Purpose: A significant and growing body of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) research examines the experiences of students, employees, and the substance of leadership training. This project aims to complement this work by taking a macro-level look at the broader legal and policy issues that may constrain or enhance a school…

Chapter 6 of a book on school law attempts to identify and examine a few of the legal problems raised by minimum competency programs, which make successful performance on a standardized test a condition for receipt of a high school diploma. The three areas where minimum competency tests are most likely to be challenged are the equal protection and…

Although women in North Carolina increasingly enter the work force to stay and their "protected" status in marriage is no longer secure, North Carolina's women do not have economic equality under law with men. Husbands have full rights to the rents, profit, and control of entirety property and real estate during marriage; and no women…

This document begins a series of issues on employment and dismissal matters of interest to school administrators in North Carolina. It addresses some of the more basic employment concepts, first describing the legal requirements in the state. In North Carolina, local school boards' authority to hire employees is contained in a variety of statutes.…

Teacher improvement programs must comply with federal and state constitutional requirements for due process, equal protection, and freedom of speech, as well as state and federal laws covering collective bargaining, civil rights, and the authority to institute improvement programs. This booklet explores these legal considerations, focusing on…

Several variants of the "melting pot" ideology have informed the actions of those responsible for educational policy-making in the United States. This ideology has increasingly come under attack by a variety of persons. The purpose of this paper is to outline several legal grounds on which this ideology has been and will be challenged and to spell…

Officially incorporated in 1965 to advocate for equal opportunity for all, especially students of Hispanic ancestry, and greater opportunities for Hispanic professionals at all levels of the teaching field, the Association of Mexican American Educators, Inc., held its 13th annual conference October 26-28, 1978. The five position papers included in…

Legal issues of minimum competency testing derive from federal and state constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, and from common law. Constitutional provisions for equal protection, due process, and freedom of belief and privacy, are primarily federal; education provisions are state mandated. Only four court cases have directly…

The relationship between public schools and their employees is one of the most frequently litigated aspects of American education. Accordingly, the chapters in this text present a comprehensive and current report of legal issues in public school employment. Chapter titles and authors are as follows: (1) "Critical Elements of the Employment…

A wide variety of contemporary legal issues are addressed in the 15 separate papers that make up this volume. The introductory chapter by William C. Bednar, Jr. provides a broad-based rationale for "Preventive School Law." Chapters 2 and 3, both by Gerald A. Caplan, review "Current Issues in Reduction-in-Force" and "First Amendment Claims by…