It is essential that all educational leaders in your school be versed in your local, state, and federal laws. Nowadays it isn’t just parents taking school districts to court, but rather teachers and others involved in the educational process based on the abuses they see in the system. Educational administrators who scold faculty for reporting incidents or claim that unnecessary referral slips are being written pose a great danger to the learning environment. Heroic parties such as the ACLU (www.aclu.org), educational advocacy groups (www.nea.org), and educational experts (www.negn.org) are working to educate people on their rights.
One of the best advocates for education is the United States federal government. Every educational administrator or leader should regularly request by mail or download current federal government publications related to education from its websites.
For example, the U.S. Constitution requires that all students be given equal educational opportunity regardless of their race, ethnic background, religion, or sex, yet every year cases are brought to the courts or complaints made to the state because educational administrators disregard the simple basics. An administrator or teacher cannot discriminate against a student based on reasons such as economic status, citizenship, or language ability. Even students who are in this country illegally or who are homeless have the right to go to public school and be educated. Districts and administrators can’t deny an education to an undocumented child. The learner, while living in this country, is entitled to an education. Other countries have very similar laws, and the rules for the country’s ministry of education should be followed.
While students have a right to an education, they can be denied access to a school for some reasons. One of the most common given by educational administrators is if the child doesn’t behave in a suitable manner. In these cases, students can receive home tutors or be sent to other facilities to continue their education, especially if they prove to be a threat to other learners. Parents often refuse to believe that school districts have a right to dictate behavior policies. Within the framework of educational laws written at the state, federal, and local levels, districts do have the power to put into place policies that protect the learning environment. Such policies are necessary because schools are not babysitting services; they are institutions of learning.
And much to people’s dismay, there is no uniformity regarding which students are allowed to stay in their schools and which are required to go for any particular behaviors. What may be acceptable in one district may not be in another district less than a mile away. For example, some school administrators claim that they would rather have an in-house policy for dealing with bullying, as opposed to a model based on the national zero-tolerance policy used by other districts. Parents who argue, “If my child attended a different school he wouldn’t have had this consequence” are probably correct. However, their child doesn’t attend that school. Instead, the child attends your school and is subject to your school district’s policies.
As an educational leader, you know that school systems have formal policies and rules covering student discipline, referred to as student codes of conduct. A student code of conduct is usually found in a student handbook that students and parents should be required to sign. By saving and documenting the parents’ signatures, you have proof that the guardians acknowledge that they understand what is expected of their children while attending school. The school’s handbook should specify formal policies and define the nature and severity of student offenses. It should indicate the alternatives of punishment available and designate the person responsible for enforcing each rule and implementing each procedure. For example, the policy book might state that only the assistant principal can suspend a student, and that a teacher can only file a recommendation to suspend a student for just cause, such as insubordination. I would recommend that as an administrator, fairness should be the basis for every decision made. This advice is for your own protection. It is important that you be familiar with school law and record information very carefully to avoid litigation. This section discusses how to document issues related to school law and discipline.
In most states, courts have ruled that students have the right to freedom from bodily restraint under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, media reports have shown that the Fourteenth Amendment is not upheld in every state! In a recent article, one public school boasted, “pass the state boards or get the board!” In Florida, this statement is acceptable, but in other states it would legally be considered child abuse. This is a clear and unfortunate example of our country’s lack of uniformity on the issue of corporal punishment. In states where corporal punishment has been permitted, some school districts and their administrators have been sued for corporal punishments in cases that have led to broken bones and other injuries. Much to many educational leaders’ disbelief, courts have held that the Eighth Amendment (the amendment that forbids “cruel and unusual punishment”) applies only in a criminal context, and not in student discipline proceedings. United States courts have, however, recognized the right of students to be informed of prohibited behaviors. Courts have further afforded pupils certain procedural safeguards prior to the imposition of corporal punishment. So, then, what are the ramifications of these court mandates for the administrator?
• First, they suggest that parents cannot argue that requiring a student to copy from the dictionary, confiscating a cell phone, or throwing out gum are cruel and unusual punishments.
• They also imply that parents or guardians can argue that excessive force was used on their child. This opens up the gates for scrutiny and litigation and may make school administrators think twice before placing a hand on a child entrusted to their care.
