Education Law Primer
As part of our continuing efforts to improve and expand its legal services, the NJPSA legal department is pleased to present its first 10 chapters of its "Education Law Primer." The primer is designed to provide NJPSA members with valuable information to assist them in their daily duties. In the coming months we will be adding new chapters dealing with a variety of topics ranging from the law of tenure and seniority, and the rights of tenured and non–tenured personnel, to the rights arising from the collective bargaining process. We will also be discussing revisions in state and federal laws that affect New Jersey’s public schools.
We have provided a sampling of each primer for you to preview and by clicking the image of each primer cover, you can download the sample for that primer. You will need Adobe Reader to view the PDF version of each chapter. NJPSA members can log in to the NJPSA members section to view each law primer in it’s entirety.
Chapter 1: No Child Left Behind
Our first topic is the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) enacted in 2001. We have chosen this topic because this massive federal legislation is only now beginning to have its full impact on New Jersey’s schools. It is important to note that this is only a primer — a summary or overview of the law. It is not intended to be an exhaustive study and shouldn’t be used as such. However, we are hopeful it will serve as an accessible and useful summary of the major provisions of NCLB for school leaders.
Chapter 2: Sexual Harassment
The law of sexual harassment has been the subject of much litigation over the past two decades. The cases have defined sexual harassment in the workplace as conduct which creates a hostile environment predicated on one’s gender. The cases have also demonstrated the importance for employers to have in place anti–harassment policies that help educate and sensitize employees to acts of harassment, that have procedures that allow employees to report acts of harassment with assurances against acts of retaliation, and that provide measures to prevent the recurrence of the harassing conduct; measures ranging from counseling to removal of the harassing employee. This is equally true in the school setting. All school districts must have well publicized sexual harassment policies. School employees must be made aware of the complaint process, as well as the need to promptly report alleged harassing conduct. Supervisors and administrators must be trained to respond effectively to complaints of sexual harassment. The purpose of this primer is to provide the educational practitioner with a better understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment, the cases that have helped define it and the laws that have been enacted to remove it from the workplace and the classroom, the responsibility of supervisors to act upon receipt of reports of harassment and the rights of the victims of harassment.
Chapter 3: Division of Youth and Family Services(DYFS)
Among the highest priorities of any State is the need to protect its children from abuse or neglect. Recent reported cases have shown the failings of the system. Too often cases are not immediately reported, or, when they are reported, too often there is inadequate follow–up by agency case workers. All of this serves to reemphasize the need for school personnel to understand their role and responsibilities when they receive reports of suspected child abuse. This primer, the purpose of which is to review the pertinent statutes, regulations and case law defining a school’s responsibility when confronted with suspected child abuse, should only be used as a starting point. Ultimately, school districts must take the lead to inform and educate their personnel.
Chapter 4: Record Keeping Requirements
School districts have a duty to accurately maintain and protect the confidentiality of pupil records under both state and federal law. School districts also have wide ranging recordkeeping duties for other types of records, including personnel records, financial records and in some cases e–mails between school employees. Advances in technology, such as the reliance on e–mail, the use of the Internet by school districts and the prevalence of electronic recordkeeping, have altered the legal landscape. Recent legislation, including the federal No Child Left Behind Act and the state Open Public Records Act have significantly altered the nature and extent of this role. This Chapter of the NJPSA Education Law Primer is intended to provide an overview of the major responsibilities that school districts and school administrators have in the area of recordkeeping.
Chapter 5: Student Discipline: What You Should Know
The complaint often heard from teachers and administrators alike is that their hands are tied when it comes to disciplining unruly students. Whatever they do, teachers and administrators have come to expect the inevitable lawsuit, or at least the threat of a lawsuit. That may be true enough because lawsuits can’t be stopped — even when teachers and administration do everything by the book. However, while acting within and pursuant to the rules governing the teacher–student relationship may not stop lawsuits, it certainly will serve to limit liability of teachers, administrators and school districts. That’s why it’s so important to know the rules that define the teacher–student relationship and provide the tools with which teachers and administration can maintain the required order and decorum for learning to take place. This is the intent of this primer.
Chapter 6: Observation/Evaluation & Professional Growth
The field services and legal departments of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association receive many requests for assistance from members regarding "observation" and "evaluation". This primer has been prepared as an additional benefit to our members. This reference material is a compilation of many sources dealing with the important process of observation and evaluation. The content includes: New Jersey Statutes Annotated, New Jersey Administrative Code, New Jersey State Department of Education Guidelines for the Evaluation of Tenured Teaching Staff Members, Court and Public Employment Relations Commission decisions and the experience of New Jersey Principals and Supervisors attorneys and Field Representatives.
Chapter 7: Public Schools And The First Amendment
This primer focuses on how the courts have sought to preserve school authority while protecting student expression; on how courts have sought to protect students’ free exercise of religion with the need to maintain government neutrality. If there is a rule established by the cases, it is that student speech that does not disturb or undermine a school’s mission, and does not interfere with someone else’s right, is to be protected, whereas language or acts that prevent schools from achieving their mission, or which interferes with the rights of others may be regulated or banned altogether.
Chapter 8: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Chapter 8 of NJPSA’s Education Law Primer is intended to assist you, in your role as a school leader, in understanding your legal requirements under the revised IDEA. As a matter of necessity, this primer is intended to highlight major revisions in the federal law but is not intended as an exhaustive analysis of the revised IDEA. Additional guidance on the revised federal law should be forthcoming from the USDOE and NJDOE in the coming months. However, the new law becomes effective July 1, 2005, and it is imperative that school leaders take the time to understand their new legal requirements.
Chapter 9: Tenure & Security
This primer will review the various statutes, administrative regulations and case law affecting tenure, as well as the board’s authority to award tenure or remove it, withhold increments, re–assign and transfer teaching staff members and reduce staff. The intent of this primer is to provide an understanding of the process, both in terms of the rights of staff members and the authority given to boards of education. It should be used only as a guide. Staff members facing any of the issues referred to in this primer are advised to consult with counsel.
Chapter 10: PERC & Negotiations
This primer serves as a guide to a basic written agreement and includes a Model Agreement. Collective negotiation continues to be an "art," adaptable to the needs of each supervisory bargaining unit. Cost containments by Boards of Education are to be expected, and when compounded by uncertainties in the economy, school state funding formulas, and the negative public perception that school supervisory personnel are overpaid, form a new and creative approach to negotiations.