COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Prefix/Number: EDA 6232
Course Title: Law and Education
Course Credit Hours: 3
Instructor Name and Contact Information:
Dr. Sherri Zimmerman
Building 4, Office 456
Fort Walton Beach Campus
850-863-0730
Office Hours: Monday 11-4; Thursday 10-3
Virtual Hours: Monday 2-4
Email: szimmerman@uwf.edu
Prerequisites or Co-Requisites: None
Course Description: This course is designed to provide certain knowledge, skill and disposition that will enable administrators to deal with issues encountered in administration in a lawful manner. The course explores law and its relationship to education, Constitutional law, legislative enactment, judicial law, school policies, and their relationships as they pertain to school administration. Tort liability, due process, corporal punishments, collective bargaining and negotiations, teacher contracts, and other law relating to authority and responsibility of teachers and administrators are included.
This course will be offered in both on-line and face-to-face formats.
Goals: Upon completion of the course, students will develop an awareness and understanding of the sources of law, the relationships that exist between these sources, and their applicability to public education. Students will also be able to identify tort liability as it pertains to the operation of public schools, more specifically law that pertains to student rights and school authority, the relationship between church and state, and the terms and conditions, rights and responsibilities of public school employment.
About this Course: This course is delivered completely online. You must have consistent access to the Internet.
Learning at a distance may be a very different environment for many of you. You will generally set your own schedules, participate in class activities at your convenience, and work at your own pace. You may spend some additional time online during the first few weeks while you become acclimated to the online class format and you may feel overwhelmed. You should also be prepared to spend approximately 6 - 8 hours per week online completing lessons, activities, and participating in class discussions.
Finally, you may want to incorporate these tips to help you get started:
Set a schedule -- check the course web site early in the class week to see what tasks you'll need to work on for the week.
Become very familiar with the site and how to use it. It is a tool to help you learn!

Team up with your classmates to discuss class assignments and questions you might have. Check the “Classlist” located in Desire2Learn for biography info and email addresses.
Ask questions when you need answers. If you have problems, contact your instructor ASAP! I will help you come up with a solution!
Topics:
1.
Foundations of educational law
2.
Due Process
3.
Freedom of expression
4.
Religion
5.
Racial segregation
6.
Student rights
7.
Search and seizure
8.
Student discipline
9.
Sex discrimination
10.
Education of disabled children
Civil liability 11.
12.
Student records
13.
Testing
14.
Rights and responsibilities of employees
15.
Florida law
Student Learning Outcomes:
Instructional Leadership
Knowledge of instructional leadership standard as related to school law in education and schooling.
Knowledge of instructional leadership standard as related to federal law in education and schooling.
Managing the Learning Environment
Knowledge of managing the learning environment standard as related to tort and contract liability in the operation of Florida public schools.
Knowledge of managing the learning environment standard as related to student and parental rights.
Knowledge of managing the learning environment standard as related to federal law for education and schooling.

Learning, Accountability and Assessment
Knowledge of learning, accountability and assessment standard as related to state law for education and schooling.
Human Resource Development
Knowledge of human resource development standard as related to state law for education and schooling.
Ethical Leadership
Knowledge of ethical leadership standard as related to federal and state law for education and schooling.
Decision Making Strategies
Knowledge of decision making strategies standard as related to state law for education and schooling.
Community and Stakeholder Partnerships
Knowledge of community and stakeholder partnerships standards as related to state law for education and schooling.
Knowledge of community and stakeholder partnerships standard as related to student and parental rights.
Diversity
Knowledge of diversity standard as related to federal law for education and schooling.
Required Texts:
Alexander, K. & Alexander, D. M. (2003). The law of schools, students &
teachers in a nutshell (3rd Ed).
Florida School Laws 2007, Lexis Nexis, ISBN 1-4224-4150-4

Required Materials:
Internet Access
E-mail Account
Grading / Evaluation:
The course grade will be determined as follows:
Drop-box Assignments
Threaded Discussions
Final Exam
500-475
474-450
449-425
424-399
A
A-
B
B-
300 points (50 each)
90 points (10 each)
110 points
398-373 C
372 and below F
Special Technology Utilized by Students: This course is totally online. All instructional content and interaction takes place over the WWW. In addition to baseline word processing skills and sending/receiving email with attachments, students will be expected to search the internet and upload / download files. In addition, students may need one or more of the following plug-ins:
Adobe Acrobat Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
PowerPoint Viewer: http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D1649C22-B51F-
4910-93FC-4CF2832D3342&displaylang=en
Windows Media Player: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/
Quicktime Player: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Real Player: http://forms.real.com/netzip/getrde601.html?h=207.188.7.150&f=windows/R ealOnePlayerV2GOLD.exe&p=RealOne+Player&oem=dl&tagtype=ie&type=dl
Macromedia Flash Player: http://macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Versio
n=ShockwaveFlash
Expectations for Academic Conduct/Plagiarism Policy:
Academic Conduct Policy: (Web Format) | (PDF Format) | (RTF Format)
Plagiarism Policy: (Word Format) | (PDF Format) | (RTF Format)
Student Handbook: (PDF Format)