IT’S LEGAL ONE IN A LANDSLIDE!

Nearly 3000 school leaders already enrolled in premier school law training program

Monroe Township,NJ-The election results are in – it’s LEGAL ONE in a landslide! In only its first eight months of existence, LEGAL ONE (Law, Ethics and Governance for All Leaders, including an Overview of New and Emerging issues) has become the overwhelming choice of school leaders and districts searching for high quality, practical and relevant professional development in school law, ethics and governance. To date, nearly 3000 New Jersey school leaders from more than 160 school districts in 18 different counties have enrolled in the program.

LEGAL ONE is fully aligned with state mandated training for school leaders that became effective in January, 2009. The required training must address: 1) school ethics and governance; 2) student rights and responsibilities; 3) staff rights and responsibilities; and 4) special education. The training requirement applies to the following school leaders: superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, supervisors, and directors. The requirement is detailed in New Jersey’s administrative code at N.J.A.C. 6A:9-16.7.

LEGAL ONE has become THE choice of school leaders to meet the new state mandate because it offers compelling advantages not available anywhere else, including:

• A standards-based curriculum offered by experienced education law attorneys, Rutgers, the leading state university, and the premier provider of online professional development in the state of New Jersey;
• Graduate credit and a pathway to a graduate degree available through Rutgers University;
• Flexible training options, including in-person training offered both in-district and regionally and online training, or a combination of both;
• Interactive instruction through the use of professionally produced videos, which are also available online for the use of LEGAL ONE participants, small group discussions and real world scenarios; and
• Assessments that provide evidence of real learning.

Launched as a pilot program in Gloucester County in February 2009 (click here to see April, 2009 press release announcing launch of LEGAL ONE) and then statewide in June, LEGAL ONE is a collaborative effort of the Foundation for Educational Administration (FEA), the Rutgers-Newark Institute on Education Law and Policy (IELP) and the Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission (MOESC). It brings together the unique talents and experience of those LEGAL ONE partners.

The feedback to LEGAL ONE training has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The LEGAL ONE program was practical, comprehensive and extremely effective,” said Simon M. Bosco, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools for the Old Bridge Township School District. “The format – with expert presenters, the use of professionally produced videos, written scenarios, and small group discussions – enabled our administrators to gain a far deeper understanding of critical legal issues. LEGAL ONE is a worthwhile investment for every school district.” (Click here to see additional testimonials)

LEGAL ONE is now offering additional training options beyond the state-mandated training for school leaders, including:

• Advanced training for school leaders including the latest updates on school law and in-depth training on critical issues, such as observations and evaluations, affirmative action, hiring, increment withholding, tenure charges and employee discipline;
• Teacher training on critical issues, such as student safety, bullying and cyberbullying, sexual harassment, special education and school ethics; and
• On-line training for school leaders in order to meet the 12-hour state mandate, with additional on-line courses coming soon for teachers and school leaders.

The South Hunterdon Regional School District was the first to use LEGAL ONE for teacher training. “It is very challenging as a district administrator to provide all of our teachers with a ‘one stop’ professional development experience,” said Nancy Gartenberg, Superintendent of the South Hunterdon Regional School District. “But with LEGAL ONE, we did just that! This training provided our teachers with the opportunities to better understand the legal implications surrounding bullying and harassment, electronic correspondence, ethics, student rights and special education. The staff had nothing but high marks for their LEGAL ONE training.”

School leaders from all regions of New Jersey have enrolled in LEGAL ONE. This includes training provided locally for consortia of school districts in Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth/Ocean, Morris/Union, Passaic and Warren Counties. LEGAL ONE is also providing training for school leaders from more than one hundred private schools for the handicapped under a contract with the Association of Schools and Agencies for the Handicapped (ASAH). In addition, training has been provided for individual districts across New Jersey, including suburban, rural, vocational school, and urban districts - such as Newark, Jersey City, Willingboro and Trenton.

To find out more about LEGAL ONE and to register, call 609-860-1200, or visit www.legalonenj.org. Discounts are available for groups or participants who register before January 1, 2010.