Hitting children is nothing new in schools. Around the world, children are harshly disciplined daily. I have worked in a state that forbids teachers to touch students with any physical force, but that doesn’t mean teachers haven’t done it. If a teacher touches a student, even in some states that allow corporal punishment, the teacher can be in clear violation of the law and can face assault charges. In some cases, where the laws of corporal punishment are followed haphazardly, teachers can still be in violation if they grab, tug, hit, or have any physical contact with a student as a form of discipline.
The federal government has no comprehensive policy on this issue. It is up to each state to decide upon the use of corporal punishment in schools. Thus any legal justification for using corporal punishment is found in state statutes. For example, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts corporal punishment is prohibited, but in other states, such as Florida, it is permitted. As an administrator, you will find that federal and state courts have consistently upheld its reasonable use where the state allows it, but not in the twenty or more states that ban its practice. If you want to know your state’s current position on corporal punishment, this information is available online at http://school.familyeducation.com/classroom-discipline/resource/38377.html.
The United States Supreme Court has further stated that if corporal punishment is allowed, there are nine general guidelines on what constitutes “reasonable” physical contact. If your school permits corporal punishment, you can get information on policies and interpretation for corporal punishment by state online at www.corpun.com/usscr2a.htm. However, remember that as an administrator you should not rely on websites to set policy, but you should be familiar with your state’s laws as well as U.S. and state supreme court and lower court decisions for clarification. For example, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, any corporal punishment of students must meet the following nine requirements:
• It must be allowed by state statute (either directly or by inference).
• It must be appropriate for the offense. For example, forgetting a pencil for class would not justify hitting a seven-year old with a paddle repeatedly on the buttocks.
• It must be implemented consistently with state statutory requirements.
• It must be used as a method of correction. This means that the teacher can’t just hit a child out of anger on the spur of the moment.
• It must involve use of an appropriate instrument. For example, teachers or administrators can’t use devices that burn the skin like cigarettes or cattle prods. The use of rulers on the knuckles of a child, although used in the schools when I was a child, most likely could not be justified in a court of law today.
• It must not be cruel or excessive. This is very interpretive, so school administrators should be very careful, because what is acceptable to you may not be to an outsider.
• It must not involve anger or malice.
• It must not leave permanent or lasting injuries, such as battered and bloody knuckles resulting from a child’s fingers being hit with a ruler.
• It must suit the age, gender, and physical condition of the child. Before administering corporal punishment, school administrators should consider whether children have any special needs.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that four procedural guidelines should be followed:
1. Students must be warned in advance of the specific kinds of behavior that could result in their being corporally punished. This means a teacher can’t just yank a child in front of the room and start beating the student for something he or she has done without prior warning that the behavior could result in corporal punishment.
2. The act of corporal punishment is not to be the first line of punishment. The student should be given some type of verbal or written reprimand before any physical contact takes place.
3. If corporal punishment is administered to a student, a second school official must be present to witness the act. As many of us know, that isn’t always practiced and can be grounds for legal action.
4. The parents of a punished student must be furnished on request with a written statement about the act, including reasons for it and the names of the witnesses.
Rules on corporal punishment have improved over the past twenty years, but until more parents and students speak up, out, and against the practice, it will continue to flourish.
In private and parochial schools, corporal punishment statutes vary by state.
Search and seizure issues have always been of great interest to me. My father was the principal of a district that was the test case on this issue in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts when I was a child. As the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides the right of the people to be “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” it requires that police and authorities follow legal procedures before they may search and seize the property belonging to a citizen. The reason my father and his district won the case that is now taught in educational law classes is because he and his colleagues had written into the district policies and handbook that the lockers were the property of the school. Therefore, as the educational administrator, he had the right to search a locker, since the school “owned” the locker and the locker was not the property of the student. Although the courts have not extended this policy to school police officers, school administrators can search school lockers without warrants, provided that their policy is clearly written in the school handbook for all to see. Search and seizure of backpacks and persons, unlike lockers, is still not permissible, as they are not owned by districts, and can be a Fourth Amendment violation [New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985)].
Every school needs to address the issues of smoking, drugs, and alcohol on school premises. Sometimes teachers who are smokers can be seen outside of a school building with cigarettes alongside students. Some schools overlook this, and others have strict penalties. Some schools neglect to address the issue, instead choosing to focus on issues that they feel are of more relevance. However, schools must ban smoking by students because the minimum smoking age in the United States is eighteen. If students are eighteen, they can smoke legally, but they cannot smoke on school grounds. In most states schools are considered public buildings, and smoking would be in violation of public health laws.
