This article addresses the substantial changes that Congress made in the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act concerning discipline of students with disabilities. It analyzes both the procedural and substantive requirements related to suspending students, expelling students, and conducting functional behavioral…

Examines the legal issues that may have impacts on charter schools. Considers the results of a study of the impact of charter school laws on urban schools (E. Rofes, 1998). Questions whether charter schools are public institutions and examines the key constitutional issues they face. Also reflects on labor issues and dealing with teachers' unions.…

Educational systems are falling short of addressing the needs of sexual minority students. Not only are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students left off the list of diversities needing services, but they are also at times targeted by students and educators as deserving of attack. The damages done by the educational system, either through…

Graduate students preparing themselves for a career in school administration are typically apprehensive about the legal issues they will face in their first administrative position. After teaching school law for the first time, the author believed that there had to be a more effective way to reach these students rather than the traditional methods…

Intended to help in the forensic investigation of child abuse allegations, this book explores several issues related to children's allegations of sexual abuse and subsequent testimony. Chapter 1 presents an overview of: the informational needs of child welfare agencies and the courts; the scope of the forensic assessment; and the standards and…

As in most workplaces, sexual harassment has been an issue of significant magnitude in educational institutions as well. It has left the education community with many questions about what constitutes sexual harassment, how to prevent it, and how to deal with the legal problems that may arise concerning it. This report dispels several myths about…

This book examines issues related to faculty tenure, discrimination, and court litigation at American colleges and universities. It also analyzes legal cases, court rulings, personnel practices, and specific types of discrimination germane to reappointment, promotion, or denial of tenure in higher education. Individual chapters concentrate on the…

Mediation is a process that enables two or more persons in a dispute to find mutually agreeable solutions to their differences with the aid of a mediator. The mediator does not take sides, but helps the disputants consider their options. Mediation is voluntary, and disputing parties must agree to participate. Furthermore, the mediator does not…

This bibliography contains approximately 80 abstracts of publications, dated from 1991 through 1996, concerned with the provision of educational services for students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Each one-page reference includes bibliographic information (author, title, publication date, journal, publisher, place of publication);…

Detailed explanations of the legal issues involved in teacher evaluation are discussed in this concise handbook. The basis for discussion is a self-assessment designed for response by the reader. The answers to the self-assessment instrument and explanations of them are discussed under 13 headings: (1) The Use of Test Scores; (2) Negotiability and…

Divided into three parts, this book was written to foster healing for divorcing parents and to help divorcing couples support their children. Part one deals with interpersonal issues and individual growth. The reader is lead through the personal processes of divorce; actions parents can take to help themselves and their children adjust to the…

This newsletter on collective bargaining in higher education and the professions devotes nearly all this issue to an analysis of a recent Supreme Court decision ruling that licensed nurse practitioners are supervisors who are therefore excluded from collective bargaining protection. The "National Labor Relations Board, Petitioner versus…

Because affirmative-action programs require governmental entities to act in a race-conscious and/or gender-conscious manner, public employers' affirmative-action programs may be challenged under both Title VII and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This document describes the standards of review by which…

Citing longstanding educational deficiencies in the Jersey City Public School System, the New Jersey State Board of Education unanimously voted to take control of the district on October 4, 1989. This paper studies the first year of New Jersey's takeover policy for failing school districts. Data were collected through interviews, direct…

This paper examines how a merit-pay award may lead to employer liability under the following types of laws: constitutional (federal and state); federal and state statutory law; and the common or case law handed down by the federal and state court judges. First, several court decisions are presented to indicate the status of the law as it is likely…