Practical Education Law for the Twenty-First Century

American education law is both comprehensive and complex. Legal practitioners, as well as public school administrators, must be familiar with a wide range of legal sources. Knowledge of federal constitutional law and federal statutes is necessary due to the fact that federal law implicates many decisions regarding school personnel and students. In addition, since education has been historically controlled at the state and local levels, a familiarity of state and local laws is required. areas of education law are extremely varied, ranging from topics of sexual harassment, disability law, and gender and racial discrimination to constitutional law, contract law, property and zoning law, and tax law. In the book, Practical Law for the Twenty-First Century, Dodd (2003) seeks to provide a usable resource for education lawyers, administrators, school board members, and teachers. author has the daunting task of covering a vast array of major legal issues in the field of education, as she concisely summarizes the law in each of the given areas. An additional goal of the book is to provide practical advice when dealing with significant policy and legal challenges, as well as offering current information on trends and contemporary issues. author successfully includes a myriad of educational legal concerns, with each of the chapters covering a major legal topic. opening chapter contains a brief history and explanation of American education law. following nine chapters give a thorough yet concise summary of the most important legal issues in education. These topics include school finance, alternative schooling, crime on campus, athletics, and labor relations. Other chapters incorporate the issues of organizing and operating a school district, residency requirements, and fundamental rights to an education under both state and federal constitutional law. Within each of the chapter topics, the book contains sub-sections that effectively provide concise information regarding specific issues within the major legal area. For example, the chapter entitled The Organization and Operation of American Public Education includes sub-sections on the powers and duties of state and local school boards, contracts with personnel and third parties, acquisition and sale of real property, and insurance issues. These sub-sections provide invaluable, detailed information on every likely issue that might arise. For instance, this chapter also outlines legalities regarding the merging of school districts, closing schools, and the powers of local superintendents. This chapter could prove to be a tremendous resource to both superintendents and school board members. This book also contains many beneficial components for the educator. Dodd (2003) succinctly summarizes the law for a multitude of practical issues that might arise during the school year. With the increase of school violence, the chapter covering campus crime seems especially valuable to school principals and teachers. This chapter includes standards for student searches, with sub-sections on strip searches, locker searches, searches of book-bags, and searches of automobiles. Other sub-sections detail laws governing canine-assisted searches, metal detectors in the schools, and police-conducted searches. conclusion of this chapter outlines legal concerns regarding drug testing, weapons legislation, and duty to maintain a safe campus. …