Summarizes major court cases that have provided some sense of the extent to which teachers may legitimately select course content and teaching methods. (RBW)

This book addresses the law-related concerns of school teachers. Much of the data on which the book is based was collected during a four year study, conducted by the American Bar Association with the support of the Ford Foundation. Court cases are cited. Chapter one examines "Tenure." Since tenure gives teachers the right to their jobs,…

The prevalence of home schooling is increasing. Parents educate their children at home for the sake of security, morality, and educational quality. Not only does home schooling offer the advantages of closeness and security, but advocates also assert that education in the home results in greater reading proficiency. On the other hand, antagonists…

This digest summarizes ethical and legal issues affecting school counselors. It emphasizes the importance of ethical standards, and of knowing the content, purposes, and limitations of professional codes of conduct as general guidelines for addressing difficult issues. Advice is offered on how to address colleagues' unethical behavior, and on…

The issue of drug testing is the focus of this ERIC Digest. Several aspects of drug testing discussed in question-and-answer format: (1) What is the current status of drug use in the schools? (2) What legal questions arise when schools consider drug testing? (3) How might drug testing be applied in a fair, economical, and legally safe manner? (4)…

Research conducted during the last decade supports the notion that educational reform must be comprehensive and systemic. This paper summarizes major issues and trends in the management of elementary-secondary education. The synthesis is designed to promote an understanding of how broad in scope systemic reform must be. Twelve chapters present…

Educational policy makers and administrators must choose from a bewildering variety of discipline models and techniques. Legal intervention and contradictory research findings further complicate the matter. There is, therefore, no cut-and-dried solution to student behavior problems. Rather, discipline policies must be based on community values,…

Historically, legal issues have not been well represented in the higher education research literature. Two sources, however, regularly discuss legal issues: the Journal of College and University Law and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Three main themes emerge in the literature on legal issues: (1) rethinking and refining of traditional…

Eight issues concerning academic freedom are discussed. The issues are: (1) the question of who should have the right to decide what should be taught; (2) the extent to which school districts should impose specific restrictions on subjects discussed in the classroom; (3) the controversy over the rights of teachers to refuse to teach content that…

After defining numerous terms related to physical and mental child abuse and neglect and presenting information on the prevalence and causes of abuse, this document explains areas of immediate concern for schools: (1) identification; (2) communicating with the student about possible abuse; (3) reporting suspected abuse; (4) assisting the abused…

In this annotated bibliography of 11 publications, 4 concern student suicide: (1) the role of the school in dealing with adolescent suicide; (2) a handbook for preventing suicide that includes warning signs and suggestions to help with the grieving process when a student suicide occurs; (3) guidelines for high school suicide prevention programs;…

Four subjects are the focus of this discussion of school law: sexual harassment, the copyright act, school discipline, and religion and the schools. In cases of sexual harassment of students by school personnel, a criterion for determining whether a school is liable involves the standard of "actual knowledge" in which school officials…

This monograph suggests solutions for the conflicts, especially prominent in recent years, between students and higher education institutions concerning their respective rights and responsibilities. The discussion focuses particularly on regulating offensive speech, rights of association and assembly, drug testing for athletes, and student safety…

An annotated bibliography of 11 publications on teacher tenure and teacher dismissal focuses on the responsibility of school policymakers and administrators to establish clear employment policies and maintain teacher evaluation records. Citing numerous court decisions, Joseph Beckham examines tenure, employment qualifications, contractual…

Intended as a reference volume for elementary and secondary school administrators, this annotated bibliography is divided into 20 chapters on topics of current interest in the educational field. A total of 307 annotations of documents and journal articles that have been indexed in the ERIC system are included. The materials selected for inclusion…