, state reporting statutes, judicial interpretations of public policy, and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution may all restrict a school district's ability to enter into valid settlement agreements containing…

Acknowledges the exemplary hiring practices of the Miami-Dade County (Florida) School District, but reiterates that throughout the United States, many professional educators are hired who lack the skills, compassion, and creativity to be in charge of children's education. (Author/SLD)

School boards may encounter legal complications when they enter into confidential agreements with problem employees. Case studies are presented involving open-records laws, child-abuse reporting laws, fraud and negligent misrepresentation, public policy, and constructive discharge. Recommendations for dealing with settlement agreements are…

Reviews a recent decision by the Sixth Court of Appeals that a community college instructor had a constitutional right to use the words "nigger" and "bitch" in the context of a classroom discussion in a course on interpersonal relations. Discusses the case in the context of other court decisions on a college's right to regulate an instructor's…

Legal suits concerning sexual abuse of students in the schools have increased since 1987. This paper examines recent cases involving child abuse in the schools from two perspectives. First, it reviews a line of federal cases that have considered whether school districts have an affirmative constitutional duty to protect children similar to the…