In most school systems in the United States, interscholastic sporting events and other extracurricular activities help bring people together while enhancing opportunities for students to become integral parts of their communities. Because of the important role that extracurricular activities, especially sports, play in the lives of students,…

School business officials and other education leaders worry now more than ever about facing legal battles. Maybe today's parents are more likely to run to the lawyer's office. Or maybe they simply expect everything to be a certain way--their way. Regardless, the result is the same: today's school leaders are likely to find themselves having to…

Studies of growing negligence litigation against school districts demonstrate that all school personnel should become knowledgeable about basic legal tenets. Inspection of facilities and grounds should be a daily responsibility, as well as care of employees and adults present on school premises. (CJH)

An alternative to school district protection during the current insurance crisis is self-insurance consolidation, which can eventually reduce premiums and enable needed tort reform. (CJH)

In light of certain legal paradoxes following the 1954 "Brown versus Board of Education" Supreme Court decision, this article reflects on developments relating to desegregation, individuals with disabilities, and women. Unfortunately, schools are becoming more segregated, disabled individuals' employment picture remains dismal, and women…

As many court cases demonstrate, insuring against punitive damages is a complex issue facing school districts. Districts should secure competent legal counsel when purchasing liability insurance that specifically covers all potential punitive awards. (12 citations) (CJH)

E-mail has created friction between school districts' proprietary needs and employees' privacy rights. This article examines e-mail law (constitutional, statutory, and common) and issues (employer monitoring, discover problems, admissibility, and attorney-client privilege) and provides policy guidelines. The 1996 Communications Decency Act,…

The Insurance Service Office's extensive revisions of its commercial general liability policy, including the "claims made" coverage, have been approved in most states. Before accepting a policy in today's insurance market, purchasers should be aware that defense costs can create problems during settlement negotiations. (CJH)

During the last 12 months, the highest courts in 5 states have issued opinions on the constitutionality of their public school funding systems. Briefly reviews decisions and discusses possible future directions of this litigation based on an analysis of the 3 decades of litigation since "Serrano v. Priest" (1971). (Contains 11…

Although the two religion clauses in the First Amendment don't mention neutrality, 40 years of U.S. Supreme Court decisions have integrated that concept into their interpretations. Current understanding of neutrality has been shaped by defining benchmarks: enactment of the 1984 Equal Access act; inclusion of religious speech as a subset of free…

Site-based school management opens the possibility of problems in districtwide risk management and liability prevention programs. Describes a program to transfer prevention law and risk management strategies to individual school sites. Cautions that only duly authorized agents of local school boards can commit boards to contractual obligations.…

An electronic news service called REDINET provides Indiana school management with statewide coverage of legislative committees, state agencies, and others. Individual school districts and subgroups are also able to communicate with each other. (MLF)

A number of cases have been litigated challenging the basic administrative right of a board of education to close a school. The suits are discussed based on the nature of the challenge against the school board. (MLF)

An analysis of school district student injury reports revealed that 62 to 80 percent of all elementary school injuries were occurring on the playground, and that students were the major cause of injury. After a series of student-orientation rules and staff-orientation programs, injuries as a pilot site decreased by 78 percent for the year. (MLF)