Educ 662 Final Exam

EDUC 662 Final Exam A.

Religion is allowed as part of curriculum. Several court cases have served as guidelines including “School district of Abingdon Township v. Schempp”. In the Supreme Court decision, the court said “It might well be said that one's education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization. It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities. Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.” The key idea is schools must be completely neutral in discussions on religion, but they can use the Bible or other religious material in lessons. Schools can even has classes on the Bible or classes comparing religions. B. Privacy and student records are an important issue. These days much more information is contained in student records because of automation and the need to keep information for IDEA, standardized test scores etc. By law, the definition of a student record is “records, files, documents, and other materials [directly related to a particular student] maintained by an educational agency or institution” (FERPA). Student records are divided into two categories, directory and non-directory. Nondirectory information is protected. Items such as social security number, race, gender and grades are protected. Directory items such as name, address, and phone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance are not protected information (unless requested to be private by parents). Who should have access to the information? Parents, authorized third parties (with consent of parents); teachers and administrators who establish a “legitimate interest”; other schools to which a student is transferring; specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes; appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student; organizations conducting certain studies on behalf of the school; accrediting organizations; to comply with a judicial order or subpoena; appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies and students who are 18 are able to access the student’s records. Some states allow law enforcement that seeks information related to an investigation access to records. C. Discuss copyright laws. The TEACH act of 2001 gives guidelines for teachers. Teachers may make multiple copies for classroom use from printed materials as follows; poems less than 250 words, up to 250 words from a poem longer that 250 words, articles and essays less than 2,500 words, up to 10% from larger works; one chart, picture, graph, cartoon per book or periodical. Some restrictions apply. Copies must be from legally acquired originals. Only one copy per student. Teachers can make copies up to nine times per term. Consumables (workbooks) cannot be copied. Video information can be used without any restriction on length, percentage or multiple use and copies can be made to replace lost, damaged, or stolen copies. Video must be legally acquired, not for entertainment (no blockbuster video rentals in class). As for Internet material, images may be downloaded for student projects, sound files can be downloaded for student projects, but only 10%

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can be used in projects. All files must be legitimately obtained (no limewire or illegal music sharing sites). Student Dress. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District is the leading case on student dress. The school policy was unconstitutional because the dress must be a “substantial disruption or material interference with school activities”. Schools may prohibit lewd, vulgar, profane or offensive dress. School uniforms are legal because it promotes school safety and order. Schools do not have to wait for an actual disruption to take place before regulating dress. Community values can also play a part in dress codes. The main idea is that student dress cannot create a “disruption”. Civil Rights. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Right Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination based on disability. The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits age discrimination. A person’s civil rights might be violated if any decision is made solely on any of the items above. For example Title IX can be invoked if not enough women’s sports are made available. Students with special needs. NCLB (No Child Left Behind), IDEA ( Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and the McKinney-Vento Act requires students receive a “Free and Appropriate Education”. Schools must provide IEP ‘s that plan for the modifications and accommodations for students under IDEA. NCLB targets high poverty and at risk students, while McKinney-Vento provides for homeless students. Tort. A tort is a civil wrong, misconduct which society may or may not deem “bad” enough to warrant being a crime but in any event is “bad” enough to make the wrongdoer financially liable for injuries suffered by the victim of the “bad” act. The categories of tort liability are negligent and intentional actions, Intentional bad actions, grossly negligent actions or inactions, negligent actions or inactions, and innocent actions or inactions. Education malpractice involves the idea that the student did not receive the education he was entitled. The plaintiff has to show: (1) the principal or teacher owed the student a duty; (2) the principal or teacher breached the duty owed; and (3) the principal or teacher’s breach of duty was the cause of injury or loss suffered by the student. Claims based on federal statutes are unlikely except for IDEA complaints. States may be more likely to be subject to suit. Technology has made data more available for review. Standardized tests give people information on individual student progress and schools now receive grades. In Scheelhaase v. Woodbury the teacher was fired because her students scored low on standardized tests. Most cases fail, however. Teachers could be sued if they don’t show student improvement on standardized tests. Teachers are now more accountable than ever. Medications. Students can receive medication during the day if parental consent and dosage information is on file with the school. Some schools allow self -administration for students deemed capable and a need exists. Generally, medication is a local school board issue. Administering of student medications are normally handled by the school nurse, who keeps all medication in their office along with parental consent forms. There must be policies set up for children with

disabilities. Some states provide legal protection for teachers administering medications in emergency situations. School administrators must weigh student health and safety with liability in setting up policies. J. Title IX has had a huge impact on public education. It not only applies to sports programs, but also to academics. Schools must show that they are providing the same opportunities to men and women. The office of civil rights monitors schools, which receive federal funds for compliance. Schools are required to provide equal financial assistance based on number of male and female athletes. Schools must also provide equal accommodation of interests and abilities. The selection of sports and level of competition must be accommodated. Opportunities must be substantially proportionate between male and female. Where the members of one sex have been and are underrepresented, the school must show a history and continuing practice of program expansion, which is demonstrably responsive to the developing interests, and abilities of that sex or show the members of that sex have been fully accommodated by the current program. Other components looked at are equipment and supplies, scheduling of games and practice times, travel and per diem allowances, opportunity to receive academic tutoring, opportunity to receive coaching assignment and compensation, locker rooms and facilities, medical facilities, housing and dining, publicity, support services, and recruitment. Title IX has required schools to spend more time and money on women’s sports. In some cases money must be taken from the men’s programs to provide for the women’s. Some colleges have chosen to drop some means sports completely. To defend a sports program against a discrimination charge a school must show they are meeting the requirements mentioned above.