Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of court decisions relative to administrators' due process rights on the policies, procedures, and actions of local school boards. Research Methodology. The research design used to conduct the study consisted of reviewing and identifying due process court cases that have had the most effect on administrators' rights; and surveying ninty-one California school superintendents, randomly selected from among a population of 200 superintendents of districts with 5,000 or greater average daily attendance. The research questions studied identified how selected court decisions affected policy development in school districts; determined if significant differences existed in survey responses from districts whose policies and procedures were/were not affected by court decisions; and analyzed superintendents' recommendations for establishing and maintaining effectiveness in demotion and dismissal procedures. Findings. Due process court decisions have had little or no effect on policy development in California school districts. Most districts established policies relative to administrators' rights before the selected court decisions were rendered. Results of chi square tests showed that no significant differences existed in district size; type of legal services used by districts; and the number of demotions and dismissals for two surveyed groups--those districts whose policies and procedures were affected by a particular court decision and those districts whose policies and procedures were not affected by the decision. Superintendents recommendations showed the need for due process procedures, clearly written policies, and training-remediation plans to establish and maintain effectiveness in demotion and dismissal procedures. Conclusions. Local boards retain the authority to demote or dismiss administrators. Only when there is a violation of statutes will the courts intervene to protect the employee. Court decisions have had little impact on the policies, procedures, and actions of local boards. Most districts are complying with state statutes concerning the rights of school administrators. Recommendations. Passing legislation requiring districts (1) to develop policies which accord procedural due process protection to administrators before demotion and (2) to evaluate administrators before demotion or reassignment will insure fair treatment for administrators.