Iowa Principal Leadership Academy
Syllabus Standard III: Developing Educational Leaders Who Successfully
Manage Organizations, Operations, and Resources to Promote a Safe and
Effective Learning Environment for Students
Seminar 2: Legal Issues for K-12 Principals
Problem-Based Learning Theme 3. ISLL Standard 3: An educational leader who promotes
the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and
resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Purpose: The purpose of this seminar on Legal Issues is to prepare each principal candidate
with the theory and best practice needed to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions
necessary to be successful in developing the program content and problem-based learning theme
in ISSL Standard III. This seminar will focus on current legal cases and legal implications that
administrators must deal with. Furthermore, the seminar will focus on the highlighted
knowledge, dispositions, and performances of ISSL Standard II.
ISLL Standard 3: A school administrator who promotes the success of all students by ensuring
management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient and effective
learning organization.
Knowledge: The administrator has the knowledge and understanding of:
 Theories and models of organizations and the principles of organizational
development
 Operational procedures at the school and district level
 Principles and issues relating to school safety and security
 Human resources management and development
 Principles and issues relating to fiscal operations of school management
 Principles and issues relating to school facilities and use of space
 Legal issues impacting school operations
 Current technologies that support management functions
Dispositions: The administrator believes in, values, and is committed to:
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Making management decisions to enhance learning and teaching
Taking risks to improve schools
Trusting people and their judgments
Accepting responsibility
High quality standards, expectations, and performances
Involving stakeholders in management processes
A safe environment
Performances: The administrator facilitates processes and engages in activities ensuring
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Knowledge of learning, teaching, and student development is used to inform management
decisions
Operational procedures are designed and managed to maximize opportunities for
successful learning
Emerging trends are recognized, studied, and managed to maximize opportunities for
successful learning
Operational plans and procedures to achieve the vision and goals of the school are in
place
Collective bargaining and other contractual agreements related to the school are
effectively managed
The school plant, equipment, and support systems operate safely, efficiently, and
effectively
Time is managed to maximize attainment of organizational goals
Potential problems and opportunities are identified
Problems are confronted and resolved in a timely manner
Financial, human, and material resources are aligned to the goals of schools
The school acts entrepreneurial to support continuous improvement
Organizational systems are regularly monitored and modified as needed
Stakeholders are involved in decisions affecting schools
Responsibility is shared to maximize ownership and accountability
Effective problem-framing and problem-solving skills are used
Effective conflict resolution skills are used
Effective group-process and consensus building skills are used
Effective communications skills are used
There is effective use of technology to manage school operations efficiently, and
effectively
A safe, clean, and aesthetically pleasing school environment is created and maintained
Human resource functions support the attainment of school goals
Confidentiality and privacy of school records are maintained
This seminar will also include theory that supports the understandings of Distributive Leadership
Principles 1-5 and Design Principles 2-3.
Distributive Leadership Principle 1: The purpose of leadership is the improvement of instructional
practice and performance, regardless of role.
Distributed Leadership Principle 2: Instructional improvement requires continuous learning.
Distributed Leadership Principle 3: Learning requires modeling.
Distributed Leadership Principle 4: The roles and activities of leadership flow from the expertise
required for learning and improvement, not from the formal dictates of the institution.
Distributed Leadership Principle 5: The exercise of authority requires reciprocity of accountability and
capacity.
Design Principle 2: Routinize accountability for practice and performance in face-to-face relationships.
Design Principle 3: Reduce isolation and open practice up to direct observation, analysis and criticism.
Endorsement 189 Content and Competencies:
Content Standard 4: Knowledge of family support systems, factors which place families at risk, child
care issues, and home-school community relationships and interactions designed to promote parent
education, family involvement, and interagency collaboration.
Content Standard 5: Knowledge of school law and legislative and public policy issues affecting children
and families.
Content Standard 7: Knowledge of current issues in special education administration
Competency 3: Ensures management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient,
and effective learning environment.
Tool Box Activities This Seminar Will Address:
Overview of Tool Box Activities:
 Examine building/district hiring and termination practices and policies and
procedures. Are they aligned with best research and practice? Journal
findings with suggestions for improvement.
 Examine building communications and district policies, practices and
procedures. Are these aligned with best research and practice? Write a plan
for improvement.
 Examine building emergency plans. Are they adequate? Journal findings.
 Review problem solving process used in your building, way(s) consensus is
reached on building concerns, methods for making suggestions for
improvements, etc. Is this aligned with research and best practice? Is it fair to
all staff? Is the process effective? Journal findings.
