The Principal's Legal Handbook, 6th Edition

Available as ebook only through Amazon

Available in print from ELA only as the complete book

Janet R. Decker, Maria M. Lewis, Elizabeth A. Shaver, Ann E. Blankenship-Knox, Mark A. Paige, eds. (2017) (6th ed.)

Softcover, 840 pages
Monograph #96
ISBN-13: 978-1-56534-178-4

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The Principal’s Legal Handbook, 6th Edition pools the experience and expertise of over sixty scholars and practitioners, providing readers with important recent legal changes affecting schools today, and helping to translate the law for education professionals who do not have a legal background.

Each chapter in this new edition – a substantial revision of Education Law Association’s best-selling 5th edition, published in 2013 – highlights the most critical issues and provides practical recommendations, followed by listings of cases and key words discussed in the chapter.

Students and the Law

The handbook begins with chapters focusing on students. Topics covered include: discipline, freedom of expression; search and seizure; records; student promotion, retention, and graduation; child abuse; student sexual harassment; off-campus speech; truancy; and homeschooling.

Special Education and the Law

Next, the attention turns to the specific student group of students with disabilities. This section focuses on federal disability law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Topics include eligibility, IEPs, least restrictive environment, related services, transition planning, discipline, parental rights, and assessment.

Teachers and the Law

The third section addresses issues associated with teachers. Specific topics include dismissal, certification, academic freedom and censorship, sexual harassment in the workplace, evaluations, student injury, documentation, and curriculum.

Schools and the Law

The final section delves into general issues affecting schools. The chapters cover the Every Student Succeeds Act, religion, copyright, charter schools, collective bargaining, school funding litigation, affirmative action, desegregation, and English Language Learners.

This new edition of The Principal’s Legal Handbook is useful for a wide variety of professionals – educational leadership instructors and professors, attorneys, school leaders, teachers, and others – to update their knowledge about current legal issues in schools.

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Introduction

Chapter 1: How to Use The Principal’s Legal Handbook to Increase Legal Literacy

Chapter 2: The American Legal System

Section A: Students and the Law

Chapter A1: Student Discipline Hearings and Due Process
Chapter A2: Addressing Discriminatory and Exclusionary Discipline Practices
Chapter A3: Freedom of Expression
Chapter A4: Searches in Public Schools
Chapter A5: Student Records
Chapter A6: Promotion, Retention, and Graduation
Chapter A7: Child Abuse
Chapter A8: Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment
Chapter A9: Civil Liberties in Cyberspace
Chapter A10: Truancy
Chapter A11: Homeschooling and the Law

Section B: Special Education and the Law
Chapter B1: Fundamentals of Federal Disability Law
Chapter B2: Discrimination under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act
Chapter B3: Qualifying for Special Education and Related Services under IDEA
Chapter B4: IEPs, Least Restrictive Environment, and Placement
Chapter B5: Related Services under the IDEA
Chapter B6: Secondary School Transition Planning
Chapter B7: Disciplining Students with Disabilities
Chapter B8: Parental Rights, Procedural Safeguards, and Due Process

Section C: Teachers and the Law
Chapter C1: Teacher Dismissal
Chapter C2: Teacher Certification
Chapter C3: Academic Freedom and Censorship
Chapter C4: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Chapter C5: Evaluations
Chapter C6: Student Injury
Chapter C7: Documentation
Chapter C8: Curriculum in Public Schools

Section D: Schools and the Law
Chapter D1: The Evolution of NCLB to ESSA
Chapter D2: Religious Influences and Accommodations in Public Schools
Chapter D3: Copyright Laws in K-12 Settings
Chapter D4: Charter Schools
Chapter D5: Collective Bargaining in Public Schools
Chapter D6: School Funding Litigation
Chapter D7: Affirmative Action
Chapter D8: School Desegregation during an Era of Continuing Judicial Disengagement
Chapter D9: English Language Learners

Key Word Index