Administration In-service reflection 5hrs.

During the summer both of our assistant principals went to a professional

development, A day in the life of a Principal, where they were updated on school
laws and situations in the school day. When they returned we had a meeting about
how it went with the important updates. We also conversed about ideas on how to
inform staff on these updates and laws. You will find a copy of the PowerPoint they
received when attending. This PowerPoint is also what I used as a reference in the
meeting. The topics we discussed was the following; Custody, Cyber-bullying,
Transgender laws, Sex Abuse in schools, and School Law.
Custody has many different definitions. The one that people think of the most
is Natural Custody. This is where parents are the natural guardians and jointly share
responsible. However with the times this is changing. It can be changes with either
a court order or a legally binding agreement. The schools job is important to enforce
their court order. We as the school are to make educational appropriate decisions.
Unless you see legal documents, the school system doesnt know who has custody.
In our school we have many situations where the natural custody and the physical
custody are different. Many children are living with other families while their born
parents are in another location. If a child is emancipated then parents do not
support them at all. This process happens naturally. In education we need to make
sure that if Joint-legal custody to have contact with both parents if there is
separation or a divorce between the parents. Both parents have the right for all
educational records and knowledge. Kinship Care also falls under custody. In order
for Kinship care to occur, a serious family hardship has happened. This can be any
of the following, death of childs parents, serious illness, drug addiction,
incarceration, abandonment or active military duty. The child first needs to be a
resident of the state of Maryland then the child can enroll. When talking about a
childs education when in doubt, dont. If you need an immediate answer, answer
no. Make sure you call the supervisor or school attorney for advice.
With internet and social media being an immense way people communicate
cyberbullying is becoming an issue. Schools are needing guidance with supervision
of these issues in schools. According to Ed. Art 7-424.1 any off-campus conduct
that nonetheless causes a substantial disruption in school must be addressed.
The school has the right when it creates an issue within the school. Cyberbullying is
a form of bullying that takes place with electronic technology, mean text messages
or emails, rumors posted on social networking, embarrassing pictures, videos,
websites or fake profiles. With the first Amendment and freedom of speech, the law
does not clearly draw a line. Some cases are contradictory, the case must be
individually targeting another person. Schools should be proactive by developing
policies and education all staff, students and parents of the risk. If a school needs
more guidance the federal government maintains www.stopbullying.gov which
contains information on remedies.
Transgender rights and title IX has been talk of the county recently. Title IX
states no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under

any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Recently

there has been five Dear Colleague Letters that related to Title IX. The Supreme
Court is currently reviewing a Maryland case. Where the Board of Education
questioned the liability standards to be applied in the student-on-student
harassment case. The board sought to change the standard to what school officials
should have known as urged in a recent letters. As far as sports the state of
Maryland has developed guidelines of Transgender person.
With media talking about Sexual Abuse cases every day, the topic needs to
be addressed with everyone. It is important to know that 93% of sexual abuse cases
involve someone the child knows, stranger danger does not apply. When handling
staff situations with this give specific directives. If a teacher is showing a pattern
with a student or behavior that looks like friendship instead of teaching
administration needs to give directives. It is important as a principal to educate
staff, establish clear expectations for staff-student interaction, communicate with a
staff member who is showing a problem behavior, and continue to report cases.
School law is consistently changing. Sexting continues to be a major problem
in schools. Sharing nude photos is one of the most common way students sext. In
the state of Colorado, students shared 300-400 nude photos with 100 different
students. Marijuana in school is becoming a problem with a few states are
permitting the selling of medical marijuana. States such as Colorado, Maine, and
New Jersey now have policies in place. As Administration it is important to pick your
battles carefully.
During our meeting we discussed how to bring some of the information to
staff. During the first week there is a rotation, we can talk about these issues.
However Transgender we cannot discuss since the board has not approved the
different committees yet. However during the rotations we will discuss Title XI,
Cyberbullying and Custody. Our focus with Custody is going to be contact
information and what do to when contact restrictions show up in the system. This
meeting was extremely helpful for me. Not only was I apart in the decision for how
we give staff this information, but also because I was updated in the law potion of
the job. Being an Administrator it is important to stay current with all the laws and
the changes within the laws.