Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter

Dear Legal Mailbag:

The father of one of the students in my school is a pain in my butt.  He is always complaining to me as principal about his son’s experiences at my school.  “The homework is too hard!”  “The activities in physical education class should be less strenuous!”  “The other students…

Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter

Dear Legal Mailbag;

We have a new security guard at my school this year, and he is causing me concern.  His predecessor was a take-charge kind of guy.  This new guard, however, is mellow, and doesn’t want to get his hands dirty.  Last week, for example, two students started fighting, but…

Sometimes we hear that opposites attract, and such was the case between two members of the Nutmeg Board of Education.  Board members Penny Pincher and Mal Content rarely see eye to eye on the challenges the Board faces, with Mal always ready to approve increased spending, while Penny Pincher typically votes against any new expenditures.  But somehow…

The Nutmeg Board of Education includes “Audience to Visitors” on its agenda, a long-established opportunity for people to speak directly to the Board members at the beginning of their meetings.  The rules for public comment in Nutmeg provide that speakers must sign up to speak before the meeting starts, that they may speak for up to…

Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter

Dear Legal Mailbag:

Given that it is Halloween, I have a scary story to tell.  A student recently moved into our district and enrolled in my school.  The parents are lovely people, but they have strong feelings about what we can teach their child, who is in the fourth grade.  They…

Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter

Dear Legal Mailbag:

Since the beginning of this school year, I have been pulled back and forth by two parents of a student in the school where I am the principal.  They are involved in a bitter divorce, and they are both making demands of me and my staff.  I…

Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter

Dear Legal Mailbag,

As the principal of an elementary school, I usually get along great with my Superintendent. But last week was a different story.

The problem started when a third grade student snuck away at recess undetected. The teacher first noticed that the student was missing when…