Most people would think twice before they used handcuffs on a child. They would hesitate to use them on an eight-year old. They would never think of applying them above the child’s elbows. Yet last month a federal appeals court in Kentucky held that the parents of schoolchildren could not sue an official for doing […]
Earlier this month a high school principal in Houston, Texas made a student leave when she wouldn’t stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. An experienced student discipline attorney could have advised her against it. India Landry’s action was not new. She had sat for the Pledge for as long as she could remember. “I don’t […]
The US Supreme Court will hear argument on the right of teachers’ unions to charge non-members ‘service’ or ‘agency’ fees. In Connecticut the Teacher Negotiation Act lets each union bargain for all of that board’s employees. The teachers in that district that don’t belong to the union must still pay a share of what it […]
A mother of a child with disability filed suit last week in federal court against the Bridgeport Board of Education and one of its administrators. Last year the child was assaulted in class by her Music teacher, whom the Board later let go. The mother alleges that the defendants knew the teacher was sure to […]
In “Guidance for Parents” (2011) the U.S. Department of Education pointed out how FERPA might affect the rights of special education students. The Department said that under FERPA, a parent has the right to request that inaccurate or misleading information in his or her child’s education records be amended. While a school is not required […]
A federal court held that a school district may stop a coach from “speaking” about religion on the job. Officials at an Oregon high school had suspended one of its football team’s coaches for kneeling and praying on the field’s fifty-yard line. He had done so in view of students and parents immediately after games, […]
Technology companies have been successfully courting teachers for a while. Giants like Apple and Google and start-ups like Seesaw and Swizl have been recruiting fans of their technology to tell other teachers how they can use it in their own classrooms. The companies say they are mindful of conflicts of interest and take care to […]
Last year a parochial school fired a tenured teacher for ‘moral misconduct.’ At a fundraiser at a country club he had taken an unauthorized ride on a golf cart. The school’s handbook gave every teacher faced with termination the right to a hearing before a committee. In this case the committee heard the evidence and […]
In July the Legislature amended CGS 10-222c on the subject of hiring teachers. Previously the law had required public schools to ask applicants if a former employer had ever substantiated allegations against them of sexual misconduct. The law also required applicants to admit if they had ever resigned in the face of such allegations. With […]