This course will cover an extensive variety of legal issues encountered in education settings, with an emphasis on legal issues impacting public primary and secondary school districts and public colleges and universities.
(1) freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and establishment clause issues involving students, school employees, and school property;
(2) gender equity, affirmative action, desegregation, and other student discrimination issues in the school setting, as well as discrimination and civil rights issues impacting school employees;
(3) issues involving due process, tenure, academic freedom, and student and employee discipline;
(4) state laws impacting the operation of educational entities such as open meeting, conflict of interest, and public records laws; and
(5) federal legislation applicable to schools such as No Child Left Behind, the Equal Access Act, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
This course uses a basic casebook, Michael Kaufman, "Education Law, Policy, and Practice," Second Edition. Supplemental materials may be provided from time to time.
Lecture and classroom discussion
|Type of Exam||
In-class essay examination
|Basis for grading||
Grade based on final examination, with possible consideration of additional credit based on classroom participation.
Few areas of legal practice involve as much direct application of constitutional principles as does education law. In the school setting, real life situations are frequently encountered that require analysis of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, search and seizure, and due process issues. This class will be presented both from a practical, practitioner’s perspective as well as from a theoretical/historical basis.