John T.

Davis
November 17th 2016
EDAD 616 A (01)- The Role of Schooling in a Democratic Society 1
Assignment # 4: Interview with Site/District Administrators

The following interview was conducted on Wednesday, the 16th of November 2016 with
my principal who is also an Associate Director of the Dioceses school system. Mr. Ws duties
currently include administration of the High School as well as overseeing the administration of
all 7 of the K-8 Catholic Elementary schools in our sub district/cluster. Mr. W. has been an
administrator in Catholic and public schools for over 20 years and has been involved in
education for more than 30 years.

As the schools in the cluster group are Catholic schools and thus belong to a private
entity, some of the laws that effect public schools do not necessarily apply. However, many of
those laws are viewed as effective and best practice and many are in line with the ethical/moral
code of the Church and the standards of the Diocese School System. As such, it is not
uncommon for the laws to be followed as Diocese wide directives, or as custom, but not legally
binding. As California School Law (Kemerer & Sansom, 2013) points out, the majority of the
laws effecting private schools are found in contract law. However, the school is subject to and
relies on some amount of constitutional and statutory law as well. This particularly applies to
employment issues and the rights of students and parents.

Mr. W. also pointed out that as an entity of the Catholic Church, the school system itself
is also subject to and follows the Code of Cannon Law which contains the laws of the Catholic
Church. While the schools private status and the contracts of employees that reflect Cannon
Law currently protect the schools religious freedoms, it would seem, Mr. W pointed out, that
Judicial Law may eventually play a bigger part in this as employees of the school system may
challenge the use of Cannon Law and the extent of the Churchs Constitutional right to religious
freedom(s). For example, Mr. W. mentioned that if an employee were to publicly make
statements on issues that go against Church teachings they could be reprimanded and even
terminated. In this case there could be conflict with the employees rights to free speech. He
noted that things such as not providing insurance for certain medical procedures or birth control
for employees, etc. could be challenged in the courts as well.

Despite the private/religious status of the school and the fact that employees are at will
and not unionized, Mr. W. notes that a great deal of attention must be given to ensuring that
employee Human Resource issues are handled correctly and legally. Mr. W is FRISK trained
and he stated that he utilizes FRISK when documenting performance or behavioral issues that
arise with employees. He also noted that the Diocese utilizes Performance Improvement Plans
(PIP) to correct any issues that may require the FRISK process. Additionally, Mr. W stressed
that it is absolutely necessary for administrators to try to correct and document how they
attempted to correct improper or negative employee behaviors. Proper training, thorough
documentation, and providing employees to access to policies to meet their professional goals
are what Mr. W. stressed were the most important ideas to keep in mind when dealing with
underperforming employees. Notifying HR and asking for advice were also important
procedures to keep in mind when dealing employee related legal issues.

The interview with Mr. W. indicated that despite the schools private religious status, that
administrators must be aware of a considerable amount of school law. Contract laws with
John T. Davis
November 17th 2016
EDAD 616 A (01)- The Role of Schooling in a Democratic Society 2
regards to employee rights and the handling of employee discipline in particular must be
carefully processed and documented to ensure that the school is covered. Additionally it is
noted by Mr. W that when in doubt checking with HR and the Diocese legal council is always
advisable to ensure that administrators are in line with all aspects of the law.

1. How do you access current information about school law?

As a Catholic school, we rely mostly on directives from the Diocese and on what is in
the employee and student contracts.

2. What are the legal areas that you come across the most in your position?

Mostly we pay attention to labor codes and due process. We abide by most civic codes,
ADA, etc. We also have to look at legal issues with our kids with regards to them
breaking any laws and or CPS issues.

3. What are important legal points that you keep in mind as you:
1. Evaluate personnel?

The need to document all improvement plans, give employees training, support, and
access to policies in order for them to meet professional goals. Their right to submit
responses to any written warnings or reprimands.

2. Communicate with parents?

Parental rights in terms of notification about disciplinary actions against students. Be

sure they receive all information regarding school policies. Need to notify them of any
police reports made about their students.

3. Discipline students?

Probably cause vs. reasonable suspicion for searches. Due process when
investigating. Laws regarding the time a student can be out of school on suspension,
specifically special education students. For a special education student needing to show
through an assessment whether the behavior was related to their disability. Due process
in expulsions
John T. Davis
November 17th 2016
EDAD 616 A (01)- The Role of Schooling in a Democratic Society 3
4. What topics or situations do you get advice on from your districts Human
Recourse and/or Student Services Department? Please get at least three examples.

1. Procedure for terminating an employee or putting someone on administrative

leave. 2. Conducting an investigation into a complaint against either a student or an
employee. 3. Putting an employee on a Professional Improvement Plan.

5. How do you document incidents that could be litigious? What type of documents do
you put in your site file as opposed to the personnel file?

Investigative reports, FRISK or improvement plans are documented using the procedures
inherent in each and go into the employee's personnel file. Site File or Side File =
Conversations, verbal warnings in which you do not indicate to the employee that there
will be an entry in their personnel file, things you notice (such as showing up late) that
you do not want to address with the employee yet because you want to see if it becomes a
pattern first.

6. Have you been trained in FRISK and do you use the method to document improper
faculty and staff behavior? If not, what guidelines or protocols do you use when
documenting employees?

Yes trained in FRISK. Yes, use it to document improper behavior. Use PIP
(Performance Improvement Plan) to set improvement goals and monitor that.

7. What advice can you give me on the knowledge and implementation of school law
as an aspiring administrator?

Do your research - don't rush to decisions - check with HR legal first if you aren't sure.

RESPONSE:

What are the key concepts to human resources in a school or district setting?

Anthony, some of the issues described at Mrs. Bs campus are very familiar to me. My first
assignment after getting my credential was as an emergency hire in an Intensive Learning
Community. 100% of my students were special education (ED) and in addition to IEP meetings
and attempting to educate the students, dealing with student issues of intense poverty, legal
residency, defiance, violence, gang issues, weapons, drugs, police reports and parole violations,
John T. Davis
November 17th 2016
EDAD 616 A (01)- The Role of Schooling in a Democratic Society 4
and runners were the everyday issues that were dealt with. The team at the school consisted of
myself, our administrator who was not actually onsite (he was the lead District Psych), an onsite
behavioral therapist, two-three educational assistants, and another teacher who was sent to the
program partway through the year after he was reprimanded for an issue at another school. This
teacher turned out to be a massive liability as he spent his time sleeping or watching YouTube.
After numerous complaints from the team and students he was eventually terminated for
physically assaulting a student in class. I loved this position as it exposed me, much, like Mrs.
B., to more experiences compressed in one day at the school than was equivalent to numerous
days at most other schools. The learning curve was steep, but incredibly valuable and it formed
the way I look at education.

It would seem that Human Resources would be in invaluable resource for Mrs. B. as the issues
she deals with on a daily basis are extra ordinary. She must constantly be aware of how to
ensure that she, her employees, her students, and her school in general are legally covered. With
regards to her students, it seems that Mrs. B. consults the Ed Code, Student Services, and HR,
and is keenly aware of students individual rights as well. In her position, it must be necessity to
consult with HR in this aspect regularly. Mrs. B.s commitment to maintaining a safe
environment for her students and staff is cannot be easy given the situation. However, as she
points out she has a copy of the union contract, FRISK, and other resources at hand. Again,
training and consulting by HR must prove incredibly important for her to maintain her objective
of keeping the school safe and functioning.