DRAFT
EDUC 618 – LAW, EDUCATION & PUBLIC POLICY
Fall 2006
David Schimmel – 265 Hills South – UMASS/Amherst – Telephone: (xxx)-xxx-xxxx – FAX: (xxx) xxx-xxxx
“It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom
of speech or expression at the Schoolhouse gate.” “In our system, state operated schools may not
be enclaves of totalitarianism.”
Justice Fortes in Tinker v. Des Moines (1969).
“Fear of serious injury can not alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared
witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational
fears.”
Justice Brandeis in Whitney v. People of California (1927).
“That [School Boards] are educating the young for citizenship is reason for scrupulous protection
of Constitutional freedoms of the individual, if we are not to strangle the free mind at its source
and teach youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes.´
Justice Jackson in West Virginia v. Barnette (1943).
“Our government is the potent, the omnipotent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole
people by its example.”
Justice Brandeis in Olmsted v. United States (1928).
“The government is nowhere more a teacher than when it runs a public school.”
Justice Ginsberg in Bd. of Ed. v. Earls (2002).
This course is intended for students who are interested in the relationship between law and current issues in
education. The course has several purposes:
1.
Developing sensitivity to the legal aspects of educational policies and practices.
2.
Acquiring information about laws and legal principles that apply to schools.
3.
Examining the way courts resolve policy conflicts among students, parents, teachers, administrators, and
community groups.
4.
Developing skills used in legal analysis, research, writing, advocacy, and in the “practice of preventive
law.”
5.
Increasing awareness of the costs and benefits of resolving educational controversies through the legal
process and through alternative approaches to conflict resolution.
6.
Examining how schools teach about law and constitutional principles through the formal and “hidden”
curriculum.
7.
Helping educators become more conscious and effective law teachers.
A major focus of this course will be the examination and analysis of legal cases; the primary teaching method will
be a modified Socratic approach. Assigned cases will be analyzed from the perspectives of law, education, and
public policy.
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Requirements
1.
Attendance – Students are required to attend all classes, participate in discussions, and read the assigned
material prior to each class.
2.
Alternative Term Projects: Survey or Advocacy Paper
a.
b.
Survey, Analysis, and Lesson Plan
Students in schools are encouraged to undertake this project that has 2 parts:
(1)
Teacher Survey & Analysis
Survey teachers in your school concerning their legal knowledge, attitudes, and concerns.
(Survey attached.) Summarize, analyze, and comment on their responses. Due Oct. ___
(2)
Lesson Plan
Prepare a lesson plan for teachers concerning (a) liability for student injury, (b) the
constitutional context of public school teaching or (3) a broad legal issue that emerges
from your survey.
Format. The lesson plan should be designed for an inservice session of about 50 minutes
and include these features: (a) objectives/goals, (b) an activator/motivator, (c) legal
content, (d) application of theory to practice, (e) assessment/feedback.
NOTE: 2 students can collaborate on their surveys and analysis and prepare 2 lesson
plans.
Advocacy Paper
i.
ii.
Advocacy Paper – Submit a 6-8 page paper on any important and controversial topic
mentioned in the text. Specifically each paper should: (1) Summarize the law on the
topic and indicate whether you agree or disagree with the law from an educational,
administrative, and/or policy perspective. If you disagree, what specific changes would
you propose and why? (2) Summarize the strongest legal and policy arguments against
your position and how you would respond to them. (3) Integrate into your paper about
6-8 recent cases and relevant journal articles, if available. If you use cases mentioned
in the text, read and analyze the case in full, not just the summary from the text or other
secondary sources.
Outline and Bibliography of primary and secondary sources (2-4 pages). Include: 1.
Why you think your topic is important and controversial, 2. A preliminary statement of
your position, and 3. A policy-maker who has authority to take action on your proposal
– (e.g., a school committee, superintendent, commissioner of education, governor, or
congressional committee) – to whom you would address your paper. Due Oct. ___
Note: i.
You are required to exchange drafts of papers or lessons plans and seek editorial
and substantive suggestions from classmates.
ii.
Assume your audience is educators unfamiliar with the law on your topic; so
translate legalese into English.
iii.
Attach your outline with my comments to your paper and add your address.
FINAL LESSON PLAN OR PAPER DUE: Dec. ___
3.
Quizzes – There will be a mid-term and final quiz (T/F, multiple choice, short answer) based primarily on
the text and weekly review questions.
Text: Teachers and the Law, Sixth Edition, Fischer, Schimmel, & Stellman, 2003 (Available at Jeffrey Amherst
Bookstore in Amherst).
Suggested Reading:
Gideon’s Trumpet, Anthony Lewis (1964)
When the Nazis Came to Skokie, Phillipa Strum, University of Kansas (1999)
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Grading: Pass/Fail (Letter grade may be requested in writing by September 29).
Course Evaluation and Weekly Feedback: I will ask for your anonymous feedback at the middle of the semester
(for “mid-course corrections”) and at the end of the semester. In addition, you will be asked to submit questions and
identify problems or concerns each week.
Assignment Schedule:
1.
2.
3.
4.
P.S.:
P.P.S:
October
October
December
December
-----
Midterm Quiz and Evaluation
Prospectus on Advocacy paper/Survey and Analysis
Advocacy Paper/Lesson Plans
Final Quiz
Please share newspaper or magazine articles about education law issues relevant to the course.
Since 2 ½ hours is a long time to sit, feel free to stand and stretch (or snack) during class.
