This session is designed to fulfill the legal requirement that all school board members receive two hours of ethics education within 12 months of being elected or re-elected or appointed or reappointed to office. The session will cover the laws and principles that govern conflicts of interest and ethical standards of conduct for board members in North Carolina. Ms. Schafer will include practical scenarios to illustrate how the law applies to the duties and responsibilities of North Carolina school board members.
Presenter: Allison Schafer, Director of Policy/Legal Counsel, NCSBA
Refresh your memory or learn anew about the law surrounding the conduct of school boards meetings. Topics will include the Open Meetings Law, public comment requirements, common parliamentary procedure issues, and other legal matters that can trip you up if you aren’t careful. Get your questions answered, and learn things that may surprise you!
Presenter: Allison Schafer, Legal Counsel/Director of Policy
This session is designed to fulfill the legal requirement that all school board members receive two hours of ethics education within 12 months of being elected or re-elected or appointed or reappointed to office. The session will cover the laws and principles that govern conflicts of interest and ethical standards of conduct for board members in North Carolina. Ms. Schafer will include practical scenarios to illustrate how the law applies to the duties and responsibilities of North Carolina school board members.
Presenter: Allison Schafer, Director of Policy/Legal Counsel, NCSBA
If you’re looking for affordable staff development opportunities for your administrators and teachers, NCSBA has the solution. We will offer five webinars in August to help keep your staff at the top of their game. Click the links below to register for each webinar.
Monday, August 19 – Suspension? Placement at an Alternative School? Expulsion? An Overview of the Law on Student Discipline
This webinar will address the U.S. constitutional provisions and the North Carolina laws that determine when students may be subject to removal from school for disciplinary reasons. The webinar will also include a discussion of the amount of due process a student is entitled to receive before various disciplinary penalties are imposed.
Tuesday, August 20 – Religion in the Schools: Curriculum, Holiday Celebrations, and Students’ Right to the Free Exercise of Religion
At times school systems are sued when parents or others object to classroom assignments or school programs that address religious topics or ideas. This webinar will examine court cases that illustrate the types of situations that have stirred controversy in the past. It will also provide general guidance as to what is generally acceptable, what is not, and when to seek guidance from legal counsel.
Wednesday, August 21 – Bullying and Sexual Harassment of Students: The Classroom Teacher’s Role in Prevention and Response
Classroom teachers play a pivotal role in preventing and responding to bullying and sexual harassment of students. Often overlooked is the teacher’s role in preventing sexual misconduct between employees and students. After a brief refresher on student-on-student bullying and sexual harassment, this webinar will focus on the teacher’s role in protecting students from sexual misconduct by adults in the school environment, including the warning signs of boundary invasions and other grooming behaviors that may progress to sexual misconduct.
Thursday, August 22 – Teachers’ Legal Duties and Responsibilities on School Trips
In this presentation we will take a look at legal and practical considerations for teachers before and during field trips. Good planning, communication, and knowing your duties and responsibilities will go a long way towards making your adventures in learning with students a success.
Friday, August 23 – Child Abuse and Neglect: Reports and Investigations
This presentation will discuss mandatory reporting requirements for school system employees regarding abuse, neglect, dependency, and maltreatment of children. Also, this presentation will explain two relatively recent changes to North Carolina law — specifically, the expanded definition of child abuse and neglect to include child trafficking and new reporting requirements for child maltreatment in licensed child care facilities.
Each webinar is $250 per school system, and board member training credit is $10 per person.
This webinar will define crowdfunding, highlight the growing usage of crowdfunding by school employees, and address the positives of and issues surrounding crowdfunding in schools. It will also examine different approaches LEAs have taken to address crowdfunding, as well as explain the policy NCSBA has drafted to regulate crowdfunding in schools and the issues that were considered in developing the policy.
