Leadership Insider: Policy Newsletters & Feature Stories

Resources

• Need to know: Legal literacy in school districts [PDF 529,937kb]
  May 2009 issue of NSBA newsletter Leadership Insider. In this issue: The dangers of not knowing: Why your teachers should be legally literate; Free education law resources in the Internet age; A view from the silo: The future of education leadership programs.
  
• Leadership Insider, May 2009, Additional Resources [HTML 10,719kb]
  An expanded list of online resources for the legal literacy of school district personnel, including links to the resources mentioned in the articles.
  
• A question of representation: Diversity and 21st century school boards [PDF 426,029kb]
  Oct. 2008 issue of NSBA newsletter Leadership Insider. In this issue: Diversity on school boards; demographic change and achievement gaps; minority representation; the impact of board diversity on student achievement; the Voting Rights Act and vote dilution lawsuits against at-large election systems; the case for at-large elections; options for school districts.
  
• Leadership Insider, Oct. 2008: Additional Resources [HTML 25,920kb]
  An expanded listing of online resources on diversity and 21st century school boards, including the sources cited in the article, information on Voting Rights Act lawsuits over at-large elections of school boards, and links to the NSBA and state caucuses of minority school board members.
  
• Leadership Insider, February 2008 [PDF 1,367,181kb]
  In this issue: Forward-thinking leadership: retirement issues for school boards; district retirement plans; retire and rehire? policy considerations for school boards.
  
• Leadership Insider, Feb. 2008: Additional Resources [HTML 9,081kb]
  For NSBA National Affiliate districts, an expanded listing of resources on retirement issues.
  
• Leadership Insider, November 2007 [PDF 439,433kb]
  In this issue: The school board’s most important task; legal issues in recruiting and hiring a superintendent; negotiating a superintendent contract; what school boards should know about superintendent performance-incentive programs.
  
• Leadership Insider, Nov. 2007: Additional Resources [HTML 2,165kb]
  Additional online resources on superintendent hiring and contracting, including sample contract language.
  
• Leadership Insider, April 2007 [PDF 486,919kb]
  In this issue: An overview of NSBA's advocacy before the nation's courts in 2006-07, including summaries of the background of each dispute, the lower court rulings in each case, NSBA's arguments, the current status, and the bottom line for public education.
  
• Leadership Insider, March 2007 [PDF 269,303kb]
  In this issue: Answers to some of the school law questions from NSBA National Affiliate school districts discussed at the You Asked! sessions at NSBA's 2006 Annual Conference in Chicago: drug testing of school employees, school board invocations, students with diabetes, challenges to NCLB.
  
• School boards and special education [PDF 450,805kb]
  Nov. 2006 issue of NSBA newsletter Leadership Insider. Includes articles on the school board's governance role in special education; moving beyond the adversarial system; wars stories and lessons learned; what school boards should know about IDEA 2004; response to intervention (RTI); and overrepresentation of minorities (disproportionality).
  
• Leadership Insider, Nov. 2006: Additional Resources [HTML 10,925kb]
  For NSBA National Affiliate districts, an expanded listing of resources on special education.
  
• Leadership Insider, August 2006 [PDF 445,360kb]
  In this issue: Coming to grips with harassment and bullying; cyberbullying; finding common ground on divisive issues like how to deal with harassment based on sexual orientation.
  
• Leadership Insider, Aug. 2006: Additional Resources [HTML 14,797kb]
  Online resources on harassment and bullying, including all of the resources and programs described in the newsletter.
  
• Leadership Insider, May/June 2006 [PDF 572,578kb]
  In this issue: Collective bargaining for student achievement and school reform; collective bargaining related to No Child Left Behind; pay-for-performance programs; teacher pay reform strategies for small school districts; the unintended consequences of teachers union staffing rules; the return of public sector collective bargaining to New Mexico.
  
• Leadership Insider, April 2006 [PDF 306,780kb]
  In this issue: Special Annual Conference edition with an overview of NSBA's 2005-06 legal advocacy before the nation's courts.
  
• Leadership Insider, February 2006 [PDF 379,835kb]
  In this issue: Homeschooling; challenges and opportunities for public schools.
  
• Leadership Insider, December 2005 [PDF 326,068kb]
  In this issue: Checks and balances; board oversight vs. micromanagement; fraud in the business office; Sarbanes-Oxley requirements for boards.
  
• Leadership Insider, October 2005 [PDF 301,859kb]
  In this issue: School closings and district consolidations; cost-savings alternatives.
  
• Leadership Insider, August 2005 [PDF 461,411kb]
  In this issue: Ensuring efficient allocation of district resources; financial benchmarking; controlling health care costs; efficiency audits.
  
• Leadership Insider, Aug. 2005: Additional Resources [HTML 6,344kb]
  Additional online resources on school district efficiency, benchmarking, school budget cuts, and school budget red flags.
  
• Leadership Insider, May 2005 [PDF 468,918kb]
  In this issue: School finance and funding adequacy.
  
• Leadership Insider, April 2005 [PDF 542,499kb]
  In this issue: An overview of NSBA's advocacy before the nation's courts in 2004-05.
  
• Leadership Insider, April 2005 [PDF 412,577kb]
  In this issue: Answers to your school law questions from the You Asked! session at NSBA's 2004 Annual Conference.
  
