Below is a sample of seminars and in-service programs offered by Strauss Esmay Associates Professional Development Services. Strauss Esmay Associates is available to provide these and other programs related to school policy at a school district location.

Please contact Philip Nicastro, Esq. to inquire about these or any other professional development programs Strauss Esmay Associates may be able to provide to your district.

INAPPROPRIATE STAFF CONDUCT

The New Jersey Supreme Court in Frugis v. Samuel Bracigliano and Elmwood Park Board of Education recently placed a “heightened duty of school Boards to ensure pupil safety from foreseeable harm, particularly those presented by the intentional acts of school personnel.” In response to this significant decision and its implications to every school district, Strauss Esmay developed Policies and Regulations 3281 and 4281 – Inappropriate Staff Conduct. This program reviews the implications of the Frugis case and Policy and Regulation Guides 3281 and 4281. This in-service program is designed to increase staff awareness regarding staff-to-student and student-to-staff conduct that is determined inappropriate by Boards of Education, the Commissioner of Education, and the Courts. This program is approximately one to one and one-half hours and can be presented during district-wide in-service days or faculty meetings.

RESIDENCY ISSUES FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT ENROLLMENT

School districts are often challenged when making a determination regarding a pupil's legal domicile for attending school in the district. Legal issues for consideration include matters such as residence vs. domicile, multiple residences, matrimonial and child custody implications, immigration status, the affidavit pupil, and dual domiciles. This program provides an overview of Policy and Regulation Guides 5111 – Eligibility of Resident/Nonresident Pupils, school attendance statutes/codes, legal issues to be considered by district administrative staff, and New Jersey Department of Education student registration forms. This program is approximately one to one and one-half hours and can be presented during district-wide in-service days or staff meetings with personnel responsible for the student registration process.

USING ELANONLINE FOR EASY UPDATING OF DISTRICT'S POLICY AND REGULATION MANUALS

Policy Alert Support Service (PASS) districts can use Strauss Esmay's website and ELANOnline for easy updating and maintaining of the district's Policy and Regulation Manuals and the district's Filemaker Pro version of ELAN. This program reviews how district office personnel can use Strauss Esmay's online services to make the updating process easy and simple. This session can refresh the experienced Filemaker Pro ELAN user and provide additional training to recent users.

SCHOOL ETHICS ACT & CODE OF ETHICS FOR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS

N.J.S.A. 18A:12-21 et seq., the School Ethics Act, has been revised to include N.J.S.A. 18A:12-24.1 – Code of Ethics for School Board Members. N.J.A.C. 6A:32-3.2 requires discussion of the School Ethics Act and Code of Ethics at a regularly scheduled public meeting and training of Board members in understanding the Code of Ethics. The School Ethics Commission has already provided advisory opinions and decisions interpreting the new Code of Ethics. The presentation provides an overview of Strauss Esmay's Policy Guide 0142 and the School Ethics Act legislation, reviews School Ethics Commission Advisory Opinions, and Commissioner of Education and Court decisions regarding the School Ethics Law. This program is approximately one hour and can be presented to administrators, Board members and other school staff that must comply with the School Ethics Act.

NEW JERSEY FAMILY LEAVE ACT & FEDERAL MEDICAL AND FAMILY LEAVE ACT

School districts are required to comply with the New Jersey Family Leave Act and the Federal Medical and Family Leave Act. The New Jersey and Federal Laws are not identical and a school district must consider both when considering Family Leave. This session provides an overview of Strauss Esmay's Policy Guides 3431.1 and 4431.1, presents the differences between the two laws, and reviews the issues that must be considered when determining family leave benefits to be provided to school district staff. This program is approximately one to two hours and can be presented to district administrative and human resource staff responsible for district compliance with the Family Leave Acts.

HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION, & BULLYING

School districts are required to adopt a policy that prohibits acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying: Acts of harassment, intimidation, and bullying range from name-calling and fighting to acts such as exclusion and isolation. School staff must be able to identify harassment, intimidation, and bullying acts and districts must develop strategies for reducing these behaviors. This program provides an overview of Strauss Esmay's Policy Guide 5512.01 and Regulation Guide 5512 and New Jersey's Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying law and provides guidance to school staff in identifying harassment, intimidation, and bullying acts with strategies for reducing these acts. This program is approximately one to two hours and can be presented to school staff during district-wide in-service days or school/grade level staff meetings.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Federal and State laws require school districts to adopt policies prohibiting sexual harassment. Federal regulations and State law are very specific in school districts requirements and Court decisions place a high burden on school districts to in-service school staff on identifying sexually harassing conduct between pupils and staff. This program provides an overview of Strauss Esmay's Policy Guides 3362, 4352 and 5751 and guidance to staff in identifying and reporting sexually harassing conduct. This program is approximately one hour and can be presented to school staff during district-wide in-service days or school/grade level staff meetings.

SCHOOL LAW REVIEW FOR ADMINISTRATORS

School administrators spend more and more time dealing with legal issues. School building use, distribution of non-school related literature, a pupil's First Amendment Rights, school prayer, employment issues, and substance abuse/use are just a few examples of legal issues that confront school administrators on a regular basis. This program provides an overview of the current state of the law in the many areas of school administration. This program is approximately two hours and can be presented to school administrators during a district-wide administrative meeting.

SCHOOL LAW AND THE TEACHER

Classroom teachers are confronted with issues that have legal implications. A pupil's First Amendment right to free speech, a pupil's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure, pupils' rights to association, student prayer, and suspected pupil use of controlled dangerous substances are just a few issues in which teachers need to be familiar with the law. This program provides an overview of the rights of a pupil in a school setting and provides guidance to teachers in dealing with these concerns. This program is approximately two hours and can be presented to school administrative and teaching staff during a school level or district-wide meeting.