School Law and Ethics: Teachers’ and Students’ Rights and Responsibilities

1. School Law and Ethics:Teachers’ and Students’ Rights and Responsibilities

2. Six Months Ago….. • The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting comprising two separate attacks about two hours apart on April 16, 2007, on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. The perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and wounded many more,[4] before committing suicide, making it the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.[5] • Cho, a South Korean who had moved to the United States at age eight, was a senior Englishmajor at Virginia Tech. Cho had been diagnosed with and treated for a severe anxiety disorder beginning in middle school, and he continued receiving therapy and special education support until his junior year of high school. While in college in 2005, Cho had been accused of stalking two female students and was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice.[6] At least one professor had asked him to seek counseling. • The incident received international media coverage and drew criticism of U.S. laws and culture from commentators around the world. It sparked intense debate about gun laws, gaps in the U.S. system for treating mental health issues, the perpetrator's state of mind, the responsibility of college administrations, privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. Television news organizations that aired portions of the killer's multimedia manifesto were criticized by victims' families, Virginia law enforcement officials, and the American Psychiatric Association.[7][8] • The incident prompted immediate changes in Virginia law that had allowed Cho, an individual adjudicated as mentally unsound, to purchase handguns and led federal lawmakers to take up the issue of strengthening the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. • The Virginia Tech Review Panel, a state-appointed body assigned to review the incident, criticized Virginia Tech administrators for failing to take action that may have reduced the number of casualties. The panel's report also reviewed gun laws and pointed out gaps in mental health care as well as misinterpretations of privacy laws that left Cho's deteriorating condition in college untreated. • Wikipedia

3. Are there lessons to be learned from Virginia Tech? • Not really • Yes…obviously • Not sure • Don’t know yet

4. School Law Basics • U.S. Constitution • First Amendment , including establishment clause. • Fourth Amendment – privacy, security. • Fourteenth Amendment – due process and equal protection.

5. Federal Law • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Title IX • IDEA • ‘Bully Pulpit’ influence of president and congress.

6. State and Local Law • Statutes: • School financing • Property taxes • Collective bargaining • Teacher certification • Student attendance

7. The Courts • The notion of precedence. • The courts hear cases, including those that rise to the U.S. Supreme Court, and their rulings govern how teacher’s and student’s rights are interpreted.

8. Teachers’ Rights • Licensing and Certification…a State responsibility, but in the midst of change because of NCLB: e.g. teacher license in K-5, and “highly qualified” in every subject area in 6-8 • NBPTS establishing uniform standards for high professional teacher competence, three step process: initial licensure, Teacher’s certificate, Advanced Teacher’s certificate

9. Contracts • Early contracts were oral and then written lists of duties and obligations for both in-school and out-of-school behavior • After WWII, teachers became more politically active and NEA and AFT began to represent teachers in contract negotiations in greater numbers • Exclusive right of the School Board to negotiate contracts • Binding agreements

10. Tenure • The equivalent of civil service for teachers • In the 1800s the spoils system led to many unqualified people being hired by government officials. In 1883, the first civil service act was passed, setting the terms for hiring and continued employment of government officials • Protects good teachers from arbitrary and unwarranted release, especially during a time of teacher surplus • Due process: embodied in 14th amendment, requires written notice of the charges and the right to an administrative hearing

11. Fitness of a Teacher • Most often called in question: • Incompetence • Immorality • Insubordination • Neglect of duty and unprofessional conduct • Burden of proof is on administrators

12. Academic Freedom • The right to pursue an argument, idea, or discussion wherever it may lead (goes back to Plato) • More often associated with higher education than P-12 schools • Society tries to have control over P-12 aged students, and also the teachers of these students

13. Academic Freedom • Courts generally support teachers’ freedom (within limits) of curricular materials and methodologies, but school boards have the final responsibility over curricular decisions • Multicultural education may be challenged in some school districts

14. Tort Liability • The liability against a teacher is called a tort… a tort is a civil wrong • In loco parentis…legal right to stand in for a parent in working with minors…so lots of responsibilities to ensure student safety • Negligence Tort…students are not protected from harm • Intentional Tort…full knowledge and intention to harm a person

15. Teacher Responsibilities with Regard to Equity • Racial integration • Gender equity • Elimination of sexual harassment • Language equity • Disability equity

16. Students’ Rights • Many students’ rights gained during the 1960s as a part of the Civil Rights Movements • The right to attend school, freedom from arbitrary suspension • Freedom of speech and distribution of literature…not coextensive with adults’ rights • Dress and grooming

17. In Minnesota, corporal punishment is…. • Legal, but it shouldn’t be • Illegal, as it should be. • Illegal, but this is misguided. • I don’t know.

18. Students’ Rights • Pregnancy and marriage • Unreasonable search and seizure • Student records…FERPA, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act • Religious rights…establishment clause and free exercise clause

19. Which of these is closest to the actual case for teachers? • Teachers cannot report child abuse • Child abuse should only be discussed with the family • Child abuse would not be discussed with another student • Any teacher can discuss students who might be abused.