• School boards as charter school authorizers [PDF 617,709kb]
  Winter 2005 issue of NSBA newsletter Leadership Insider. In this issue: School boards as charter school authorizers; the future of charters; NCLB and charter schools; tough questions for school districts, charter advocates, and policy-makers; Buffalo's Renaissance Project; the district's oversight role; Michigan's Honey Creek Community School; NAEP results and charter schools.
  
• Healthy Schools, Healthy Students [PDF 458,403kb]
  November 2004 issue of NSBA newsletter Leadership Insider. In this issue: Nutrition, vending, and pouring rights; school strategies for combatting childhood obesity; overcoming false choice between healthy kids and balanced budgets; the 2004 reauthorization of the federal school lunch act.
  
• Doing the Right Thing: School Board Member Ethics [PDF 677,103kb]
  September 2004 issue of NSBA newsletter Leadership Insider. In this issue: ethics for effective school board members; chart of state ethics laws; distinction between legal and ethical behavior; New Jersey's ethics law; Tennessee's school board Ethics Advisory Council. The collection of online resources accompanying this issue is here.
  
• Leadership Insider, Sept. 2004: Additional Resources [PDF 70,911kb]
  Chart showing ethics laws by state, whether they have general or specific application to local school boards, and what conduct is regulated.
  
• Ready for Work: Career and Technical Education [PDF 456,888kb]
  July 2004 of NSBA newsletter Leadership Insider. In this issue: Changes in career, technical, and vocational education; effective programs and their importance for closing achievement gaps and improving core academic content; career and technical education in the era of No Child Left Behind; the school board's role in linking high quality career and technical programs to broader high school reform.
  
• Leadership Insider, March-May 2004 [PDF 572,290kb]
  In this issue: School construction, renovation, and financing; financing, board oversight, and pitfalls.
  
• Leadership Insider, Mar.-May 2004: Additional Resources [HTML 6,593kb]
  Collection of additional online resources on facilities construction and financing.
  
• Leadership Insider, January 2004 [PDF 560,666kb]
  In this issue: Education foundations and fundraising; how to start a school foundation.
  
• Leadership Insider, Jan. 2004: Additional Resources [HTML 19,687kb]
  For NSBA National Affiliate districts, an expanded listing of resources on school foundations and fundraising, including links to online materials.
  
• Leadership Insider, November 2003 [PDF 150,458kb]
  In this issue: Meeting the challenge of providing "highly qualified" teachers for all students; the U.S. Dept. of Ed. in need of improvement; rethinking teacher salaries; a new vision for professional development.
  
• Leadership Insider, Nov. 2003: Additional Resources [HTML 24,816kb]
  An expanded list of resources on providing "highly qualified" teachers, including links to online materials.
  
• Leadership Insider, September 2003 [PDF 129,636kb]
  In this issue: Student handbooks and board policy; district policies for NCLB; answers to your school law questions from the You Asked! session at NSBA's 2003 Annual Conference.
  
• Targeting Student Learning Refocuses the Policy Process [DOC 51,712kb]
• Policies that Support Healthy Eating [DOC 46,080kb]
• Managing School Transport Risk [DOC 49,152kb]
• Hazing: Debunking the Myths About this Rite of Passage [DOC 44,032kb]
• Extending the School Day: Building and Supporting High-Quality After-School Programs [DOC 31,744kb]
• E-board Meetings and Open Meeting Laws [DOC 58,368kb]
• Diversity in School Admissions and Assignments: Finding the Next Piece of the Puzzle [DOC 70,144kb]
• Controversial Content: The Legal Landscape [PDF 97,740kb]
  This Winter 2003 issue of Inside School Law provides an overview of the law relating to curricular decisions, textbooks and instructional materials, library materials, alternatives to evolution, and sex and abstinence-only education.
  
• In the High Court: A look at this term and the years ahead [PDF 61,048kb]
  Inside School Law, Fall 2002
  
• No Child Left Behind: What the new federal legislation means for your schools [PDF 115,774kb]
  Inside School Law, Summer 2002
  
• A Friend of the Court: NSBA files ‘amicus curiae’ briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court [PDF 126,851kb]
  Inside School Law, Winter 2002
  
• Why Johnny Doesn't Tattle: What It Means When Students and Others Fail to Report Threats [PDF 109,892kb]
  Inside School Law, Summer 2001
  
• Breathalyzers at the Prom: Can Schools Conduct Breathalyzer Tests of Students at After-School Events [PDF 50,126kb]
  Inside School Law, Spring 2001
  
• EEOC Issues Compliance Guidance on Employee Benefits [PDF 84,066kb]
  Inside School Law, Winter 2001
  
• Supreme Court Update [PDF 102,656kb]
  Inside School Law, Fall 2000
  
• School Safety: Working Together to Keep Schools Safe [PDF 49,687kb]
  Inside School Law, Summer 2000
  
• Guidance to School Boards on Race and Student Assignment [HTML 33,048kb]
  1999 article from NSBA newsletter Inside School Law intended to assist school board members and others in understanding the legal issues involved when officials seek to ensure a racially diverse learning environment for children. While this resource predates the U.S. Supreme Court 2007 ruling on this subject, its overview of guiding policy principles remains valid.