William Allan Kritsonis, School Law, Ch 1 Overview

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An Overview of Education Law, Texas Schools, and
Parent Rights

• William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

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Chapter I
An Overview of Education Law
Texas Schools
and Parent Rights
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The chapter reviewed several sources of
educational law and their relationship to the
structure and operation of Texas public school
system.
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Sources of Education Law

• Constitutional Law
• Statutory Law
• Administrative Law
• Judicial Law

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Basic Components of Texas Education Law
Type of Law Constitutional

• Impact in Texas Schooling States that the
  powers not delegated to the United States by the
  Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
  are reserved to the States respectively Since
  education is not delegated to the federal
  government, it is a power reserved to the states.
• Protects certain civil liberties of employees and
  students in the public schools.
• Authorizes the state legislature to support and
  maintain an efficient system of public free
  schools and provides for civil liberties

• Source Tenth Amendment to U. S. Constitution
• The Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment
  to the U. S. Constitution
• Texas Constitution of 1876, Art. 7, 1 and Bill
  of Rights

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Type of Law Statutory Source
Impact on Texas schooling

• Acts of the U. S. Congress
• Acts of Texas Legislature most pertaining to
  education are found in the Texas Education Code

• Acts of Congress guarantee various civil rights
  and establish the conditions upon which states
  and political subdivisions may receive federal
  funds
• Sets up the State Board of Education and the
  Texas Education Agency to carry our limited
  educational functions. Actual operation of
  schools is left to school districts. School
  districts and school personnel are part of the
  state.

http//www.tcleose.state.tx.us/Commission_Rules/Ma
rch_1,_2007_Rules_w_Occupations_Code_1701.pdf
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Type of Law Statutory Source
Impact on Texas schooling

• Federal Administrative regulations
• Policies and rulings by school boards, Texas
  Commissioner of Education, and State Board of
  Education

• Both TEA and local school districts must comply
  with the regulations promulgated by federal
  educational agencies implementing federal
  statutes.
• Board of trustees develop policies to be utilized
  in operating their schools. State board and
  commissioner have the authority to establish
  rules that govern school district activity in
  areas designated by the legislature. Any person
  aggrieved by the schools laws of Texas or actions
  of school districts involving school laws or
  impairing employment contracts can appeal to the
  commissioner. Policies, rules, and appeal
  decisions are classified as administrative law.

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Type of Law Judicial Source
Impact on Texas schooling

• Decisions of state courts
• Decisions of federal courts

• Any aggrieved person can appeal an adverse
  administrative ruling from the commissioner into
  state courts. Highest state court (civil) is the
  Texas Supreme Court, which has the last word on
  matters of state law, subject, of course, to the
  ultimate authority of the U. S. Supreme Court to
  review questions of state law in light of federal
  statutes and the U. S. Constitution.
• Any person alleging state interference with a
  right granted by the U. S. Constitution or
  federal law can bring an action in a federal
  court. The lowest federal court is the district
  court. There are thirteen intermediate appellate
  federal courts ( ours is the U. S. Court of
  appeals for the Fifth Circuit) At the top is the
  U. S. Supreme court, Which has the last word on
  maters of federal law. The U. S. Constitution
  provides that any state action, law, or
  constitutional provision that conflicts with the
  Constitution or a federal law is null and void.

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The most important function of federal courts is
to adjudicate disputes arising under the
Constitution and statutes of the United
States. The present jurisdiction of the Fifth
Circuit encompasses Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Texas.
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Geographic Jurisdiction of U. S. District Courts
in Texas
TEXAS NORTHERN
TEXAS EASTERN
TEXAS WESTERN
TEXAS SOUTHERN
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One might assume that state and federal case law
has relatively little impact on Texas public
education, compared with state statutes and
administrative rules and regulations.. For the
last thirty years , since the late 1960s ,
courts have been increasingly involved in a maze
of litigation involving the day- to day
management of schools. The rulings they hand down
have become an important part of school law and
are ignored at ones peril.
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The Structure and Governance of the Texas School
System

