Once a month, ISM's Human Resources Consultant Michael Brisciana will answer an HR-related question submitted by one of our readers. To ask Michael a question to be addressed in future e-letters, please click here.

Firing staff or faculty members is never a pleasant experience. If not done in compliance, however, it can be much more than unpleasant—it can cost your school thousands. They say, "it's not the crime, it's the cover-up" that gets you. In the employment law world, this can be altered to, "It's not the investigation, it's the retaliation that will cost you." This is evidenced by the following story that's recently come across our desks. (Thank you, Twitter!)

Social media has not just intrigued the marketing world, bridged gaps in communications, and infringed upon much of our free time—it has also created new ways for hiring teams to investigate candidates. This new insight to applicants comes with a huge warning sign however—it's a litigation risk.

About now, many of you are involved in interviewing and offering positions to new faculty members. As you engage candidates in conversation during the interview, you need to step lightly, and remember that your questions should focus only on the individual's qualifications for the job. There are many areas, which you may casually ask about, that are "illegal" in the interview scenario. Some will come to mind right away—such as race, health, and age—as dangerous places to venture. But others you may casually trip into, not realizing questions about the person's organization memberships, residence, or family could be the foundation for a lawsuit. As our HR Consultant is fond of saying, "Polite conversation is dangerous."

There is a good chance your school has one or more children who live with peanut, or any kind of nut, allergies, either mild or severe. Common in schools are "peanut-free" lunchroom tables and a complete ban on any peanut products brought into schools. But there is another food intolerance that is coming to the forefront—the intolerance to glutens. Glutens may be more invasive than nut products, since they "hide" not only in foods but in other nonfood products.

There is a good chance your school has one or more children who live with peanut, or any kind of nut, allergies, either mild or severe. Common in schools are "peanut-free" lunchroom tables and a complete ban on any peanut products brought into schools. But there is another food intolerance that is coming to the forefront—the intolerance to glutens. Glutens may be more invasive than nut products, since they "hide" not only in foods but in other non-food products.

In case you haven't noticed, there's a new generation of parents in school—Generation X. It began in the 1990s when Gen Xers started joining parent-teacher associations in elementary schools across the nation. By 2005, they became the majority of middle school parents, and by the fall of 2008, they became the predominant parents of high school seniors.

There have been quite a few articles published over the past 18 months comparing public and private schools. "Is there a difference in sending your children to private schools," most of these articles asked. As the recession drags along, people are looking at all their options to lower their monthly expenses. And, if there are no distinctive differences between public and private education, people are wondering why they should invest such a hefty percentage of their income to their children's education.

It's always hoped that your school will be the exception to the rule and won't suffer a loss or have to submit an insurance claim. The reality, however, is at some point in your school career you will have to file a claim. Following are the seven steps you'll need to best handle the process.

Welch's Harvest Grants for Teachers Hurry, hurry, hurry! This year, in a partnership with Scholastic, Welch's is supporting school garden programs, helping to teach the value of sustainable agriculture and healthy eating. Teachers can apply for a Welch's Harvest Grant and win a school garden package filled with a variety of garden tools, seeds, and educational materials.