Unpackaging 'Island Trees' for the Principal Practitioner

Academic and Business Research Institute. 147 Medjool Trail, Ponte Vedra, FL 32081. Tel: 904-435-4330; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.aabri.com

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11

Principals; Administrator Qualifications; Legal Responsibility; Administrator Role; Court Litigation; Censorship; School Libraries; Freedom of Speech; Books; Elementary Secondary Education

1941-3432

School administrators face a plenitude of issues throughout the course of a career, many of which necessitate some working knowledge of school law. Administrators are not lawyers, after all, and do not possess anywhere near their level of expertise. Parental and community concerns are often a source of frustration and make for problematic situations that need an administrative response sooner rather than later. It is imperative for the administrator to have a legal approach action plan in place for every contingency possible. When a parent, or more likely a group of parents, ask that a certain book be removed from the classroom library or the school library, how should the principal, classroom teacher, or school librarian respond? The purpose of this study is to examine the very ambiguous relevancy of the U. S. Supreme Court decision of "Island Trees School District v. Pico" (1982) and specifically examine real life scenarios and possible solutions concerning censorship for the school principal.

As Provided

2019

EJ1233115