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How to Handle Staff Misconduct

Item # 104

By C. Edward Lawrence & Myra K. Vachon

What administrators must know about staff misbehavior and the steps to correct it.

Ever-changing laws regarding sexual harassment, teacher accountability, and safety in the workplace, combined with increasingly complex union contracts, have made the handling of staff misconduct a veritable minefield for novice and experienced administrators alike. Fortunately, this expanded and updated second edition of an indispensable resource will clarify all of the steps principals must take to ensure that their schools are run according to the policies and laws that govern them.

In clearly delineated sections, How to Handle Staff Misconduct, Second Edition, offers strategies that include managing excessive tardiness, insubordination, misconduct requiring suspension, and even criminal behaviors. Each section includes an outline of principal responsibilities, and common errors that can interfere with a successful intervention.

How to use progressive discipline to fairly correct unwanted behaviors
How to set up a school-level misconduct meeting
Why just cause is a key defense against legal backlash
How due process can avoid technical errors during a disciplinary action
Why privacy is paramount
Covering everything from the first day of school to the first sign of an infraction, this book guides administrators through all phases of investigation and documentation, and remains an essential resource for any principal or supervisor trying to keep students and staff focused on education.
Corwin Press, 2003