Presented by: Justice Warren, Staff Attorney, NCSBA
This webinar will address a variety of issues involving political speech and related activities in the schools. Do students have a right to express their political opinions on their clothing, to distribute political literature, or to comment on their political beliefs at school? Do employees have a right to engage in political speech while on the job, especially in the classroom? When may school facilities be used by outside groups for election or political purposes? The webinar will also address a state law that forbids school boards from using public funds to endorse or oppose a referendum, election, or a particular candidate for elective office.
Presented by: Janine Murphy, Assistant Legal Counsel, NCSBA
NCSBA event registration has transitioned to a new system. Please contact us if you need assistance.
Most cases of sexual abuse of students by school employees are preceded by a form of “sexual grooming.” Sexual grooming often is only evident after the fact and can be quite subtle and similar to innocent behavior, which can make it difficult for school administrators to identify. On the other hand, no school employee wants his or her innocent attempts at establishing a sound and trusting relationship with students to be viewed as grooming for sexual misconduct. This webinar will discuss how to resolve this dilemma by ensuring employees and administrators understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate boundary invasions and the importance of observing and enforcing professional boundaries.
Presented by: Kathy Boyd, Senior Staff Attorney, NCSBA
NCSBA event registration has transitioned to a new system. Please contact us if you need assistance.
This webinar will discuss how North Carolina law and local board policies apply to students’ use of tobacco, vaporizers, and various cannabidiol (“CBD”) products, as well as the accompanying risk of developing a substance use disorder.
Presented by: Sam Thorp, Staff Attorney, NCSBA
These previously recorded webinars are perfect for board members, administrators, and staff. They will be available Tuesday, April 28, through Friday, May 1, at 5 p.m.
You may register for one or all of the webinars. Each webinar is $250 per school system, and board member credit is $10 per person. If you are a board member and are interested in these webinars, please connect with your board assistant in order to avoid duplicate registrations.
Boundary Invasions and Sexual Grooming: What Every School Employee Must Know About Avoiding Inappropriate Staff-Student Relationships
Most cases of sexual abuse of students by school employees are preceded by a form of “sexual grooming.” Sexual grooming often is only evident after the fact and can be quite subtle and similar to innocent behavior, which can make it difficult for school administrators to identify. On the other hand, no school employee wants his or her innocent attempts at establishing a sound and trusting relationship with students to be viewed as grooming for sexual misconduct. This webinar will discuss how to resolve this dilemma by ensuring employees and administrators understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate boundary invasions and the importance of observing and enforcing professional boundaries.
Religion in the Schools: Curriculum, Holiday Celebrations, and Students’ Right to the Free Exercise of Religion
At times school systems are sued when parents or others object to classroom assignments or school programs that address religious topics or ideas. This webinar will examine court cases that illustrate the types of situations that have stirred controversy in the past. It will also provide general guidance as to what is generally acceptable, what is not, and when to seek guidance from legal counsel.
Bullying and Sexual Harassment of Students: The Classroom Teacher’s Role in Prevention and Response
Classroom teachers play a pivotal role in preventing and responding to bullying and sexual harassment of students. Often overlooked is the teacher’s role in preventing sexual misconduct between employees and students. After a brief refresher on student-on-student bullying and sexual harassment, this webinar will focus on the teacher’s role in protecting students from sexual misconduct by adults in the school environment, including the warning signs of boundary invasions and other grooming behaviors that may progress to sexual misconduct.
Everyone Knew He Was a Troubled Kid: Limits on the Release of Student Information to Law Enforcement and Other Third Parties
School personnel are under increasing pressure to proactively share information about students with law enforcement officials, mental health providers, and others in the hope of preventing the next school shooting or similar tragedy. This webinar examines the limits FERPA places on the release of student information to law enforcement and other third parties and provides general guidance as to what information can be shared, with whom, and under what circumstances.
If you are a board member and are interested in this webinar, please connect with your board assistant in order to avoid duplicate registrations.
This webinar will examine the state laws that govern the role local school boards play in financial oversight. It will also discuss warning signs and strategies to prevent the misuse of funds, as well as how to address issues should they arise and possible consequences for not taking action.
Presented by: Allison Schafer, Legal Counsel/Director of Policy, NCSBA