Educational Lifelines for At-Risk Students: Exploring Equity in Alternative Schools.
Lynn Hemmer, Texas A & M University - Corpus Christi; Patricia Uribe, Texas A&M International University
In line with equity principles, desired student outcomes should connate the same construct (Espinoza, 2007), regardless of educational settings. An equity frame is applied to examine how the design elements of early college high schools and academic alternative schools of choice work as a response to meet student needs. The idea behind alternative schooling was—and still is—to include all students in an equitable education. However, dependent on student risk identifiers, equity issues remain.
The legal explosion in cyberbullying statutes, the underlying legal foundation, and the position of school leaders.
Justin Bathon, University of Kentucky; Jesulon S. R. Gibbs, University of South Carolina
Cyberbullying legislation has swept the nation in the past few years and is now present in the majority of states. This session documents this rise in statutory law, and the subsequent required local administrative policy, and compares it to the legal analysis utilized by courts in cases of off-campus speech, student harassment, and student discipline. Finally, this session questions the application of all this new statutory law to schools under the leadership of school administrators.
From School Incident to State Law: Politics in Action.
Martha M. McCarthy, Loyola Marymount University
This presentation addresses how publicity surrounding child abuse by a school’s staff members can create a politically charged situation leading to major changes in the school district as well as a state law that may be difficult for school leaders to implement. The politics involved in this case will be compared to other volatile situations facing school leaders (e.g., student suicides leading to anti-bullying legislation), and implications for preparation programs and practitioners will be explored.