Technology continues to move at a lightning speed. Just when you think you've finally caught up, or better yet, moved ahead of the pack, something new comes ripping around technology corner—and everyone must, must, MUST have one/it!

Student self-harming behaviors are one of the most challenging obstacles for school administrators, teachers, nurses, and counselors. There's no clear conclusion on why some teens adopt such behaviors—only speculations. What is assured about self-harming adolescents is, if their habits are not treated, they can become severe—and often increasingly addictive.

The following information was provided by the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. These are examples of general questions that you can expect to be asked by your plan's independent auditor.

The second half of the school year is always the most hectic. Now, it's benefit-renewal season, student-recruitment season, hiring season, contract-renewal season, and flu season. Regardless of what department you're in, chances are you're knee deep in paperwork and feeling all the typical stresses that this time of year brings.

There's a growing number of private-independent schools venturing into the social media realm. What many schools are finding is it's a great resource—and free—for connecting with alumni as well as parents. However, social media is not something that can be done without thought, effort, and certainly time behind it. While it's not a full-time position, social media management can easily become a demanding part-time position that keeps one on his/her toes. And, if managed with care, it can be quite powerful.

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.