EDA 710 SCHOOL LAW

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EDA 710SCHOOL LAW

• UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
• Department of Educational Leadership and Research
• Instructor Mike Ward

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DefiningEducation Law

• What is law?
• A body of principles, standards, and rules that
• govern human behavior
• A set of social norms developed by legislative
• bodies possessing the authority to enact such
• norms
• What is education law?
• All of the above, but focuses on schools and the
  
• interactions between schools and their
• stakeholders

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DefiningEducation Law

• What is the purpose of law?
• To create obligations as well as rights, and to
  
• impose penalties
• To guide human behavior in the interest of both
  
• the individual and the common good
• To provide guidelines for the peaceful
• resolution of conflicts arising between the
  state
• and individuals/groups, and between
• individuals/groups

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Forms of Law

• Statutory U. S. Constitution
• Federal Statutes
• State Constitutions
• State Statutes
• Administrative Federal Regulations
• State Regulations
• Agency Policies (e.g. board
• policies)
• Common Law Unwritten cultural and social
• norms. Often defined by courts hence the
  term case law.

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Forms of Law

• Case Law
• Originates with the written opinions of the
  courts
• Trial courts rarely issue a written opinion.
• Appellate and Supreme Court decisions are
  followed by
• written decisions and thus have precedental
  value for
• individuals, groups, and agencies bound by the
  decisions.
• Civil Law vs. Criminal Law
• Source Case law, usually Statutory law, usually
• Parties Ind/grp vs. ind/grp State vs. ind/grp

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Hierarchy of Law

• U. S. Constitution
• Federal Statutes
• Federal Regulations
• State Constitutions
• State Statutes
• Agency Regulations
• Board Policies

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Control of Education

• Absence of direct mandate in
• U. S. Constitution, but . . .
• State legislatures
• State agencies (e.g., state board of education,
• state department of education)
• Local boards of education/boards of trustees,
• local central offices
• Emergence of school governance committees or
• school-based councils

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Federal Role in Education

• Absence of direct mandate in U. S. Constitution
• . . . however . . .
• Federal activism in education has increased
• dramatically in recent decades, and often been
• justified under the General Welfare and
  Obligation
• of Contracts Clauses.
• Constitutional provisions
• Federal statutes
• Federal agencies

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Federal Role in EducationConstitutional
Provisions

• First Amendment Congress shall make no law
  respecting an establishment of religion, or
  prohibiting the free exercise thereof or
  abridging the freedom of speech or of the press
  or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
  and to petition the government for a redress of
  grievances.
• Examples of Application
• Aid to nonpublic schools
• Church/state issues in schools
• Student expression
• Academic freedom of teachers
• Student organizations
• Collective bargaining

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Federal Role in EducationConstitutional
Provisions

• Fourth Amendment The right of the people to be
  secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
  effects, against unreasonable searches and
  seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants
  shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by
  oath or affirmation and particularly describing
  the place to be searched and the persons or
  things to be seized.
• Examples of Application
• Standard of reasonable (vs. probable) cause
• Searches of students, their lockers, and their
  property
• Occasionally, similar searches of school employees

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Federal Role in EducationConstitutional
Provisions

• Fourteenth Amendment All persons born or
  naturalized in the United States, and subject to
  the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
  United States and of the state wherein they
  reside. No state shall make or enforce any law
  which shall abridge the privileges or immunities
  of citizens of the United States 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.
• Examples of Application
• Applies Bill of Rights safeguards to state
  actions
• Due process in matters of student discipline and
  employee
• sanctions
• Personal and professional reputation

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Federal Role in EducationFederal Legislation

• Funding Laws
• Categorical aid
• Equity tool
• Mechanism for reform
• Civil Rights Laws
• Access and equity
• Discrimination

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Federal Role in Education Federal Legislation

• Sample Statutes
• Title VII -civil rights
• Title IX -gender discrimination
• ADEA -age discrimination
• Buckley Amdt. -privacy of records
• IDEA -students with disabilities
• FLSA -fair labor standards
• ESEA/NCLB -compensatory education
• Additional areas addressed in federal statutes
• -school breakfast and lunch programs
• -career/technical education
• -even asbestos removal!!

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Federal Role in EducationFederal Agencies

• Primary Responsibility
• U. S. Department of Education
• Other Agencies Impacting Education
• Office for Civil Rights
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Environmental Protection Agency

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The Courts

• U. S. Supreme Court
• Circuit Court of Appeals
• Federal District Courts
• Federal Magistrates
• State Supreme Court
• State Court of Appeals
• Chancery Courts, Circuit Courts
• County Courts
• Special Cts. (e.g. Juvenile Court)

Appellate Courts Trial Courts
Appellate Courts Trial Courts
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The Courts
Elements of a Judicial Decision A written opinion
usually includes -Name of Case -Issues -Facts
-Rulings and -Claims Justification -Proc
edural History -Disposition
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Judicial Trends

• Pre-1954
• Post-Brown v. Topeka
• Correlation between uniformity of
• standards and level of judicial review
• Resurgence of federalism on the part of the
• Supreme Court