The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the laws affecting boards of education in the public schools of Virginia. The Constitution of Virginia, state statutes, attorney general opinions, court decisions and regulations of the State Board of Education were utilized in the analysis.
Topics were selected for this study on the basis of the volume of litigation surrounding the subject in Virginia. The major topics included in the study were: (a) The Legal Authority for Public Education, (b) School District Property, (c) The Legal Basis for Financing Education, (d) School District Liability, (e) Compulsory Attendance and (f) Religious Instruction. The appropriate statutes, attorney general opinions, court decisions and State Board of Education regulations were applied to each topic to determine the law encompassing the topic.
As a result of this study the following rather general conclusions were made:
1. The local school board in Virginia is a quasi-corporation which exercises only those powers and duties granted from the Constitution or specific statutes or which may be fairly implied from statutes.
2. A board of education has authority to acquire property for school purposes by purchase, lease, donation, eminent domain and adverse possession. A board has discretion in allowing school property to be used for community and general purposes but must not act in an arbitrary or capricious manner. School property may be disposed of by sale, lease and by reversion and reconveyance to the original granter.
3. School boards in Virginia are fiscally dependent on the local governing body. Cities and towns have a debt limit of 18 percent of the assessed value of real estate. Counties have no specified debt limit but in general must seek voter approval to incur debt. Property tax is the major source of revenue to finance education in Virginia.
4. A board of education in Virginia is immune from suit in tort liability. However, school boards must carry liability insurance for the transportation of pupils but this does not affect their immunity in other areas.
5. Under Virginia law children must attend public school, a private, denominational or parochial school, or have tutoring at home by a tutor meeting certification. Violation of the compulsory attendance statute by parents or guardians is a criminal offence.
6. Religious exercises in the public schools are unconstitutional. Religious instruction is permissible for students during the school day if held off school property.
The findings of this study have led to the following recommendations:
1. The findings of this study may be used to train potential and present school board members, administrators, and teachers.
2. The findings of this study could be used to develop a legal handbook for board members, administrators and teachers.
3. Further study should be conducted to:
(a) analyze the laws affecting boards of education in topics not included in this study.
(b) compare the findings of this study with actual practices of boards of education. / Ed. D.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/113518 |
| Date | January 1979 |
| Creators | Edison, Patricia Anne |
| Contributors | Educational Administration |
| Publisher | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation, Text |
| Format | viii, 305 leaves, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | OCLC# 05142827 |
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