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For over twenty years, The Educator's Guide to Texas School Law has been the preeminent source for information on Texas school law for the state's education community. The sixth edition is the latest in a series of revisions designed to keep the book current, comprehensive, and readable. Readers will find a number of changes in the new edition. First and foremost, the immensely important No Child Left Behind Act has been incorporated at various points in the text, particularly in discussions pertaining to accountability, assessment, and school safety. Other changes include an expanded discussion of charter schools, school uniform policies, and student drug testing programs. Employment issues are now addressed in two chapters, one dealing with contractual matters and the other with personnel management. The new edition includes all legislative developments, relevant federal and state court rulings, and Texas Commissioner of Education decisions to date. In its ten chapters, The Educator's Guide discusses a myriad of topics relating to the legal structure of the Texas school system, attendance law and the instructional program, the education of children with disabilities, employment law, rights of expression and association, the role of religion, student discipline, open meetings and public records, privacy issues, student search and seizure, and legal liability of school districts and employees.
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THE EDUCATOR’S GUIDE TO TEXAS SCHOOL LAW sixth edition THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK The Educator’s Guide to Texas School Law sixth edition by Jim Walsh Frank Kemerer and Laurie Maniotis University of Texas Press, Austin Copyright © 2005 by the University of Texas Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to Permissions, University of Texas Press, Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819. ⬁ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements 䊊 of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Walsh, Jim. The educator’s guide to Texas school law / by Jim Walsh, Frank Kemerer, and Laurie Maniotis.— 6th ed. p. cm. Kemerer’s name appears first on the previous edition. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-292-70662-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)— isbn 0-292-70663-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Educational law and legislation—Texas. 2. Educators—Legal status, laws, etc.—Texas. 1. Title: Guide to Texas school law. II. Kemerer, Frank R. III. Maniotis, Laurie. IV. Title. kft1590.k45 2005 344.764⬘07— dc22 2004020342 To Anne, Jenny, Sarah, Devin, Caroline, and Melody THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Contents Preface 1. 2. An Overview of Education Law, Texas Schools, and Parent Rights xv 1 Sources of Law Constitutional Law Statutory Law Administrative Law Judicial Law The Structure and Governance of the Texas School System Texas Legislature State Board of Education and the Texas Education Agency Local School Districts Charter Schools Private Schools School Administrators District- and Campus-Level Decision-Making How the U.S. Constitution and Federal Government Affect Texas Schools Key Provisions of the U.S. Constitution Important Federal Statutes School Finance Parent Rights Rights within Public Schools Choosing Private Schools Educating Children at Home Summary 1 1 2 3 6 29 29 32 34 40 40 43 45 47 Student Attendance and the Instructional Program 49 Attendance Impermissible Discrimination 49 50 13 13 13 15 17 25 26 28 viii 3. educator’s guide to texas school law Residency and Guardianship The Compulsory