In a recent deposition, an administrator stupidly claimed that although he didn’t smoke, he didn’t prevent students from smoking cigarettes on the curb outside the back doors of the school because he felt it prevented them from going off into the woods to smoke pot. As an educational administrator, you don’t have the authority to make those types of decisions. Instead, you must work within the guidelines of state and local laws.
On a similar but related issue, states have different laws and views on drugs. Some states are more strict than others. Massachusetts has a law that requires a mandatory sentence of two and a half years in prison for selling drugs within a school zone. As the administrator, you need to know what your state regulations are regarding drug dealing, use, and possession. It is also important to know the law regarding the sale of prescription drugs and to formulate a policy compliant with that law. It is quite common for students to sell their medications for extra cash. You may also want to consider what the school policy is if a student takes a drug off campus—especially if the drug’s effect on the child’s behavior impacts the campus itself when the student returns to school. As an administrator, you may want to have a policy on marijuana use. Some schools have drug tests performed by nurses. Parents have sued administrators, arguing that a school district has no right to take a student’s DNA. As an administrator, you must check your state laws and work with legal experts to write policies that comply with state mandates, especially if your district insists on random drug testing. Recently, the legality of random drug testing of athletes has been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU claimed in a Tennessee case that “it has proven to be ineffective in deterring drug use and is opposed by leading experts in adolescent health, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Education Association, the Association of Addiction Professionals, and the National Association of Social Workers.” So, as an educational administrator, before you start testing students’ urine or blood, you may want to consult the district’s attorney.
The public seems to be bombarded daily with stories of cases involving students and substance use. A famous case involved parents who were held liable by authorities for serving alcohol to students at a non-school-sanctioned party. Another case years ago involved a student putting laxatives into brownies, affecting other children’s bowel movements; although school officials knew about the incident, they didn’t take action until after the parents brought charges. Back then, lacing foods or pouring substances into drinks was frowned upon, but today it can be a criminal offense. Often students aren’t harming other students, but rather the learner causes self-injury with substance use. A common problem schools have faced is students putting alcohol in soda bottles and drinking during the school day. Regardless of your position on student drinking, the fact remains that the legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one. Therefore, it is illegal for persons under the age of twenty-one to drink alcoholic beverages on school grounds or at any school event.
Self-inflicted wounds with pens, pencils, and razors are also becoming more commonplace, as is sniffing glue and other inhalants. These issues must also be addressed in student handbooks. Recently, the Bronx police raided a fifth grade drug operation in an elementary school, so the rules should be written to apply to all students of all ages. Handbooks should be written to release schools from liabilities that cannot be foreseen, but now with local press coverage, it is hard to say that anything can’t be foreseen. In the 1980s, a student was sliced in half after “elevator surfing”—now schools implement elevator safety tips in their handbooks. With the growth of MySpace, Facebook, cellular coverage, podcasts, and YouTube, schools have had to write policies to protect themselves against students who wear school sports uniforms while posing with alcohol in posted pictures that can represent the image of the school on the Internet.
Handbooks should also be written in this regard for teachers, as some have been known to drink on school grounds, drink with students, or promote alcohol in other inappropriate ways. I strongly advise that administrators not hold meetings other than on school grounds. In a recent deposition against a school district, it was pointed out that faculty meetings were “held over drinks” in a barlike atmosphere. This is very damaging for the school district, as the actions serve as an improper model of behavior on the part of both teachers and administrators.
Teachers and administrators have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for the students that is conducive to learning. Thus, school districts must work in compliance with their local laws to write individual policies to state their position on the use, sale, or possession of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs on school property. If no policies are put into place or action, teachers, administrators, students, or parents can contact their state public health department and file a complaint.
How many times as an educator have you heard a student tell a teacher or other adult, “You can’t tell me what I can or can’t say because you are not my mother!” This is both true and untrue in a school setting. It is true that the First Amendment guarantees citizens’ rights to free expression and free association. This means that the government does not have the right to prevent us from saying and writing what we like. As citizens, we can form clubs and organizations and take part in demonstrations and rallies. But that does not give a person the right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater or to communicate in other ways that endanger the public. Second, in fact, while children are in school, the teacher or administrator according to law does function in the role of their parent, under the concept of in loco parentis.
