Agency fails to crack down on teacher misconduct, California audit says [Sacramento Bee, 4/22/11]: California lawmakers are demanding change after a state audit of the commission charged with cracking down on teacher misconduct found numerous flaws that could pose risks to children.

Over the Line Even in Berkeley, Family Says [California Watch / Courthouse News Service, 4/20/11]: A high school student says a school counselor sexually pawed and harassed her, spanking her, hugging her, asking to meet outside of school, asking "Oh, you don't sleep naked?" - harassing her so persistently that her parents had to seek a restraining order against him - but the Berkeley Unified School District told her "that the conduct was not in fact sexual harassment, as it was neither 'severe' nor 'pervasive.'" The case is reported in California Watch [4/22/11]. The NSBA “Legal Clips” has an article regarding the case.

Young: Lawmakers push schools to show what an all-cuts budget looks like [Capitol Weekly, 4/20/11]: Without new revenues, public schools can expect to shoulder at least 40 percent of the cuts needed to close the state’s $12 billion deficit, lawmakers have warned school superintendents

Justices Seek U.S. Views on Special Education Case [School Law Blog, 4/18/11]: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the Obama administration for its views on whether a parent may bring a negligence claim against a school district that allegedly failed to identify a high school student's disabilities. Read the 2-1 decision from the Court of Appeals in Compton Unified School District v. Addison.

Budget Deal Fuels Revival of School Vouchers [New York Times, 4/15/11]: In the 11^th-hour compromise to avoid a government shutdown last week, one concession that President Obama made to Republicans drew scant attention: he agreed to finance vouchers for Washington students to attend private schools. Are vouchers coming back?

Parents of teen who died by suicide after sexting incident and bullying sue School Board [St. Petersburg Times, 4/13/11]: The parents of a girl who died by suicide in 2009 have filed a federal lawsuit against the Hillsborough School Board, claiming school officials failed to take proper steps after learning their daughter showed signs of being suicidal.

Legal Social Media

Social media sites have become a ubiquitous part of the today's society, and the legal world is no exception. Both the federal and state governments have engaged heavily in social media forums.

The complete list of the Texas state government's social media sites can be found here. Kind of surprising that the Department of Agriculture does a podcast, isn't it?

The federal government also uses social media in a number of different ways, from the institutional ones you'd expect - The White House has a twitter feed and a Facebook account - to ones you might not - The United States Government Printing Office, the Office of Law Revision Counsel and Regulations.gov all have Twitter accounts.

There are also some unofficial social media sites that are very handy when it comes to research. Want the latest US Supreme Court decisions? Usethe Unoffical Supreme Court Twitter Feed If you really look hard, you might be able to find an actual Supreme Court Justice using Facebook or Twitter.