Educator Workshops

1.         STAYING IN THE CLASSROOM AND OUT OF THE COURTROOM:  How to avoid being sued, being charged with a crime, or being accused of an ethical violation while doing your job ©): 
 This seminar is a must for your new hires, but will be more beneficial to seasoned veterans who may have let down their guard over the years.   Teachers, administrators, school counselors and coaches will contemplate the mistakes made by others and learn how to keep themselves and the school district out of legal trouble.  This session is guaranteed to get high reviews from your staff. 
 
We will explore the following issues:
  • Is it ever OK to touch a student?  Is corporal punishment OK?  What about controversial discipline techniques?  Can you get sued for breaking up (or for NOT breaking up) a student fight?
  • When and under what circumstances do you need to report child abuse?
  • Students have civil rights that must be respected.  How do you keep from violating those rights?
  • When do you have immunity from being sued, and how can you avoid losing the immunity?
  • How to avoid common mistakes made by educators who get sued.
  • How to avoid common, student boundary mistakes made by educators who get investigated by TEA.
Suggested minimum session time:      1.5 hours
Suggested maximum session time:      3 hours

2.         TEXAS FAMILY LAW FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, TEACHERS, AND LAWYERS 
Does Grandpa have rights?  What about Stepmom?  What about Mom's new girlfriend?  Who gets to eat lunch with the student, attend parent-teacher conferences, and the band concert?  Does Dad’s new girlfriend Boopsie - or Mom’s new boyfriend Moose - get to pick up the child from school?  What if the parents disagree, leaving you with no clear guidance?  Do you sometimes feel like you need a family lawyer on staff at your campus? Well, here's the next best thing.
We wrote the book! "Texas Family Law for Administrators, Teachers and Lawyers," Kevin and Jeana Lungwitz, Park Place Publications (2nd edition, June 2012) answers these questions and serves as the outline for this interactive training session.  Great for central office and campus administrators, and teachers.

Minimum session time:  1  hour
Maximum session time: 2 hours
 
3.         STUDENT SEXUAL HARASSMENT, BULLYING, CYBER-BULLYING, DATING VIOLENCE:  What is your legal responsibility to deal with these issues?
 These topics are gaining traction in the media.  If these issues arise on your campus your actions will be reviewed under a microscope.  Will you be able to withstand the scrutiny of lawyers and the media?  Questions will be asked: "What did the school officials know, when did they know it, and what did they do about it?"

  • Are you prepared to reduce or deal with sexual harassment, bullying and dating violence allegations on your campus?  
  • We will discuss practical strategies of encouraging the reporting of these allegations from students.
  • Learn what you should do when allegations have been made.
  • What are the rights of LGBTQ students on your campus?
  • Can you stop bullying that occurs off campus?
Suggested minimum session time:  1 hour
Suggested maximum session time: 2 hours
 
 4.         MAKING SENSE OF THE INTERNET ON YOUR CAMPUS
 Students and employees are texting, emailing, using Facebook, YouTube, Snap Chat, and Twitter right under your nose.  They are sending and retrieving all kinds of electronic data through cell phone transmissions, school networks, and through cable, satellite and phone landlines.  What, if anything, should do about it?
  • When can you discipline students or staff for computer usage at school?  What about questionable Internet behavior outside of school?
  • Should an administrator use email to document staff? 
  • What is cyber-bullying and what will be your response?
  • Should teachers ever email or text students?   
  • Can students talk bad or threaten teachers electronically?  Can staff talk bad about their supervisors on Facebook?  
  • Is  the district's acceptable computer use policy up to date and relevant?   
  • Will discipline withstand a First Amendment challenge?  
Suggested minimum session time:      1 hour
Suggested maximum session time:      2 hours
 
  
5.         EMPLOYEE DOCUMENTATION: PDAS and beyond
Learn how to properly document employees for staff improvement and discipline.  Create documentation that will withstand scrutiny by school employee lawyers.  Learn how the teacher attorneys assess teacher evaluation and dismissal cases.   Every Principal, AP, and HR Director should attend this workshop 
  • What is the purpose of documentation?  Nope, that’s not the right answer!
  • What is the difference in documentation needed for a nonrenewal as compared to a termination?  Is a growth plan required?
  • What are the rules about sharing documentation with employees?
  • Is a note to my private file really private? Are my emails to HR private?
  • Is firing an at-will employee as easy as it sounds?
  • How can you avoid a whistleblower case or an EEOC investigation as a result of your actions?
Suggested minimum session time:      1 hours
Suggested maximum session time:      2 hours
  
6.         HOW TO HANDLE - OR AVOID - EMPLOYEE AND PARENT GRIEVANCES
 Learn ways to avoid having grievances filed at your campus.  Learn how to handle grievances in a professional and efficient manner - even without an attorney by your side.  
  • What do I do once a grievance is filed against me?  Will I need a lawyer to help me? Should I hire my own lawyer?
  • We will discuss the employee's, parent’s and administration's rights and obligations in the grievance system. 
  • Why are grievances filed?  Who can participate in the grievance system?  What role do teacher associations play?
  • What is grievable and what is not grievable?
  • Is it possible for both sides to win?

Suggested minimum session time:      1 hour
Suggested maximum session time:      2 hours

7.         EDUCATOR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BUT MIGHT BE AFRAID TO ASK.
 Maybe you are a new principal, or maybe you have been around awhile and you have forgotten some of the things you learned in principal school.   This workshop covers basic employee rights that you want to know about, but were afraid to ask, such as:

  • When can I ask my staff to work during their duty-free lunch?
  • How much time do I need to give my staff for planning and prep?  Can I make my staff attend staff meetings during planning and prep?
  • What is the difference between a probationary, term, and continuing contract?
  • Can I direct a teacher to change a grade?  
  • Can I direct the teachers to work extra hours for no pay?  If so, how many hours?
  • What rights do at-will employees have?
  • Under what circumstances can an employee successfully challenge the PDAS appraisal?
Suggested minimum session time:      1 hour
Suggested maximum session time:      2 hours
 
Additional speaking topics:
We have published articles on the following topics and can incorporate any of them into a training session.
  • STUDENT FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS: It’s not just about backpacks and lockers any more.
  • REASSIGNMENTS, DEMOTIONS, PAY CUTS: What can the district do to you?
  • RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDERED STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES:  Interesting, emerging issues that every teacher and principal needs to know.
  • ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE: The unwanted vacation.
  • WHO IS SBEC, WHAT DO THEY DO, AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?  How will you avoid a TEA/SBEC investigation and what to do if they come knocking.
  • RELIGION IN SCHOOL: God help us all. 
  • THE HIDDEN TAPE RECORDER:  Is it legal?
  • THE LEGAL HAZARDS OF CHECKING STUDENTS OUT OF SCHOOL
  • ARE OFFICE ROMANCES ILLEGAL?