Published by MoASBO, September 2011 In 2009 employers across the country heaved a sigh of defeat as the Americans With Disabilities Act Amendment Act (ADAAA) went into effect, undoing nearly a decade of employer-friendly court decisions. With the ADAAA, Congress...
Missouri Court of Appeals Upholds School District’s Decision to Terminate a Tenured Teacher for her Involvement in the Solicitation of Adoption of a Minor Child – By: Betsey Helfrich
Published by MoASBO, September 2011 In May 2011, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District upheld the Carthage R-IX Board of Education’s decision to terminate the District’s Director of its Parents as Teachers Program for immoral conduct. In the case of Homa...
Ask the Attorney – The Amy Hestir Act – By: Tom Mickes
Published by MoASBO, July 2011 Q: Our principals are frequently asked to provide job references for former employees. With the passage of the Amy Hestir law, do we need to make any changes? A. The new law requires all Missouri public school districts to adopt a...
Don’t Get Caught In the Web: Drafting Effective Acceptable Use Policies – By: Christi Flaherty
Published by MARE, May 2011 Unless you live under a rock, you’re keenly aware of some of the problems that technology is quickly causing in our nation’s schools. With cell phones, iPads, laptops, netbooks and smartphones, technology has gone completely portable – and...
Turner v. Clayton: A Quick Look – By: Scott Kimble
Published by MoASBO, March 2011 As most school administrators have heard by now, the Missouri Supreme Court recently released its opinion in Turner v. Clayton, a case which could affect many Missouri school districts. To quickly summarize the facts in Turner, the...
Blinded by the Light: The Potential Future of the Missouri Sunshine Law – By: Scott Kimble
Published by MARE, October 2010 Recently, there has been a renewed interest in the Missouri Sunshine Law.[1] In fact, four bills were introduced in the Missouri Legislature this past General Session which concerned the Act. Two of those four bills sought to add...
A Review of U.S. Department of Education Family Policy Compliance Office Guidelines – By: Betsey A. Helfrich
Published by MOASBO, October 2010 Release of Personally Identifiable Student Information in the Face of an Emergency The chance of a man-made or natural emergency occurring at your school is slight. However, it is imperative to take steps now to be prepared to respond...
Legislature Expands School District Employees’ Protection from Civil Liability – By: Sarah A. Wight
Published by MOASBO, July 2010 Sixteen newly enacted statutory sections relating to elementary and secondary education will be effective August 28, 2010. These sections are the product of a recent house bill that revised fourteen current statutory sections and created...
This Sounds Pretty Bad, But is it Immoral? – By: Betsey A. Helfrich
Published by MARE, June 2010 An Examination of Immoral Conduct under the Missouri Teacher Tenure Act It’s Monday morning. You hear through the rumor mill that one of your best high school teachers was arrested over the weekend for driving while intoxicated. To make...
Arming Your District Against OCR – By: Alefia E. Mithaiwala
Published by MARE, April 2010 Proactive Measures Your District Can Take Now On February 1, 2010, Mickes Goldman O’Toole celebrated its two year anniversary. And in the past two years alone, the firm’s special education department has handled approximately sixty OCR...