Many teachers and educational leaders are deeply confused about what a student may and may not say. As we know, the Supreme Court has held that it is a violation of the First Amendment for the government to make citizens say something they don’t want to say. In one case, a student argued that he was given detention for not pledging allegiance. It was determined that the student was correct in claiming that he had the right to remain silently seated during the Pledge of Allegiance. The teacher sent him to the office for not standing up to pledge under the charge of insubordination. The vice principal issued a detention slip to the student, who turned a copy over to a law firm that was suing the district on behalf of another plaintiff for similar violations. The lack of knowledge of the law by the educational administrator was another nail in the coffin for the school district. If you are unsure about students’ free speech rights, school districts consider the major decision on this topic to be Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. This Supreme Court decision held that students in public schools do not leave their First Amendment rights at the “schoolhouse gate.” This means that students can express their opinions orally and in writing, in leaflets or on buttons, armbands, or T-shirts. According to the courts, it is all legal as long as the student’s speech doesn’t “materially and substantially” disrupt classes or other school activities and is not incorporated into documents published by the school.
But as you know, there are modifications that have come along since the Tinker case. For example, as an administrator or teacher you can modify speech in a public school when it interferes with the normal functioning of the learning environment, such as when students hold a protest in the cafeteria and block free access points to it. On a similar note, you can probably stop students from using vulgar or indecent language, but be aware that students may argue that even the FCC has approved the “f word” in certain contexts. For example, English teachers are known to teach about it as it relates to British literature because it once stood for Fornication Under Consent of the King.
Keep in mind as a school administrator that the ACLU is quick to point out that you “may not censor only one side of a controversy.” For example, if your school presents an article regarding the funding of abstinence education, both sides of the issue must be given equal treatment. Such things do not hold true in private and parochial schools, as they are not held to the same standards due to their lack of funding or ownership by the U.S. federal government. Thus, at a Catholic school, a teacher who suggests to a child that the use of condoms is best to prevent STDs may legally be fired, as this statement may violate the principles of that particular institution’s philosophy.
As an administrator, you may be surprised at what students feel they have the right to say, and with that in mind, it is good to be aware of the 1998 Supreme Court decision of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier. Here it was determined that public school administrators can censor student speech in official school publications or activities if the officials think students are saying something “inappropriate” or “harmful,” despite if its use is not vulgar or does not cause disruption. Some states, such as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have high school free expression laws that give students greater rights of free speech. So it is important that you check with your board of education to find out whether your state has such laws on its books.
Depending on your state’s laws, be aware as an administrator that schools may be able to control what students wear, and schools may be able to create hair codes. For the most part, students can wear their hair in any fashion, as long as it is not a safety hazard as defined by the school. For example, in a vocational school, students in a welding or machine shop may be required to wear steel toe boots and have their hair tied back while using equipment. Much to student dismay, school districts for the most part can create dress codes and enforce them, especially if the students’ choice of clothing disrupts the learning environment. However, what is offensive to one person may be acceptable to another. Therefore, it is recommended that illustrations of acceptable clothing be drawn along with the wording for clear interpretation in the handbook.
I have heard female students who have been asked not to wear tube tops that reveal their stomachs, upper arms, and shoulders argue that it is unfair, since boys can be bare-chested in public. This is why nonsexist language and policies need to be written. On a similar note, some boys like to wear pants that reveal their underwear, and this may be considered equally offensive, as undergarments should not be seen in public schools. It is highly recommended to have a clear dress code policy, and it is equally important that the code be consistently enforced, or it could become a great source of tension!
Keep in mind that the reality of dress codes can be an interpretive nightmare. For every rule an administrator creates, there is a student to challenge it. For example, students rebel by cutting holes into clothing to reveal skin or begin to wear clothing so tight that it appears to be body painted. One thing that most schools agree with when it comes to dress code is banning gang-related clothing and clothing that might prove dangerous, such as baggy sweats or pants that can conceal weapons. At one school where I taught, the administrators banned all bandanas and related headgear. As any educator would imagine, students then brought into question why some girls could wear headbands, but they couldn’t wear bandanas! This was resolved by clarifying that hair accessories were acceptable only if worn vertically or horizontally and specifying the types of material that could compose them. Another arguable piece of clothing that has been banned by schools is “sex bracelets.” These accessories indicate how many boys girls have been with sexually using different colored bands like bracelets on their wrists. The dress code is a never-ending battle, but it is one that should be carefully addressed in school handbooks.
