Much has changed in the area of school law since the first edition of The Educator's Guide was published in 1986. Successive editions grew incrementally longer to keep abreast of legal developments. In this new eighth edition, the authors have streamlined the discussion by pruning older material and weaving in new developments. The result is an authoritative source on all major dimensions of Texas school law that is both well integrated and easy to read. Intended for Texas school personnel, school board members, interested attorneys, and taxpayers, the eighth edition explains what the law is and what the implications are for effective school operations. It is designed to help professional educators avoid expensive and time consuming lawsuits by taking effective preventive action. It is an especially valuable resource for school law courses and staff development sessions. The eighth edition begins with a review of the legal structure of the Texas school system. As Chapter 1 notes, education law is a complex interweaving of state and federal constitutional, statutory, administrative, and judicial law.
It is important to understand the nature of the system before reading other sections. Successive chapters address attendance and the instructional program, the education of children with special needs, employment and personnel, expression and associational rights, the role of religion in public schools, student discipline, open meetings and records, privacy, search and seizure, and legal liability under both federal and Texas law. In addition to state law, the book addresses the role of the federal government in school operation through such major federal legislation as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Statute and case references are kept as simple as possible, and a complete index of case citations is included for those readers who wish to consult the cases themselves. The appendices describe how case law is reported and where to find it, along with a glossary of legal terms and a listing of other sources on Texas school law.