Legal issues of public school administrators in Massachusetts

Abstract

Schools and school officials are not immune from the substantial increase in litigation that has occurred over the past few decades in the United States. Public school administrators need to understand the laws that affect their daily decisions and actions. However, most of the available resources on the law are designed for attorneys and other legal experts. The objective of this project is to create a single text for Massachusetts public school administrators that addresses the major legal issues, las and court rulings that apply to their daily decisions and actions. This publication is not designed for attorneys. It is intended to be reader-friendly, and therefore the legal jargon is kept to a minimum. Please note that this text is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. If you are in need of legal advice, you should contact an attorney. The process for determining the appropriate content for this publication involved initial research on the primary legal issues facing public school administrators, and also interviewing several Massachusetts public school administrators for their input. (A description of the study and the findings is in Appendix A.) Once the subject matters were determined, extensive legal research and analysis were conducted to find appropriate court decisions, statutes, administrative regulations, arbitration rulings and articles relevant to the selected subject areas. When this was done, the dissertation was written covering the following topics: public school administrators' need to understand tre law; an overview of the legal system; issues related to teachers, such as hiring, firing and suspensions; issues related to students, such as student discipline, suspensions and expulsions, and special education; students' constitutional rights; other important matters for school administrators, such as the requirements for reporting abuse, student records and individual liability; and worthwhile resources including contact information. This publication is intended to be a valuable resource for Massachusetts public school administrators. They will obtain an understanding of the relevant laws, and this knowledge will enable them to be more effective administrators and more comfortable in addressing the numerous issues they face on a daily basis.