While new technology continues to enrich learning experiences, there are some troubling new ways it’s being used to threaten kids in American school districts. Hazing was once an issue, and it still is in certain schools, but now the trend in bullying is anonymous blogging. Blogging websites can be used to suggest, damage, libel, and slander a pupil’s reputation. One common bullying technique is to engage others to share their top ten list of negative statements about a person via electronic media and computers.
Cyber bullying is the term used to describe the different ways adults and kids may use the Internet to cause harm. Many students choose to text or e-mail threats and horrible statements to unnerve their classmates. The cyber world often enters the school world when students begin a series of harassing incidents that appear isolated but are not. Harassment is understood to be unwanted and repeated attention, but students often think it is a rite of passage. As cyber laws and harassment laws develop based on cases that arise, the law is predicted to change, especially in the next decade. It is important that a district work closely with attorneys to write policies that reflect individual state laws on a yearly basis. This section of the book offers administrators concepts that should be incorporated into school handbooks, policies, and procedures to protect students from other students, parents, teachers, staff, third parties, or administrators who may engage in such activity.
In your handbook you might want to consider a threat to be communication that insults, threatens, or uses lewd pictures or language that is sent using electronic media, is posted for public consumption, or impedes the learning environment. In a recent deposition, a principal discussed how with the use of cell phones, girls had cyber bullied and threatened other girls at school. This led to fistfights and to the ruination of a teacher’s reputation. It was implied that the teacher did not properly handle the situation, and moreover, the school had no substantial policy to cover it, which allowed it to escalate further. If the parents of the beaten girls took the case to court, the school would most likely be found liable.
Your school’s handbook should clearly state a zero-tolerance policy and clarify the forms of harassment. For example, if a group of girls shout at an overweight student, “Hey, cow,” does the district consider that harassment or a one-time form of communication? What if the school ignores the situation, and the next day this is repeated, but this time the group of girls put pictures of cows all over the victim’s locker. Then, as the child walks down the hall, students begin to make cow sounds singling her out. At what point does it constitute harassment? Your handbook needs to address a no-tolerance policy; a single or multiple communication policy; or an unwanted increase in communication policy. But what if the same girls go on the Internet and begin signing the child up for websites that encourage weight loss or post her picture on websites like uglypeople.com? As an educational administrator, you should consider a clause that discourages the use of third parties as a form of harassment, especially since companies sell addresses to other similar businesses.
What if the whole situation goes a step further? This time the students take pictures of the victim changing for gym class and send it to other students followed by pictures of bent fingers in up-close shots to insinuate that it is her buttocks. Later that day, the girl begins to be harassed by boys. Perhaps that night she overdoses on sleeping pills and commits suicide. Are you culpable? Has your school implemented a policy with respect to these things? Did your lack of policy or enforcement lead to the girl’s suicide or state of mind? These are real issues that educational administrators have to deal with on a daily basis.
As an administrator, your student handbooks and policies should be written to address issues that can be expected to arise. In general, a handbook should address things that administrators and teachers know that students are capable of doing. For example, writing e-mails and sending candy grams to a student that appear to be from another student, using a false persona, can lead to upset. Many students pose as other students to intimidate their victims, or they register students for clubs that might embarrass the victim.
Hollywood films have cashed in on these very common problems in schools. In one film plot, students make false reports using another student’s name, and the result is the humiliation of the victim. Another common plot in school-related films centers around students repeating rumors that are known or suspected to be false, especially those with sexual connotations.
Another issue school districts and their handbooks need to address is the sharing or stealing of other students’ computer passwords. It is not unheard of for pupils to break into each other’s e-mail accounts and send materials out in others’ names, and such incidents have been known to involve local authorities. Some have been known to hack into computer systems and demonstrate malicious intent by using technology to damage others. Some have played with school attendance or grade records, and others have sent viruses, shutting down networks. All districts should be able to agree that this is not acceptable and should create written policies against these practices. When I first became aware of this, in the early 1990s, school districts wanted to find the student hacker to offer him or her a job if the child could crack the codes, but today’s administrator wants to apprehend the pupil and press charges for violating laws.
The school should also consider writing policies regarding outside events that could affect school time. For example, what if a boy who has been “dumped” by his girlfriend posts her cell phone number, locker number, bus route, and/or address on a teen chat site? As a result a third party begins to stalk her, and she finds notes and other objects in her locker. This is unwanted and threatening attention, and it is not acceptable, but in this case it becomes increasingly difficult to enforce a punishment at the school level. Now outside authorities must be brought in for consultation. And their presence can sometimes lead to parental panic.
