Analyzes Georgia high-stakes testing case involving administrative law judge's recommendation (subsequently approved) that fifth-grade science teacher's teaching certificate be suspended for giving his students pretest copies of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Suggests No Child Left Behind Act will spawn similar litigation in the future. (PKP)

The Connick vs. Myers Supreme Court decision regarding public employees' right to express themselves has been applied to public schools in two recent federal court cases. The rulings suggest school boards may discipline school employees for disputes over internal office matters but must tolerate their dissent over public matters. (DCS)

Dismissing a teacher for insubordination is usually acceptable to the courts when the teacher willfully defies reasonable and specific regulations and orders despite repeated and clear directives that such behavior must cease. (PGD)

An elementary school teacher from Worcester, Massachusetts, was reprimanded and received a two-day suspension and a series of involuntary transfers after being reluctant to turn a case study (done for a college class) of a disturbed student in to her principal. Rights of privacy of public employees are discussed and Supreme Court decision in…

Describes 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in "Cockrel v. Schelby County School District," involving a fifth-grade teacher's claim that she was unlawfully terminated for teaching a unit on the industrial use of hemp, thus violating her First Amendment right of free speech. (PKP)

Reviews court decisions since Pickering v. Board of Education and Mt. Healthy v. Doyle, and suggests guidelines for balancing teachers' claims of first-amendment protection with need for orderly school administration. Ends by summarizing lawful restrictions on criticism of administrators and notes the elements of litigants' respective burdens of…

Immoral behavior does not automatically provide the basis for dismissal of a teacher or administrator. There must be a proven causal connection or nexus between the behavior and job performance. (Author/WD)

Teachers are increasingly being awarded court cases for infringement on their civil rights by boards of education. (LH)

Recent court definitions of immoral conduct require that employers establish a nexus between the objectionable conduct and the individual's fitness to teach, while teacher plaintiffs have argued that dismissals for alleged immoral conduct violated various constitutional rights. This paper reviews a cross-section of recent court cases involving…

Recent court decisions concerning school board actions regarding the use of instructional materials indicate substantial deference to the judgment of the school administrators and board members. As long as boards act for a valid educational purpose, they have increasing freedom to decide the inculcation of values is more important than…

The most frequently cited causes for teacher dismissal are immorality, incompetence, and insubordination. The discussion in this chapter concerning these three causes encompasses the general judicial principles found in teacher dismissal cases. The discussion of dismissal for immorality focuses on three controversial areas of litigation: sexual…

Reviews factors considered by courts in judicial decisions concerning teachers involved in criminal offenses relating to alcohol and drug violations, larceny, theft, shoplifting, gambling, and manslaughter. The courts have held that when criminal conduct shows a connection between the offense and the teacher's effectiveness then cause exists for…

Local boards of education in New Jersey are authorized by law to withhold increments of staff members in certain circumstances. The purpose of this publication is to provide an analysis and summary of decisions involving a board's exercise of this authority, and it is intended to serve as a guide and a reference tool to be used in determining when…

A nationwide controversy over the right of privacy has arisen as a result of companies probing into their workers' habits and health through such means as mandatory drug tests, electronic databases, and lie detector tests. The legal claims arising from these civil suits against employers for invasion of privacy have established precedents that are…

One hundred twenty-five Chicago (Illinois) area elementary and secondary school teachers were surveyed through responses to a 44-item questionnaire to determine the extent of their knowledge of school law. Many of the questions were based on Illinois school law, and the findings are qualified by local school district practice and the…