Materials

Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter, Google Docs or Evernote, new technology applications have legal and operational effects on schools. The impact of new technologies and apps are especially important for one-to-one and BYOD schools.

Cloud computing applications pose additional legal complications. We have been asked to offer training sessions to help districts identify the issues in these sorts of new technological applications, and to determine the proper oversight when contemplating a new technology, so take advantage of this easy way to get the answers you are looking for.

Topics Covered:

• COPPA and CIPA issues
• Copyright issues
• Contract issues
• Potential consequences for failure to monitor

With the new school year just around the corner and the legislature’s recent passing of House Bill 3033, there are several essential Texas Public Information Act updates that require your District’s immediate attention. Please join us in a brief half-hour webinar as we discuss what actions your District must take to ensure compliance with the TPIA’s brand new requirements relating to response timelines under House Bill 3033. This webinar will also share options, a draft resolution, useful tips and common pitfalls in your District’s handling of public information requests.

The session provides both new and experienced Trustees with essential knowledge regarding school construction procurement. We cover the Board’s responsibilities in construction procurement and provide essential information to help each trustee to make the best decision for their school district.

Topics include:

• Selection of Construction Methods
• Hiring Architects
• Hiring Contractors

We also discuss basic ethical requirements of a Trustee in connection with the construction procurement process.

This webcast is presented by David P. Hansen.

Trustees will receive 1 hour CPE credit.

This is the hiring time of year. With all your new employees, do you have your ducks in a row regarding the required Form I-9 and work authorization? I-9 audits are on the rise, and financial penalties for improper documentation can be significant. And if a pattern of violation is uncovered, criminal penalties are possible. This webinar will refresh you regarding what needs to be documented and how to self-audit and correct errors.

2025 Edition

This manual provides practical advice for handling often encountered situations by cheerleader and drill team sponsors.

Topics Covered:

• Social Media and Cyberbullying
• Rights Associated with Extracurricular Activities
• UIL and Coaching Requirements
• Options for Selecting Team Members
• District and Staff Liability & Immunity
• Transportation and Other Travel Issues
• Access to Education Records
• Title IX LGBTQ+
• Relevant Federal and State Court Cases
• Extracurricular Codes of Conduct
• Discipline and Removal from Team
• Cheerleader Constitutions
• Student and Parent Complaints

2021 Updated Edition

Superintendents and board members told us they needed a practical guide that explains their roles, responsibilities, and authority. So, after hundreds of hours of legal work and critical input from an Advisory Committee of board members, superintendents, and Education Service Center personnel, we published our Trustee Manual. It is an exceptional product, not simply because it is our product, but because there is nothing else like it.

• The Manual is organized into six sections: Being A Trustee, Board Meetings, Personnel Issues, Student Issues, Business Issues, and Liability
• Each section has its own supplement of sample forms, motion language, resolutions, and notes
• Legal citations do not appear in the text, but in the ‘Becoming An Expert’ pages at the end of each section
• Sold in sets of eight to emphasize the team relationship between the board and superintendent
• Trustees receive one hour of tier-three Board Member training credit for reading the Manual

Updated to include all significant changes from the 87^th Texas Legislative Session. Older versions of this manual may include out of date information and should not be used.

Note: Members may receive additional hours by receiving a board training. For more information please view our training pages or contact us.

A pamphlet for trustees and administrators who need to know the laws that apply to them when using social media. This resource covers district-specific accounts, campaign pages, and how to handle comments you don’t necessarily like to see. This pamphlet instructs on when one can delete tweets, how to handle keeping posts for public records, and when a page is a public forum or not. Posts are put up in an instant, but lawsuits can drag on forever.

A comprehensive resource for handling Public Information Act requests, from the simple to the insane. This resource includes flow charts to guide you through responding to requests, form letters for common situations, and answers to your most pressing questions. Unsure what qualifies as a request for information? Want to charge for fulfillment of requests? This manual lays it all out for you.

Community support organizations for extracurricular activities-or Booster Clubs-are a valuable complement to the school’s athletic, music, and academic competition programs. Their activities often provide additional financial resources and enrichment for the programs they support, but sometimes the lines between a Booster Club and the school district become blurred. This low-cost booklet is the perfect mechanism to communicate, in easy to read language, the district’s rules for Booster Clubs that support its extracurricular activities. It is designed to supplement the information contained in University Interscholastic League’s (UIL’s) Booster Club Guidelines. A must for all Booster Clubs in your district. Topics addressed include:

• Formation, names and registration guidelines
• Becoming a tax-exempt organization
• Fund-raising and accounting
• Booster Club meetings
• Working with school staff
• Field trips and transportation
• Award restrictions

School administrators often are required to “look into” or “investigate” allegations of wrong-doing by students and employees. This manual can be used in non-Title IX investigations to help you understand why it is important to conduct an investigation in a particular way, as well as provide you form documents and scripts to facilitate recordkeeping and information gathering related to the allegations.

Unique to this product is a series of flow charts that guide you through each phase of an investigation so that critical steps or details that might haunt you later don’t get overlooked.

Revised December 2021.

Note: This manual is provided digitally.

When a formal complaint of sexual harassment under Title IX is filed, the Title IX Coordinator must appoint an individual to investigate the allegations. The Title IX Investigations Manual will walk those investigators through conducting a legally-compliant investigation under Title IX.

Note: This manual is provided digitally.

Districts may only order this UPDATE if they have our 2021-22 Contract Package version or newer.

Updated Employee Contract Package for 2025-2026

Based on recent court decisions, EWHPM has updated its employee contract package for the 2025-2026 school year. The primary change to the contracts is that they include a favorable statute of limitations for districts, which has been approved by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition, the Just Sign materials provide important new guidance on employee reassignments in light of a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision. We continue to offer options for districts to choose between offering traditional 10-month contracts to teachers or offering contracts that address the issue of teachers being asked to work slightly beyond 10 calendar months due to unforeseen circumstances (think Covid) or calendar choices.

In addition to these updates, the new package contains the same solid contract provisions it always has, along with the Just Sign publication explaining the contracting process in detail.

NOTE: If your district has never purchased this package or if your copy is older than 2021-22, you must order the full version at a cost of $400. For information on the version your district has, please contact (800) 488-9045 or information@edlaw.com.

Employee Contract Package for 2025-2026

Based on recent court decisions, EWHPM has updated its employee contract package for the 2025-2026 school year. The primary change to the contracts is that they include a favorable statute of limitations for districts, which has been approved by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition, the Just Sign materials provide important new guidance on employee reassignments in light of a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision. We continue to offer options for districts to choose between offering traditional 10-month contracts to teachers or offering contracts that address the issue of teachers being asked to work slightly beyond 10 calendar months due to unforeseen circumstances (think Covid) or calendar choices.

In addition to these updates, the new package contains the same solid contract provisions it always has, along with the Just Sign publication explaining the contracting process in detail.

NOTE: If your district has never purchased this package or if your copy is older than 2022-21, order this version. For information on the version your district has, please contact (800) 488-9045 or information@edlaw.com.

The Texas Family Code lays out a complicated set of rules regarding parental rights. We have taken the Family Code and the IDEA and broken it down into an easy-to-use chart to assist special education staff in determining who has the right to participate and /or make decisions. For example, you will be able to determine if a parent, guardian, surrogate parent, foster parent, other family member or advocate is entitled to:

• Receive written notice to attend an ARD meeting
• Receive a copy of a student’s records
• Request a due process hearing

Answers to these and other difficult questions are on our legal size chart. Footnoted explanations are on the flip side.