When Jason Johnson, a student at the University of the Cumberlands in the eastern Kentucky hills, posted comments about his new boyfriend on his Myspace.com Web page, he unintentionally sparked a controversy that quickly embroiled the college, the president of the state senate, and Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher. The Baptist-affiliated college,…

The public profiling of schools as "effective schools", based on Grade 12 results, has resulted in a jingoistic race by many public schools to get their names on the "public notice board" of effectiveness recognition. Besides creating a skewed perception of school effectiveness, this public profiling of schools as effective…

This study assessed whether a classroom foundation based upon constitutional rights and responsibilities would help elementary and secondary school students with emotional disturbances who are being mainstreamed. The framework of Judicious Discipline, which balances individual rights against social responsibility, was applied in public school…

This handbook provides an overview of legal issues pertaining to the safety of public schools. Following the introduction, chapter 2 describes the governance model and philosophy on which American education is based. Court decisions and federal and state legislation that mandate the right to a safe school are discussed in chapter 3. The fourth…

This guidebook recommends methods for teachers to use to improve teacher-student interaction in the classroom, as a means of increasing student retention. Chapter I introduces eight major systems of classroom management which teachers may use as their values and the classroom situation dictate: "Behavior Modification,""Reality Therapy,""Discipline…

This publication contains articles that focus on the legal issues that confront schools when they use various means to maintain order and safeguard student well being, and examine the liability that may be imposed if they fail to do so. Following the foreword and the introduction, the articles include: (1) "Legal and Policy Issues in Curbing…

This document was developed to provide a comprehensive, single source of information about the rights and responsibilities of parents of handicapped children and the resources available to them. The first section focuses on why parents should be involved in their children's education and lists seven major reasons for parental participation. The…

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contains an implicit right to education, and the Charter's equality provisions offer an important tool for promoting the rights of the disadvantaged. The equality provisions are open-ended in nature and make the courts a new partner in educational decision-making, causing some educators to regard the…

Legislation enacted in 1978 and 1982 in New Jersey stipulated that a uniform recordkeeping system be established to gather information on reported offenses against persons, school buildings, and property. This report details the extent of violence and vandalism in the public schools of the state for the first 6 months of 1983. Of 593 districts,…

The individual rights of students as revealed in federal court decisions are surveyed and summarized. Following a brief outline of the overall judicial approach, using the Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District court case as an example, the document is arranged into two major parts. Part 1 examines compulsory attendance laws, dress and…

This book is intended to be used as a reference for schools that seek to create drug free educational environments and to discourage all forms of substance abuse by students and personnel. The publication examines pertinent legal principles, including search and seizure, drug testing (for students, athletes, and employees), due process and…

A compendium of proposals for model state laws intended to restore parental and local control and to improve teaching and discipline in elementary and secondary education is presented in this report. The proposals, together with explanatory passages, are presented in three categories: (1) parents' role in education, (2) teachers' role in…

This second report of the Desegregation Monitoring and Advisory Committee examines the problems and procedures of a court-approved desegregation plan for the St. Louis, Missouri public schools. Regular and nonregular student assignments and enrollments are discussed with respect to the racial composition of the student population and the type of…

All facets of society--educators, citizens, students, legislators, and judges--are concerned about and interested in solving the problem of disruptive behavior in schools. The literature on the causes and effects of, and possible solutions to, the problem of disruptive behavior in the classroom focuses on the teacher, classroom climate,…

The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of teacher concerns using the Teacher Concerns Checklist. Correlates of concerns of elementary and secondary teachers with varying levels of experience were identified from four major sources: (1) direct classroom observations; (2) pupil, peer, and supervisor ratings; (3) self report ratings…