American Public School Law

Alexander and Alexander's best-selling AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW sets the standard for books in educational law, an increasingly vital area of expertise for today's school and district administrators. Now in its Eighth Edition, this combined textbook/casebook provides an authoritative and comprehensive view of the law that governs the public school system of the United States, including common law, statutes, and constitutional laws as they affect students, teachers, and administrators. Featuring civil and criminal cases selected from hundreds of jurisdictions and newly updated to reflect the latest legal trends and precedents, the book reviews key laws and relevant court decisions. The case method offers ample opportunity for discussions aimed at discovering and exposing the underlying rules and reasoning, and the text actively encourages readers to relate factual situations to the law while anticipating similar experiences they may have as practicing teachers and administrators. Written in an engaging and accessible style, AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW, Eighth Edition, explains even complex points of law clearly and effectively for non-lawyers, and the authors maintain a diligent focus on the unique needs of professional educators preparing for successful careers in administration.

Designed for graduate students studying education or law, the Alexanders' text provides a comprehensive view of the civil, criminal, and constitutional laws governing the public school system in the U.S. The thoroughly revised sixth edition includes coverage on recent freedom of the press decisions applicable to student newspapers, students' privacy against illegal search and seizure and drug testing, the rights of children with disabilities as prescribed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the teacher- school board employment relationship as affected by Title VII, the Supreme Court's shifting perspective on church-state relations, and curricular and instructional matters. Kern Alexander is with the U. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; M. David Alexander is with Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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Uses the case method to provide graduate students in education as well as law students with a comprehensive view of the complex web of laws and court decisions governing the US public school system. The authors, Kern Alexander (president, Murray State U., Kentucky) and M. David Alexander (educational leadership and policy studies, Virginia Tech), range across all of the civil, criminal, and constitutional laws that touch students, teachers, and administrators. New to this edition are discussions of the Supremacy Clause, the Eleventh Amendment, sovereign powers of states, charter schools, and the refinement of the legal definition of free public schools. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Kern Alexander is a widely published author in the fields of education law and finance. He served as Professor of Educational Administration at the University of Florida for nearly two decades and later as University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech. He has been President of Western Kentucky University and Murray State University (Kentucky) and is currently Professor of Excellence in the Department of Educational Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He continues to take an active role throughout the United States in litigation involving equity in school finance.

M. David Alexander is Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Virginia Tech. Dr. Alexander has authored or co-authored several books and many chapters and articles in the area of education law. He has taught public school law and college and university law for nearly 30 years and is widely consulted on issues pertaining to education law and arbitration.