• NJASA Legal Department Research Services - June 2025

     

    School board members may be involved as a party in civil, administrative, and/or criminal cases. They may seek indemnification from their boards for the legal expenses incurred in such matters. Part One of this Administrative Guide provided an overview of the indemnification statute and discussed the conditions for eligibility for civil, administrative, and criminal cases. It also discussed indemnification in connection with legal challenges to board members and in commencing civil claims brought by a board against a board member. This Part Two concludes the discussion and guides school officials on indemnification in connection with School Ethics Act cases, attempts to censure board members, defamation claims against board members, and actions by board members against their boards.

    The June School News Briefs discusses three cases, including one in which the Appellate Division affirmed the Commissioner’s decision ordering a board to expunge a student’s disciplinary record due to a lack of evidence to support the student’s suspension for possession and distribution of edible cannabis. 

    The June Impact on Negotiations also discusses three cases, including one in which the Director of Unfair Practices dismissed a charge alleging that a board committed and unfair practice by denying the Association’s grievance chair access to IEPs, but issued a complaint for a charge alleging a healthy workplace complaint against the grievance chair may have been retaliatory. 

     

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