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Issue 6 · September 4, 2012
Welcome to Education
Administration Headlines + More!
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needed to run a modern teaching and learning enterprise, from pre-K
to university, from small school to multi-level system. Our mission
is to help you stay on top of the kaleidoscope of issues that
confronts you every day in a busy, constantly moving educational
institution. Human resources management, student achievement,
teacher performance, technology and innovation, financial
management, regulatory and standards compliance, community dialog,
and risk mitigation -- we cover it all. Our editors follow what's
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we follow legal developments in our "Education in the
Courts" feature and provide insights from leading thinkers and
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Teacher
Leave Policies All Over the Map
Vacation time for teachers coincides with holidays and summer
breaks, but teachers also need time-off during the school year for
sick leave and personal matters. A study found substantial
variability among states and school districts in what the leave is
called, what it covers, and how it is counted and compensated.
Mixed
Bag: Americans' Attitudes on Public School Issues
An annual survey reveals broad agreement on some issues, like
charter schools and bullying prevention; a pretty even split on
some issues, like school vouchers and benefits for children of
illegal immigrants; general satisfaction with hometown schools; and
a big gap in how Americans perceive the President's record on
education.
Online
Briefings for Education Leaders Begin ...
Sign Up Now!
School
Bullying: How to Build a Bully-Free Campus and Staff
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern
About one-third of students are bullied each year, and even adults
can be bullied in a school setting, as evidenced recently by the
school bus monitor who was brought to tears by her young
tormentors. This briefing will examine the nature of bullying and describe
the steps that visionary schools are taking to become no-bully
zones.
How
to Write an Effective Anti-Harassment Policy and Related Procedures
to Include
Wednesday,
October 24, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern
An effective anti-harassment policy must encompass all types of
harassment (including sex- and race-based), all channels (from
face-to-face to social media), and all types (student-to-student,
staff-to-student, staff-to-staff, and student-to-staff). Get
guidance on how to capture all these situations in a comprehensive
policy that defines your responsibilities and lowers your legal
risks.
Constitutional
Protections of Employees During Misconduct Investigations
Thursday,
November 1, 2012 @ 1 PM Eastern
Understand how to investigate alleged employee misconduct without
violating the employee's constitutional rights -- particularly in
situations where law enforcement becomes involved in the
investigation. Learn about the scope of free speech rights, due
process, and other relevant legal and constitutional principles.
No Time Now?
All Webinars Will Be Accessible on CD!
What if you have a time conflict and can't participate
in a webinar of interest on its scheduled date and time? Don't
worry. You can still take advantage of our CD option. Soon after
completion of each webinar, the program will be available on CD. Click
here for the complete listing and future
ordering information.
Church Sanctuary Is No Place for
Public High School Graduation
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled en banc (the
entire bench of judges) that a Wisconsin school district violated
the First Amendment's constitutional separation between church and
state. The case arose when a group of nine past and present
students and their parents (collectively, the "Does")
sued the Elmbrook School District over its practice of holding high
school graduations and related ceremonies at the Elmbrook Church
for many years. The Elmbrook School District has two major high
schools, Brookfield Central and Brookfield East, in the Milwaukee
suburb of Brookfield, Wisconsin.
In 2000, in the case of Brookfield Central, and in
2002, in the case of Brookfield West, the Elmbrook Church was
rented for graduation. This practice continued through 2009 and, in
some of those years, Brookfield Central also rented the church's
chapel for senior honors night. Previous graduations were held in
the high school gymnasium, but in 2000, senior class officers of
Brookfield Central broached the idea of moving graduation to the
church, arguing that the gymnasium with its bleacher seating and
lack of air conditioning was too cramped and uncomfortable. The
idea was presented to the principal and district superintendent who
concurred with the switch after first putting the proposal to a
vote of the entire senior class, which ruled overwhelmingly in
favor of it. Two years later, Brookfield West went through a
similar process, with the same outcome.
Elmbrook Church is a nondenominational, evangelical
Christian church. Complaints about using the church for graduation
ceremonies began soon after being relocated there. The plaintiffs,
who are not Christians, said the religious setting made them ill at
ease and upset. Plaintiffs' complaints included the display of a
large cross that church officials refused to cover. Another
complaint was the presence of Bibles and hymnals in the pews where
graduation attendees sat.
In 2010, Central and East moved their graduation
ceremonies to a newly renovated gymnasium and newly completed field
house. The school district, however, refused to rule out holding
graduations at the church in the future.
The Does lost the initial round of their lawsuit, with
a lower court granting the school district's motion for summary
judgment and finding that the district did not act
unconstitutionally when it held secular high school ceremonies at
Elmbrook Church. The Does appealed and a three-judge panel of the
appeals court concluded that the Does' case was
"justiciable" (liable to trial in a court of justice),
even though the district no longer held high school ceremonies at
the church. The case then went to the full court, which concluded that,
for the ceremonies at issue, having them take place in a
nondenominational Christian church violated the Constitution.
"An unacceptable amount of religious endorsement and coercion
occurred when the District held important civil ceremonies in the
proselytizing environment of Elmbrook Church," Judge Joel M.
Flaum wrote in the 7-3 majority opinion in John Doe, et al. v.
Elmbrook School District. The ruling indicates that the
judges believed they must "do our level best to overcome our
individual perspectives" and deliberately try "to see the
situation from others' points of view."
The court said that the ruling should not be construed
as an outright rejection of governmental use of church spaces. In
this case, however, the presence of a cross and religious materials
at a public school graduation ceremony had the primary effect of
advancing or inhibiting religion and thus violated the
Constitution.
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