Legal considerations and education

Legal Considerations and EducationProfessional Summary

Althea PennAugust 21, 2012

Introduction

• Legal Framework for Public Education• Federal Role in Education• State Role in Education• The Law and Professional Personnel• Tort Liability• The Law and Students• Classification Practices

Legal Framework of Public Education

• All three units of government – federal, state, and local-exercise authority over public education

Federal Role in Education

• The United States Constitution– States given power over education through the Tenth

Amendment• Federal Statutes

– Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965– No Child Left Behind Act of 2002– Civil Rights Acts of 1964 & 1991

• Federal Administrative Agencies– Department of Education– Office of Civil Rights– Equal Employment Opportunity Commission– Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Constitution

• The Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

The First Amendment

• Congress shall make no law respecting and establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.

The Fourteenth Amendment

• Historical Background• “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.”

• Procedural vs. Substantive Rights

State Role in Education

• State Constitutions• State Statutes• State Administrative Agencies

• Local Level (school districts and service centers)

Judicial Role in Education – Court System

Federal Courts

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Circuit Courts (13)

U.S. District Courts (89)

State Courts

State Supreme Court

Intermediate Appellate Courts

Courts of General Jurisdiction(Superior and Circuit Courts)

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (Municipal and Small Claims)

The Law and Professional Personnel

• Certification• Contracts

– Offer and acceptance– Competent parties– Consideration– Legal subject matter– Proper form

• Termination of Employment– Tenure– Dismissal Procedures

Discrimination in Employment

• Race and Gender– Title VII f the civil Rights Act of 1964

• Sexual Harassment– Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964– Quid pro quo sexual harassment– Hostile environment sexual harassment

• Disabilities – Americans with Disabilities Act of 1973– Section 504

Sexual Harassment

• Litigated under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

• Includes– Sexual bribery– Sexual imposition– Gender harassment– Sexual coercion– Sexual behavior

Discourage with:No-tolerance policyWide dissemination of policyEasy complaint filingPrompt and objective

investigationAppropriate remedial action

Discrimination in Employment

• Age Discrimination (ADEA)– Title VII f the civil Rights Act of 1964

• Religious Discrimination– First Amendment– Fourteenth Amendment– Title VII f the civil Rights Act of 1964– EEOC

• Maternity Discrimination– Fourteenth Amendment– Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993– Americans with Disabilities Act of 1973– Section 504

Tort Liability

Tort = civil wrong (not contracts) for which a court can award damages

To establish negligence:

Duty Standard of care Proximate cause Injury

Defense against negligence:

Contributory negligence

Assumption of risk Comparative

negligence Governmental

immunity

The Law and Students

School RecordsEqual Access Act Released Time for Religious Instruction State Aid to Private Schools School Fees Transportation Textbooks, Courses, and Supplies Extracurricular Activities

• School Improvement– No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

The Law and Students

Compulsory School AttendanceResidency RequirementsVaccinationsCurriculumStudents with AidsFreedom of ExpressionPrayer and Bible ReadingDisciplineCorporal punishmentExpulsions and SuspensionsSearch and Seizure

Student AppearanceFreedom of Speech and PressFreedom of Association and Assembly

Student Classification PracticesFourteenth Amendment

• Gender• Marriage and pregnancy• Age• Ability• The Disabled

The Law and State Issues

• School Desegregation• Church-State Relations

– Free exercise clause• Vouchers• School Prayer and Bible Reading

– Lemon v. Kurtzman• Released Time for Religious Instruction• Religion in the Curriculum

– Lemon Test– First amendment Creation v. Evolution

• Use of Facilities– Equal Access Act

Financing Education

• State School Taxes – Fiscally Independent– Fiscally Dependent– Brown v. BoE Topeka– Educational Needs Standard– Fiscal Neutrality Standard– The Rodriguez Case

Summary

• Federal influence (Constitution, Supreme Court decisions, Congressional enactments)

• Constitutional provisions (Article I, Section 10, and the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments)

• Litigation topics (desegregation, religion, finance schemes, and sexual harassment)

• Supreme Court decisions (corporal punishment, search and seizure, freedom of expression, classification practices-sex, marriage, pregnancy, ability grouping, and handicaps)