Kenneth Lane, Mark Gooden, Julie Mead, Patrick Pauken, & Suzanne Eckes, eds. (2008) (4th ed.)
paperback, 636 pages
Monograph #79
ISBN-13: 978-1-56534-134-0

The Principal's Legal Handbook contains information and recommendations for practice in four areas. Students and the Law yields interesting and informative answers on a number of issues related to students and the law: recent issues in schools relative to students' rights; the use of technology; and the latest case law and commentary on students' First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Special Education and the Law provides an overview of federal disability law as it applies to public schools today: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Teachers and the Law discusses academic freedom, teacher supervision and student injuries, sexual harassment in the workplace, censorship, teacher performance evaluations, documentation for teacher improvement, dismissal procedures, and teacher certification. Schools and the Law highlights current legal issues faced by public schools, specifically addressing religion in schools, curricular issues, alternative dispute resolution, desegregation, and affirmative action among other topics.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction: The American Legal System

Section 1: Students and the Law
Chapter 2: Student Discipline Law
Chapter 3: Freedom of Expression
Chapter 4: Searches in Public Schools
Chapter 5: Student Records
Chapter 6: Promotion, Retention, and Graduation
Chapter 7: Child Abuse
Chapter 8: Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment
Chapter 9: Civil Liberties in Cyberspace: Some Rights and Responsibilities in an Evolving Era of Technology
Chapter 10: Truancy
Chapter 11: Homeschooling and the Law

Section 2: Special Education and the Law
Chapter 12: Fundamentals of Federal Disability Law
Chapter 13: Discrimination under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Chapter 14: Barrier-Free Facilities
Chapter 15: IEPs, Least Restrictive Environment, and Placement
Chapter 16: Related Services under the IDEA
Chapter 17: Transition: Individuals with Disabilities
Chapter 18: Disciplining Students with Disabilities
Chapter 19: Parental Rights
Chapter 20: Assessing Students with Disabilities under the IDEA and NCLB

Section 3: Teachers and the Law
Chapter 21: Teacher Dismissal
Chapter 22: Teacher Certification
Chapter 23: Academic Freedom and Censorship
Chapter 24: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Chapter 25: Evaluations
Chapter 26: Student Injury
Chapter 27: Documentation
Chapter 28: Educational Curriculum

Section 4: Schools and the Law
Chapter 29: The No Child Left Behind Act
Chapter 30: Religious Influences and Accommodations in Public Schools
Chapter 31: Copyright Laws in the Age of Technology and Their Applicability to the K-12 Environment
Chapter 32: Charter Schools
Chapter 33: Collective Bargaining in Public Schools
Chapter 34: School Funding Litigation
Chapter 35: Affirmative Action
Chapter 36: School Desegregation during an Era of Judicial Disengagement
Chapter 37: English Language Learners
Chapter 38: Responsibility for Education Law
Index