As educators of elementary, middle, and secondary school boys and girls, we realize that as young as kindergarten, children have crushes on other children. In some cases, changing hormones are an issue. When this happens, students may act in an inappropriate manner or do something that in the adult world would definitely constitute harassment. For example, a middle school child may stalk another student online, tracing the student’s electronic movements in chat rooms, playing with his or her questionnaires, sending anonymous love e-mails, or otherwise invading the child’s privacy. These actions are often the premise of every other ’tween television show, and the characters in sit-coms make it easy to do, but the school district may see the child’s actions very differently.
Policy books written by teachers and administrators should include statements that prohibit the registering of another’s student’s name or setting up profiles without permission. The modern student may use information learned from electronic devices to get closer to a target student while in the learning environment. Therefore, your policies should review the school’s stance on these issues. The policies should further address postings that can be viewed on school grounds, encouraging others to post nasty comments on another student’s blog, and unauthorized use of another student’s image, which is common after rejection. There should also be a policy for students who damage the reputation of faculty members with inappropriate blogs, e-mails, or Web pages that are for public consumption. Policies should be written to protect teachers with due process so that parents cannot send anonymous notes to administrators without their or their union’s knowledge.
The next area that has to be addressed in a student handbook involves the First Amendment and its interpretation as it applies to schools. Under freedom of speech students have the right to voice their opinions. But what is your school or district’s policy when a student posts bad reviews or feedback on or about another student without cause? New laws have recently been enacted trying to counteract these behaviors. They’ve forced schools to think of new policies and updates to be incorporated into their handbooks. For example, students who have posted images of naked students online or via cell phones have faced child pornography charges.
Your district should have a policy for Internet use. Does your handbook have a policy that would cover parents or students who repeatedly send e-mails to teachers harassing them to change grades or a report on the child? What if a student starts sending racist jokes using a school account and a teacher passes them on to a friend, who reports it to the school committee? What if the student takes it a step further and implicates a student’s name in the jokes instead of the ethnicity—do you have a policy written to cover this action if the named student’s family seeks legal remedy?
Harassment that involves physical assault also needs to be addressed. What does your policy book say about a group of girls deciding to play dodgeball? Probably there is nothing in your handbook, but now consider that these same girls decide to throw the ball only at one individual student, and the victim is pounded during a physical education class and is injured with bruises? How do you handle such a situation? In one case, a boy threw a water bottle at a girl’s head when he found out she was bisexual and had practiced the Wiccan faith. The teacher documented it with student personnel, but little was done, leaving the student to feel unsafe in her school environment. This proved embarrassing for the school district when the affidavit, deposition, and other evidence that showed how a district protected the boy, a “blond, blue eyed superstar,” from what should have been suspension, if not expulsion. Moreover, there will always be a record of his actions in the courts that can be dug up, but it would have been long forgotten had the school just dealt with him when he was a high school student.
There may even need to be a policy that covers financial forms of harassment. For example, if students begin bombarding a student’s or teacher’s cell phone with texts, spam, or messages for which the victim is charged twenty cents each by the phone service provider, this can be financially devastating to the victim! Also, bullies may take other children’s lunch money, causing financial hardship to the family. A school must have a policy on reimbursement, protection, and alternatives to the extortion practices often found in today’s school systems.
Here is a newer problem for the modern school administrator: During my tenure as a teacher, students often used cell phones to send threats to other students. Long gone are the days of passing notes. Electronic threats are the “in thing” to send and receive. The negative side to this is that teachers can be left unaware that harassment is happening in their classroom. Your handbook should incorporate a policy about sending threats to others during the school day, with varied consequences depending on whether the message is sent during a class, between classes, during a break period, or after school but on the school grounds.
Elementary schools should also write policies on bullying for students as young as kindergarten. For example, a kindergarten boy’s mother complained to school authorities that a girl in his class had slapped him across the face and then pulled another girl’s ponytail and told the boy that the same thing would happen to him if he told the teacher about her behavior. When I first heard the case, I was surprised, because who thinks about a violent kindergartener? The answer is today’s administrator, who has to protect the district’s interests! As we know, teachers generally handle situations within the classroom at that age, but in a litigious society, potential issues should be addressed in a handbook. And written policies shouldn’t stop with addressing physical behaviors. Making fun of other students or teachers that leads to embarrassment, such as making fun of someone’s physical traits, manner of speaking, or clothing, should also be addressed in the handbook, as it damages the victim in his or her learning environment. Policies should further include rules about the sharing of other students’ contact information.