Dates
Sept.
1.
The Legal Context of Education
Financial Liability for Student Injuries, Educational Malpractice, Constitutional Torts, &
Defamation
When are schools liable for student injuries? When should schools be held responsible for
educational malpractice? When can officials be held personally liable for violating student rights?
Can waivers protect schools? What about insurance? When can teachers be held liable for libel?
Text: Chapters 5 and 6.
Sept.
2.
Due Process and Collaborative Rule Making
Does the Bill of Rights apply to public and private schools? If so, why, when and how? What
characterizes the legal relationship between schools and students: In loco parentis, administrative
discretion, constitutional constraint, judicial surveillance, legislative interference, and/or political
pressures?
When are students or teachers entitled to procedural due process? What process is due? Should
students have a right to academic due process?
Text: Preface, Chapter 12 (pp. 225-247)
Handout: Schimmel, “Traditional Rule Making.” Do school codes of conduct promote selfdiscipline and citizenship skills?
Sept.
3.
What Law Applies to Schools?
Legal Research with Barbara Morgan
Meet in Room 1620, University Library, 16 th floor
Text: Chapter 1, Teachers & the Legal System
The Teacher’s Personal Life
Are teachers role models? If so, should public schools have the right to punish “immorality” and
regulate out-of-school behavior?
Text: Chapter 13
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Sept.
4.
The Scope and Limits of Student Freedom of Speech and Press in the Public Schools;
Student Dress and Grooming
Text: Chapter 9 (pp. 145-164); Chapter 19 (pp. 407-421); Tinker v. Des Moines.
Hate Speech, Verbal Harassment and Controversial T-Shirts: What Can and Can’t Be Banned?
Library Censorship: Is there a student right to know?
Comment: Schimmel, “The Limits of School Board Discretion: Board of Education v. Pico,” 6
Education Law Reporter 285 (1982).
Oct.
5.
Teacher Freedom of Speech Outside the Classroom
Are teachers free to publicly criticize school policy, colleagues, and administrators? Do they have
the right to criticize supervisors directly?
Text: Chapter 9 (pp. 123-134)
Mid-Term Quiz Teachers’ Academic Freedom
What is it? Does it exist in public schools? Are teachers free to use methods and materials that
are unpopular in the community and disapproved of by the administration?
Text: Chapter 9 (pp. 134-144)
Teacher Dress and Grooming
Text: Chapter 19 (pp. 404-407)
Oct.
6.
Advocacy Paper Legal Research
Meet Barbara Morgan in the Library’s Calipari Room, Ground Floor.
Oct.
7.
Search and Seizure and School Records
Prospectus Due
A.
When can school officials search student lockers, cars, possessions, and persons? When
should canine searches be permitted? What about drug testing?
B.
What are the features of the Buckley Amendment? Does it allow schools to destroy
student records? Does it make teachers liable for negative comments? Does it prohibit
teachers from giving recommendations without a student’s permission?
Text: Chapter 12 (pp. 147-259); Chapter 17
Comment: Schimmel, “Supreme Court Expands Random Drug Testing,” 170 Ed Law Reporter 15
(2002).
Oct.
8.
Bilingual Education, Financial Equality, and Home Education
A.
Should all students have a constitutional right to an equal education? Should this require
an equal or equitable allocation of funds to all schools? . . . for all students?
B.
Should there be a right not to go to school? Should parents have a right to educate their
children at home?
C.
Is Bilingual education the best way to learn English? Should all students take bilingual
ed.? What specific approach is best for students with limited English? Should the local,
state, or federal government decide bilingual education issues?
Text: Chapters 16 (pp. 367-370) and 18 (pp. 435-436)
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Nov.
9.
Freedom of Religion and Conscience (Moot Court)
Does voluntary prayer, silent meditation or graduation prayer violate the First Amendment? Can
teachers be required to salute the flag and lead the Pledge of Allegiance? What about equal time
for creationism? Are religious holiday observances constitutional? Can public schools teach
about religion?
Text: Chapter 10
Handout: Schimmel, “From Consensus to Confusion,” Update on Law-Related Education, 1994.
Nov.
10.
Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Affirmative Action
Are voluntary affirmative goals or quotas to achieve racial balance for teachers or students
constitutional? If ethnic minorities want to go to schools in which their group is in the majority,
should they have the right to do so? Should schools seek equal educational outcomes? Should
selective schools be able to give admissions preferences based on minority status or disadvantage?
Text: Chapter 14
Comment: Schimmel, “Affirming Affirmative Action,” 180 Ed. Law Reporter 401 (2003).
Nov.
11.
Special Education
What are the rights of special education students and the responsibilities of educators? How is the
funding and discipline different from “regular” education? Should special education laws be
changed? If so, how? Should all students be entitled to a modified individual education plan?
Text: Chapter 16 (pp. 346-366)
Dec.
12.
Should women have a right to try out for men’s teams? . . . for contact sports? Should sex rule
stereotypes in the curriculum be illegal? Are long hair regulations for males unconstitutional?
What constitutes sexual harassment? When, if ever, should schools be held liable for student-tostudent harassment?
Text: Chapter 15
Paper Due
Dec.
Sex and Discrimination in Education
13.
School Choice (Vouchers and Charter Schools), NCLB, and other Frontier Issues
Final Quiz and Course Evaluation
Advocacy Paper Report: Distribute to class 1 page: (a) executive summary of your position
paper or (b) important information you learned from your research that you think all educators
should know.
Text: Chapter 20
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