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BEFORE WEEKEND
 Review the course syllabus
 Articles/Cases to Read Prior to Seminar
A. Student Rights
1. Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. School Dist. (Excerpt) (1st
Amendment/Speech)
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Goss v. Lopez (excerpt) (5th/14th Amendments/Due Process of Law)
New Jersey v T.L.O (excerpt) (4th Amendment/Search & Seizure)
Bethel v. Fraser (excerpt) (1st Amendment/Speech)
Iowa Code} 280.22 (Student speech in school publications)
Iowa Code ch. 808A (search and seizure in Iowa schools.
In re Nicholas Guthrie (v. Okoboji) (expulsion rights in Iowa schools).
B. Staff/Public Employee Rights
1. Winegar v. Des Moines Indep. C.S.D. (14th Am./Due Process)
2. Erg v. Iowa State Bd. Of Pub. Instr. (criteria for
revocation/immortality)
3. Pickering v. Board of Education (excerpt) 1st Am. Speech)
4. Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. V. Doyle (1st Am./Speech)
5. Keefe v Geanakos (excerpts) (1st Am. “academic freedom”)
6. Fowler v. Board of Ed. (excerpt) (“academic freedom”)
C. Collective Bargaining in Iowa
Iowa Code}} 20.7-20.12
D. Termination of Licensed Staff (Particularly in Iowa)
1. Iowa Code ch. 279 (esp. 270.14-279.25
2. Mroz v. Board of Directors (Sioux City)
3. Briggs v. Board of Directors (Hinton) (excerpt)
4. Sheldon Comm. Sch. Dis. Bd of Dirs. V. Lundblad
5. Board of Directors v. Davies (Lawton-Bronson)
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Resources and Materials:
 Course Syllabus
 www.sai-iowa.org. Retrieve archived articles and forms for expulsion, sexual orientation,
harassment, “Good Conduct” rules and forms, and other issue-specific documents.
 Iowa Code (Copies available on CD, on-line, and from AEAs)
This is a problem-centered course:
A problem is a troubled perplexed, trying situation…not an assigned task…It is indispensable to
distinguish between genuine and mock problems. Does a question naturally suggest itself with
some situation? Or is it an aloof thing, only for the purposes of conveying information? Would
it arouse observation and engage experimentation outside of school? Or is it the teacher’s or
textbook’s, made a problem for the pupil only because he cannot get the required mark unless he
deals with it? (John Dewey, Democracy and Education, 1916)
Legal Issues for K-12 Principals Overall Goal: The principal goal of Legal Issues for K-12
principals is to provide the principal candidate with the background knowledge of situations they
need to know in order to support the development of the knowledge, performances, and
dispositions of ISSL Standards III and to support the development of each Problem-based
Theme.
Specific Seminar Goals:
 To expose candidates to the vast variety of situations that have legal implications
that they will likely encounter
 To create a level of awareness about situations in which principals should seek
legal advice before taking action
 To engage candidates’ through the use of hyotheticals and problem-solving
related to topics outlined in “Activities to complete prior to the seminar”
 To create an understanding of how to recognize potential legal issues and how to
analyze a situation by viewing the arguments on both sides
 To provide candidates with the knowledge of resources available to Iowa
principals for legal advice and assistance
 To provide understanding of what the courts have held in the past on some of the
more significant school law issues
Specific Seminar Continuing Objectives:
 To continue to dialogue with and receive legal issue support from the instructor as
an expert mentor throughout Problem-based Learning Theme III in completing
the action research, action plan, tool box activities, and reflective journaling.
 To develop specific course tool box journaling and action requirements through
consultation with other Cohort Group members and the instructor as an expert
mentor.
 Continue to critique the reference materials and sites and to share knowledge and
understandings with cohort group, instructor, and other mentors.
Student Assignments and Expectations: Listed in Syllabus 3: Problem-Based Learning
Theme 3.
Evaluation:
Continuous Improve Continuum: Evaluation of the Organization
Level 5 on the rubric is assigned for work of the highest academic quality.
Level 4 on the rubric is assigned for professional quality work at the required
quality level
Level 3 on the rubric is assigned for adequate work, but not distinguished as
sound quality at the proficient level. Those with a Level 3 Rubric will have the
opportunity to revise and complete quality work.
All work for the Iowa Principal Leadership Academy must be completed at Rubric
Levels 4 or 5 to be considered proficient. All work must be completed at the proficient
level.