Besides the Teacher Tenure Act, what other limits are there on a local school board’s authority?
Missouri law grants local school boards and board members broad powers and discretion in the management of school affairs, including such issues as hiring, firing, and fixing employee compensation and salary schedules. There is a strong presumption of validity in favor of school board decisions, and courts are reluctant to interfere unless there is clear and convincing evidence the board acted in an arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable manner or abused its discretion. Of course, the board must comply with Missouri’s Sunshine Laws in the conduct of all board business, meetings and recordkeeping, and the board is obligated to follow its own published policies. Failure by a school board to follow its own policies can serve as the basis for the filing of a grievance.
Related Questions
- I live in Slough, but my child attends a school in another local authority area. Who is responsible for assessing their special educational needs?
- What if a school or local education authority has very few pupils with an ethnic group recorded?
- Besides the Teacher Tenure Act, what other limits are there on a local school board’s authority?
