With the Governor’s proposal to increase teacher salaries, Districts are considering options for implementation of a salary schedule that will make sense for them, now and in the future.  School leader and financial expert Carol Embree joins Emily and Duane to discuss the financial and legal issues associated with putting a salary schedule with a $38K minimum teacher’s salary into place.   

Powerpoint companion for this episode regarding 38K Teachers' Salary Schedule
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UHKvXCBRy5scfj2XBxJ-9yMqdb6LpMHd6XF1BQg09co/edit?usp=sharing
Carol Embree's contact information
[email protected] 

Over the past few months, legal issues regarding public access to and board approval of instructional materials have become prevalent.   In this episode, Emily and Duane discuss legal issues regarding instructional materials, curriculum and textbooks ranging from approval requirements to parental access.  

In this episode, Duane discusses a few of the common mistakes often made by new members of the Board of Education. 

This past week, the Supreme Court rejected a board member’s claim that his First Amendment rights were violated when his board gave him a verbal censure for his conduct as a board member.  In this episode, Duane discusses the Court’s decision and what it means for Missouri school boards that may want to censure an individual board member. 

Federal, state law and board policy each have specific rules for guns on Missouri school property. In this episode, Duane talks through some of the more common issues raised by these rules and what school officials should know about guns on school property in the possession of students, patrons, visitors, employees and school protections officers.   

With the new criminal penalties associated with violating the rules, there is an increased scrutiny on school officials and how they provide information about the District’s ballot measure.  In this episode, Rachel Meystedt joins Duane to talk about key rules relating to campaigns for ballot measures including the use of district resources, remaining neutral in providing ballot information, requirements for printed and electronic materials, and the formation of committees.
Campaign Finance FAQ:
https://www.mec.mo.gov/WebDocs/PDF/CampaignFinance/CF_FAQ.pdf
Paid for By disclosures:
https://www.mec.mo.gov/WebDocs/PDF/CampaignFinance/CampaignMaterialsIdReq.pdf
When to form a committee:
https://www.mec.mo.gov/webdocs/pdf/campaignfinance/forming_registering_committee.pdf

Last Friday, the CDC announced recent changes in its guidance, including guidance for schools.  In today’s episode, Emily and Duane discuss a summary of the recent changes, including changes in the requirements to mask on school buses.  

Visit our blog for more information. https://edcounsel.law/2022/02/28/30781/

With the recent hearing on HB 1814, the open enrollment bill, there is a great deal of discussion and confusion about what the bill will mean to  public schools.  In this episode, Duane discusses some of the common misconceptions about this proposed legislation. 

As schools prepare for the Spring personnel season, Duane and Emily discuss the actions and processes for school boards in making good personnel decisions this Spring.  In this episode, we cover a wide-range of personnel topics as they relate to Board decisions including the hiring process before the board, non-renewals, contracting, personnel-related Sunshine Law issues, resignations, and much more!

In this episode, Drew and Duane discuss this week’s decision from the Missouri Supreme Court regarding the termination of a teacher for disclosure of confidential student information when she transferred the District’s Google for Education Account to her personal Google account for personal reasons.  Drew talks through some critical takeaways for Missouri public schools regarding data breaches, Google for Education, and staff member compliance with FERPA.