The four most important legal issues to keep in mind are: State and federal governments have recognized a student`s need for school safety. Several states have passed anti-bullying laws, including California, Arkansas and Colorado, which aim to make schools safe for learning. In addition, the federal government has laws such as the First Amendment, Regulation Clause, and others designed to ensure that school districts provide equal protection of constitutional rights at the federal and state levels to all citizens, including students. There is a growing number of lawsuits stemming from the failure of some schools to ensure the safety of students on school grounds. According to the “responsibility of premises” theory, users and owners of land (including schools) are legally required to keep the premises safe for those who are legally allowed to be there. The law generally requires owners and users to exercise a “reasonable level of care” to provide a safe environment on their premises. However, since schools are generally used by young children, the law requires a higher degree of care in situations where students are present. When creating and reproducing classroom material, issues of copyright compliance must be taken into account. Make sure you understand the legal limits of how you can use or distribute material in your courses (or publish them on Canvas) by visiting the U-M Library Copyright Office website (www.lib.umich.edu/copyright-office-michigan-publishing) for the use of copyrighted material. For more information, resources, and links to legal and compliance issues related to education, see the Classroom Teaching Guide on the Compliance Resource Center (www.compliance.umich.edu/) website. The following article describes the most common legal issues that teachers face and those that should be part of teacher preparation.
Below is an overview of the legal issues and school safety laws that parents, guardians and educators should be aware of. Most schools have some sort of student code of conduct and other disciplinary guidelines that typically outline a student`s rights and responsibilities within the student body. These guidelines usually also include acceptable or inappropriate types of behavior on school grounds (or even outside school doors). Parents (or guardians) should review these guidelines with their child to ensure they are aware of important safety and discipline policies. The U.S. Supreme Court has stated that students who attend public schools “do not give up their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the school door.” (Tinker vs. Des Moines School Dist. 393 U.S. 503 Maintain the right of students to wear black armbands at school in protest against the Vietnam War). Although students are granted First Amendment freedoms, their rights may be restricted. Over the years, there have been a variety of free speech lawsuits involving public schools.
The Court held that certain types of speech, including the wearing of certain religious clothing and symbols (e.g., t-shirts with suggestive language or a necklace with the symbol of a cross) and participation in groups or associations must be applied in a manner that aims to enhance a student`s freedom of expression and the need for a school to create a safe learning environment. to bring it into harmony. Parents of injured children can sue a school or school district for contributing to the harm to a student or for failing to keep school premises safe. This can include common situations where a child falls or is injured in some way due to the neglect of a school, but also situations where a child is being bullied, harassed or sick and the school does not come to the student`s aid or control the situation. The sources and issues of education law differ for teachers in public and private schools. Our constitutions – federal and state – are designed to restrict and strengthen government. In a public school, a teacher is considered a government actor. As a state actor, the federal and state constitutions apply to you. For example, it is constitutionally forbidden for a public school teacher to invite a student to attend church (this would be a violation of the First Amendment rule); A private school teacher is not. As a GSI, there are a number of legal compliance issues to consider. You are an employee of U-M and are responsible for ensuring that you perform your work as a lecturer in accordance with the various legal and regulatory requirements that bind the University.
As the primary interface with students, you`ll also be in a unique position to identify potential problems that arise in class and address them with someone in your department before they cause major problems. Bullying in schools is a serious and growing problem that occurs in schoolyards across the country. Bullying not only encompasses the overall learning objectives of educational environments, but also threatens a student`s right to safe classes on the school grounds. Teachers and students “do not throw their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression (or other constitutional rights) at the door of school.” Most of the laws, guidelines and regulations that apply in your daily life also apply to your role as a teacher. However, the school is a special place with a unique mission. Thus, the law protects and limits teachers and students – especially in public schools – a little differently. In this chapter, you will learn about the sources of education law, the general legal issues teachers face, and some Supreme Court cases that illustrate legal reasoning in public schools. All information about a student, such as personal information, enrollment details, assignments, and grades, is part of their “student record,” which is protected by a federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (commonly referred to as “FERPA”). Student records must be processed in accordance with this law by all those who have access to them. For example, the requirements mean: Ms. Bell will explain what the law says about each of these issues and determine what steps school employees can take to avoid litigation.
Our School Law Department is uniquely qualified to provide the solution to all the legal needs of a school district. For more than fifty years, we`ve been delivering customer-centric results to Wisconsin school districts. The depth and breadth of our team`s experience allows us to understand the unique challenges facing school districts today and help our clients become true leaders and innovators. Whether we serve a school district as general counsel or on the basis of a specific project, our guiding principle is to serve school districts creatively and effectively while following the mission and vision of the school district. Below is a selection of areas where we have helped our school district clients excel in an ever-changing regulatory, revenue and work environment: Student Issues For more information, visit this Student Records Compliance page. MaryGrace Bell is an attorney in the Atlanta office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. A former teacher at Atlanta Elementary School, she focuses her practice on education law and has experience defending school districts in litigation related to student injuries, special education, teacher training, and more.
