JoinSafer Science: Overloading Science Labs
The current recession has brought about a wave of changes for all of us. In some school districts, boards of education are “renegotiating” areas of teachers’ contracts, including class size maximums. Science laboratories that have typically accommodated a maximum of 24 students are being raised to 28 or more. This change far surpasses the legally established occupancy load and makes for unsafe lab work. So is the contract change legal? Before this issue can be addressed, it is important for teachers and administrators to know the correct legal terminology, which is discussed in this month’s column.