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Topics

School Safety Issues
• The schools’ authority to make and enforce rules governing conduct
   of students and staff, on campus and off
• Search and seizure, including drug testing
• The schools' role in addressing child abuse

Equity Issues
• Issues of race and poverty in education
• Affirmative action, desegregation, and diversity after the
   2007 Seattle/Louisville decision
• Harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity

Immigrants and English Learners: Language Policy and Regulation

Special Education
• Requirements under the I.D.E.A., Section 504, and the A.D.A.
• Recent court decisions; current policy and implementation issues

Standards and Accountability
• N.C.L.B.: Issues of law, policy, and practice
• Testing for tracking, promotion, and graduation

Fiscal Equity and the Right to an Adequate Education

Free-Speech Issues, including the Internet
• Student free speech
• Teacher free speech
• Internet use and other technology issues

Religion in the public schools
• School-sponsored prayer and moments of silence
• Creationism/evolution and other issues of religion in the curriculum
• Religious expression by students and teachers

Educators and the Law
• Improving educator-lawyer collaboration
• Practicing preventive law
• Keeping current on legal developments

The Setting

New York City offers an extraordinary variety of cultural diversions. Evenings can be spent exploring restaurants, bookstores, boutiques, and communities. New York also has some of the best sporting events, theater, and performing arts in the world. It is home to some of the world's great museums and to such attractions as the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building.

Feedback from Prior Participants

“The Institute managed in a mere five days to hit on all the hot button issues facing education and educators.”
-School Board member

“Very possibly the best course I've taken in 25 years.”
-Professor

“The best of the best! Sessions were very informative and useful. Wish law school had been like this!”
-School attorney

“A wonderful opportunity to converse and study with the best school legal minds in our nation!”
-Superintendent

“Outstanding. I have been attending school law seminars for years, and none can touch the breath or depth of this program.”
-Principal

“This Institute should be required for superintendents, principals, board members, and other policy makers."
-Superintendent

"I was really struck by the quality of the presentations. This was an incredibly high caliber group, and I am thrilled to have been a part of it.” -Teacher

The School Law Institute has been officially endorsed by the National School Boards Association.