• Texas Legislature is responsible for the
  structure and operations of the Texas public
  school system.
• State Board of Education and the Texas Education
  Agency were separated from each other in 1995 by
  legislature. The board has fifteen member and is
  limited to perform only those duties assigned by
  the state constitution or by the legislature.
  While many of its functions have shifted in
  recent years to the Texas commissioner of
  Education

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The SBOE

• Establishes the state curriculum
• Graduation requirement
• Determine the standard for satisfactory student
  performance on assessment instruments
• Purchasing text books investing the permanent
  school funds
• The attorney general advised that the boards
  authority over textbooks

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Texas Education Agency

• TEA is composed of the Texas Commissioner of
  Education and the agency staff
• Like the SBOE, the agency can perform only those
  duties specifically assigned to it by the
  legislature
• TEC 7.021 lists fourteen educational functions
  that TEA is to perform. Among them are monitoring
  the district compliance with federal and state
  programs, conducting research to improve teaching
  and learning, etc.
• Is authorized to enter into agreement with
  federal agencies regarding school lunch, school
  construction
• Administers the capital investment fund
  established by the legislature to provide grants
  to school districts
• The most powerful player is the Texas
  Commissioner of Education

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Local School Districts

• The government of schools is left to local boards
  of trustees.
• Has the power and duty to oversee the management
  of the public schools of the district
• May acquire and hold real and personal property,
  sue and be sued, receive bequests and donations,
  levy and collect taxes, sell minerals and
  property belonging to the district
• The majority of school districts elect their
  board members.

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Charter and Private schools
On pg 20 there is an overview of a charter
school On pg 25 are the state regulations for
private schools.
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School Administrator

• The Superintendent is the chief operating officer
  of the public school. TEC 11.201 lists eleven
  superintendent duties. Among them implement the
  policy of the board
• Operation of the educational programs, services,
  and facilities of the district
• Appraisal of the staff
• Assigning and evaluating personnel
• Make personnel recommendations to the school
  board
• Develop the budget, organize the central
  administration, overseeing administrative
  regulations

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The school Principal

• Is the frontline administrator, with statutory
  responsibility under the direction of the
  superintendent for administering the day-to-day
  activities of the school
• Have seven major functions listed in TEC II.202
• They have approval power for teacher and staff
  appointment to the campus from a pool of
  applicants selected by the district
• Set the campus education objectives through the
  planning process, develop budget, have the
  responsibility for student discipline
• Assign, evaluate, and promote campus personnel,
  as well to make recommendation to the
  superintendent for renewal, suspension and
  termination of personnel
• Is the person with the most responsibility for
  school improvement, the legislature has given
  them more authority than in the past to operate
  their schools.

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How the Us Constitution and Federal Government
Affect Texas Schools (congress)

• Protect the individual rights, determined by the
  Constitution
• Passed a statute after the Civil War to enforce
  the Fourteenth Amendment with two clauses from
  the amendment, nor shall any State deprive any
  person of life, liberty, or property without due
  process of law, nor deny to any person within its
  jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

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The Fourteenth Amendment

• Applies to public schools districts and
  personnel, but not to private because they are
  not state related (see pg 31 This is)

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Important Federal statutes

• There are number of federal statutes that
  directly affect the day to day operation of Texas
  public schools (see pg. 32)

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School Finance

• School finance is a complex subject, generally
  beyond the scope of this book
• In Texas, education is founded based on property
  taxes, equality, academic performance

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Cases

• San Antonio ISD v Rodriguez
• Edgewood ISD v Kirby
• Lau v. Nichols
• Pg 5

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• http//www.tcleose.state.tx.us/Commission_Rules/Ma
  rch_1,_2007_Rules_w_Occupations_Code_1701.pdf