Originally appeared in the CAS Weekly Newsletter.
Written by attorney Thomas B. Mooney.
Dear Legal Mailbag:
As the principal of a middle school, sometimes I feel more like a referee than an educator. Recently, I have received a number of complaints from teachers about one seventh grade biology teacher “hogging” the copier. It seems that she is constantly copying worksheets and other materials. Other teachers are having problems every morning making their own copies because this teacher gets to the copier early and stands there making hundreds of copies every morning.
Being a good principal, I met with her to discuss her copying practices. She was rather dismissive, asking me if I had ever taught biology. She claims that the textbook is woefully inadequate and that she must supplement the textbook extensively to teach her students appropriately. I asked her to show me what she meant, and she shared a number of articles and worksheets that she has gathered from other sources for just that one day of instruction. She claims that it is necessary for her to copy 30 to 40 pages of materials each day for her 100+ students. To make matters worse, she warned me ominously that, since she has been making this large number of copies every day since the beginning of the year, she is now protected by “past practice,” and I cannot impose restrictions now.
Am I stuck?
Thank you,
Copying ConundrumContinue Reading CAS Legal Mailbag Question of the Week – 1/23/2018
On June 17, 2015, Connecticut’s Attorney General issued an opinion concerning the “statutory limits on the compensation provided to reemployed teachers (including superintendents and other administrators) pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat.§ 10-183v(a).” Based on his analysis of the language of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-183v, the Attorney General concluded “that a teacher may be reemployed pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-183v(a) while receiving a retirement benefit from the [Teachers’ Retirement] System, but he or she may not receive compensation beyond ‘forty-five percent of the maximum salary for the assigned position.’”
The issue of disciplining employees for their use, or more accurately, misuse of social media is one that is frequently in the headlines, and this