School Law: Ethical & Legal Influences on Teaching Fact Sheet

This chapter discusses educational law and how it could influence the choices we make in our professional life. It begins by giving legal issues surrounding education but also more general situations.

The law also helps in defining the rights and obligations of students, and being aware of them will help you engage with them in a more successful way. The legal rights and responding obligations of students can be classified into seven areas.

Important Key Words

Copyright Laws federal laws designed to protect the intellectual prop- erty of authors, which includes printed matter, videos, computer software, and other types of original work

Negligencea teacher’s or another school employee’s failure to exercise sufficient care in protecting students from injury.

Buckely AmendmentFERPA is a federal act that makes school records accessible to students and their parents.

Corporal Punishmentthe use of physical, punitive disciplinary actions to correct student misbehavior(highly controversial)

Fact sheet chapter 8

School Law:

+ info

Ethical & legal infleunces on teaching

Teacher's Rights

+ info

Employment

Academic Freedom

Copyright Law

What rights do teachers have with regard to matters of employment, such as collective bargaining, contracts, tenure, and dismissal?

To what extent may educators choose the materials they teach?

How much content can educators borrow from outside sources?

limitations of laws

Laws govern your rights and responsibilities in the workplace, but how much they might influence your professional choices depends on two factors.

Laws can be applied to a wide range of specific situations since they are designed to be general. For instance, to prevent injuries to students, watch over experiments or tasks during cla0ss, keep the peace at school assemblies, and put an end to hallway foolish behavior

They don't offer specific suggestions for decisions to be made in the future because they were developed in reaction to issues that already occurred. Legal concerns are often brought up because of this. At the end of the day you will have to use both your professional judgment and your understanding of the law.

Students and the Law

Student Records & Privacy

Student's Rights in Speech & Dress

Sexual Harrassment

Educational Rights of Immigrant Children

Permissble Search & Seizure

Student's Rights in Disciplinary Actions