Discusses employers' duty to accommodate employees' requests for religious leave, based on the case of "Ansonia Board of Education v. Philbrook." A school board denied a high school teacher's request for three days of paid, personal business leave to supplement his paid religious leave. The final court decision turned on "reasonable…

Considers recent issues of school law and implications for local districts: the right of untenured school employees on short-term contracts to property interest in continued employment ("Vail vs. Board of Education"), and the constitutionality of public display of religious symbols at Christmas ("Lynch vs. Donnelly"). (JW)

A recent case from Maine shows why public officials must resist the urge to retaliate against employees who voice criticism. Employers must be able to prove they would have made the same adverse personnel decision, documented with detailed and credible explanations for the action, no matter what the employee said. (MLF)

Reviews the Supreme Court student search policy in relation to a recent decision concerning a Pima County, Arizona, high school student search that revealed cocaine but was found to be an illegal search. Also reviews the lower court decision in "Loudermill v. Cleveland Board of Education," which found that the school had provided its…

Examines a recent decision by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in "Montgomery v. Carr," which determined whether the law permits a school board to have an antinepotism or conflict-of-interest policy that prohibits spouses, parents, and children from working in the same school or district. The court found that the school district…

In the federal case from New Jersey, "Taxman v. Board of Education of Township of Piscataway," the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a school board cannot use affirmative-action guidelines to decide which employees will be laid off. This article explains the precedents upon which the court based its August 1996 decision. (LMI)

Reviews four recent cases decided in state and federal courts. The cases focused on due process in student suspensions, the use of unlawfully obtained evidence in disciplinary hearings, unacceptable methods for handling personnel conflicts, and the application of voluntary affirmative action policies during periods of staff reduction. (PGD)