Finding Middle
Ground in K-12 Education:
Balancing Best Practices and the Law
Jim
Burgett and Brian Schwartz
“Call the lawyer!”
What a headache lawyers and the law can be when you’re trying to run a K-12 school or district—or even teach in the classroom!
* When can you just apply old-fashioned common sense and not worry about the statutes?
* When must you call the attorney before you say a word?
* And is there any place at all where the threats of “calling the lawyer” don’t bewilderingly intrude?
Is there is a “middle ground” between the law and administrative leadership for both on-the-spot and long-range problem-solving? How and where do you find it?
Help!
First, we asked a school lawyer. We picked the best: Brian Schwartz, who speaks nationwide, practices law, teaches at college, write The Law of Homeschooling, and is the associate director and general counsel to the Illinois Principals Association. He even writes about law in easy-to-understand English!
Then we brought in the best K-12 administrator we could find: Jim Burgett, who has been chosen both Illinois Superintendent of the Year and Illinois Administrator of the Year, was a Blue Ribbon Award winner, and has written three popular books: Teachers Change Lives 24/7, What Every Superintendent Needs to Know, and The Perfect School.
Finding Middle Ground in K-12 Education: Balancing Best Practices and the Law is the result! See how many of their 18 case studies you’ve already had to solve!
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“… a great book…outstanding resource for all teachers and administrators.”
Dr. Brad Colwell, President-Elect, Education Law Association
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Knowing the law is only half the answer. That must be blended with common sense, then applied with prudence and love to solve and prevent problems.
Who needs an everyday primer on making the
law and administrative savvy and wisdom work together in K-12 schools? Every superintendent, principal, teacher, lawyer,
enforcement officer, and school board member.
We asked Jim and Brian to select the most serious everyday administrative topics where the law is involved, and begged them, please, to keep their text practical and usable, give us believable examples—and maybe slip in some appropriate humor.
Here are the chapters that emerged:
▪ How to Keep Yourself Legally Safe
▪ Student Free Speech and Due Process Rights
▪ Search and Seizure
▪ Student Discipline for Off-Campus Conduct
▪ Educational Issues Regarding Homeschool Students
▪ Safeguarding Student Privacy and Records
▪ Teacher, Administrator, and Board Member Rights and Responsibilities
▪ Dealing with Divorce, Difficult Parents, and Other Family Issues
▪ Managing Money and Student Activity Accounts
▪ Accommodating Gay, Transsexual, and Other Minority Student Populations
▪ Technology and the Schoolhouse.
The result? Brian has a masterful way of making complex laws understandable, Jim has a gifted hand in creating win-win solutions—and we dare you not to break out laughing every few pages!
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”A must for school administrators’ desks.”
Dr. Michael Johnson, Education
Director,
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In Finding Middle Ground in K-12 Education you will find a procedural map to steer you through that hallowed ground between leadership and school law—guidance when help is most needed!
What are those case studies about that Jim and Brian discuss in depth?
* A girl is left stranded in the school parking lot long after the game, without a ride.
* Tommy is told to change his clothes or turn his Marilyn Manson t-shirt inside out. He refuses.
* A freshman says she heard another student brag that he had a switchblade in his backpack.
* The teacher’s new cell phone that she had shown the class is now missing from her top drawer
* A girl receives an e-mail that she will be beaten up if she tries out for the cheerleading squad.
* Homeschooling parents want three of their (six) kids admitted, one as a full-time junior, another in the band class, the third to special ed.
* Four teachers, while bowling, talk about a student’s arrest record—and are overheard by the boy’s uncle.
* A third grade teacher and a janitor are found in a heated embrace in the broom closet.
* A new teacher is threatened with termination and more by the mother of a student who may have turned in her assignment but got a “zero” instead.
* A divorced couple put their ten-year-old son in the middle of their volatile relationship, each demanding special attention from the teachers and staff.
* A kindergartner is sent to school without underwear—with her mother’s approval.
* The principal uses the vending machine coins to pay for refreshments at meetings…and more.
* Michael shows up at registration as Michelle, a senior who also expects to use the female restrooms and locker rooms.
* A local church wants to use the elementary public school’s facilities and its upcoming events web page for a “Bible Bowl.”
* Mary, a freshman, is slurring her words and has popped something into her mouth. What’s her physics teacher to do?
* Do they cancel the annual
The authors of Finding Middle Ground in K-12 Education: Balancing the Best Practices and the Law have a shared goal: to keep readers and leaders out of court and to provide students with a first-rate education.
Wouldn’t this book help you and your
students? It costs $24.95 in print (mailed today) or $20 by digital download,
yours in 10 seconds! Considerably cheaper than a lawyer’s fee or police
hassle—or the ire of irrational, screaming parents! Anyway, the “middle ground”
is the right place to be! Here’s the path and map...
“Should be required reading for all ed leadership law classes—practical and relevant.”
Jason Leahy, Executive Director,