Degree Name

Education Specialist (EdS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1997

Thesis Director

David E. Bartz

Abstract

The courts and constitutional law have had a significant impact on public schools and public school administrators. The purpose of this study was to examine administrative perceptions of particular school law issues and concerns. Via a questionnaire, administrators from west central Illinois overwhelmingly stated that school law information was necessary for effective performance in their jobs. They also named the superintendent as the school official who needs to have the highest level of school law knowledge.

When questioned about various issues of school law, respondents indicated an extreme importance in six topics: due process and student suspension/expulsion, student rights, liability, teacher evaluation, attendance/truancy, and special education. The most popular source of school law information for the respondents was seminars/meetings closely followed by three others: professional literature, other administrators, and the school's legal representative.

Data did not indicate any consensus that administrators experience difficulty in obtaining school law knowledge nor any specific problem surrounding the search for this knowledge. However, based on this study future research should continue into the area of difficulties administrators may experience when seeking school law knowledge.

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