Principals Teaching the Law: 10 Legal Lessons Your Teachers Must Know

"All educators have had or will have experience with the legal aspects of the profession. This book not only provides immediate information and examples, but also directs the reader to additional support and research."
―Cathy Patterson, Former Assistant Principal
Walnut Valley Unified School District, CA

Ensure that your staff understands the most important principles of school law!

A recent national survey revealed that most teachers have taken no courses in school law and expect their principals to advise them on the legal aspects of education. The survey also indicated that the majority are uninformed or misinformed about the rights of students and teachers.

Tackling the most common legal issues facing schools today, this book equips school leaders with a professional development curriculum for effectively training staff on education law and other critical topics that affect teachers′ everyday work. Organized into 10 ready-made lessons, this resource includes:

• One-hour sessions on topics such as student discipline, special education, and freedom of expression
• Warm-up activities, objectives, a summary of legal principles, application activities, and assessments for each session
• Facilitation aids such as common questions and answers, timing recommendations, alternate activities, reproducible content, and recommended readings
• An online supplement with key terminology, a legal knowledge survey, and lesson plans

Principals Teaching the Law helps you provide your staff with the legal knowledge needed to avoid unnecessary lawsuits, understand teacher and student rights, and work within the boundaries of the law.

David Schimmel is Professor of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Visiting Professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. He is author of over 60 articles and co-author of 6 books about law and education including Teachers and the Law,7^th edition (2007) and School Law: What Every Educator Should Know (2008) and is recipient of the Education Press Association of America’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism. After graduating from Yale Law School, he briefly practiced law, was an Army Infantry Officer, and served on the Peace Corps staff for 6 years before starting his teaching career at UMass. His current research and writing focuses on promoting legal literacy for teachers.

Suzanne E. Eckes is an associate professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department at Indiana University. She has published more than 70 articles and book chapters on school law, is an editor of the Principal’s Legal Handbook, and is a member of the board of directors for the Education Law Association. She is the recipient of the Jack A. Culbertson Award for outstanding achievements in education from the University Council of Educational Administration. Prior to joining the faculty at Indiana University, Eckes was a high school French teacher and an attorney. She earned her master’s degree in education from Harvard University and her law degree and PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Matthew Militello is the Wells Fargo Distinguished Professor in Educational Leadership at East Carolina University. He is currently the principal investigator for a million dollar National Science Foundation grant (NSF# 1738767) bringing computational thinking to music and art classes in rural NC middle schools. Militello is also currently implementing an innovative Ed.D. degree for ECU in Bangkok, Thailand. Militello received his teaching degree from the University of Michigan (B.Ed., 1992), his administrative certification (MSA, 1994) and doctoral degrees (Ph.D., 2004) from Michigan State University. He has held faculty positions at North Carolina State University (2008-2014) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2005-2008). Prior to his academic career, Militello was a middle and high public school teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Michigan (1992-2003). Militello has received funding to conduct research from the College Board, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Xian Normal University, as well as a multi-million dollar Race to the Top grant to train school leaders in Northeast North Carolina.