Also, policies should be written stating that if students overhear information about a student, they aren’t allowed to repeat the information to other students. Kids innocently repeat things, but it can cause the child who is being talked about to be singled out, as in the case of a child whose parent is incarcerated.
As we have learned from the Columbine tragedy, creating or playing video games in which characters hurt, injure, or suggest the death of school personnel or people in the student body should be dealt with severely. This leads to the following section, which discusses the concepts of writing policies to address the possession or use of weapons on school grounds.
According to the Children’s Defense Fund and the National Center for Health Statistics, “In a single year, 3,012 children and teens were killed by gunfire” in the United States. According to the same government studies, this is “one child every three hours; eight children every day; and more than fifty children every week. And every year, at least four to five times as many kids and teens suffer from non-fatal firearm injuries.”
Educational administrators must address weapon carrying or possession in schools. Federal law prohibits persons under twenty-one from buying handguns, but it does not prohibit kids as young as eighteen from possessing them. Weapons are not banned in every school across America, and state and local laws don’t always prevent guardians from entering a school carrying a weapon! Reuters in 2008 reported that Texas was considering whether teachers could carry guns to school, and recently, the Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved it. This is the first district in America to allow teachers to have guns while teaching in schools. As school districts often pattern policies after one another, it is only a matter of time until the next district approves such a plan. Therefore, you must check your state’s laws as you determine how your district wants to word its weapons policy. For example, the Brady Center has pointed out that the “state of Utah has argued for teachers and students to be given the constitutional right to bear arms.” The prohibition of weapons on school grounds should be written into school policies and should be compliant with local, state, and federal laws. Fox News reported that in 2007 the state of Illinois “granted a firearms identification card to a ten month old baby.” At this rate, preschools may have to implement policies for those tots who are “packing”!
Schools are becoming more and more dangerous, and more students are becoming victims of violent acts in schools. Published statistical research states, “In 1933, 75 percent of deaths among youth between 15 and 19 stemmed from natural causes. Sixty years later, in 1993, 80 percent came from homicide and unintentional injury.” (AMA, Youth and Violence, December 2000). Violence is a reality in today’s schools. In 2000 the Josephson Institute reported that “88 percent of all boys and over 76 percent of girls surveyed said they hit someone in the past 12 months because they were angry.” And a CBS report at the turn of the twenty-first century claimed that “22 percent of students knew of another student who carried a weapon to school.” The same report alleged that “over 50 percent of the students polled believed that a school shooting could occur at their school.” It is sad, but not surprising, that federal statistics indicate that “21 percent of middle school children reported fights or attacks in the United States in a single school year.”
As educators it is our civic duty to protect the children in our care. It is essential that violent acts be recognized and reported by school districts in order for school security practices to improve. It is important to work with local law enforcement when writing these policies into your district’s handbook. The school district’s tolerance policies of individual acts should be clearly listed with penalties for violations. The handbook should also include a section that discusses your district’s policy regarding violent acts committed against teachers. It should further include teachers’ rights to press assault charges, expulsion consequences for such attacks, and a clause about potential criminal charges for violent acts.
This section provides the reader with basic definitions of state and federal acronyms and laws as published by the U.S. government (nces.ed.gov/pubs97/p97527/Acronym.asp). As an educational administrator, you should be versed in these terms and have a basic understanding of how they apply to your district.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures services to children with disabilities throughout the nation
The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) seeks to ensure that schools and contractors make instructional materials available for inspection by parents if those materials will be used in connection with an ED-funded survey, analysis, or evaluation in which their children participate. This is the most important part to know: it also seeks to ensure that schools and contractors obtain written parental consent before minor students are required to participate in any ED-funded survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning political affiliations; mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student and his or her family; sexual behavior and attitudes; illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, and demeaning behavior; critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships; legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers; or income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).
Public Law 107-110 mandates that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. This law is often used to help Native American children, poor school districts, and areas in need of assistance.
Public Law 108-446 was enacted to help handicapped children. It looks at remedies for equality.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) protects the privacy of student health records.
The Equal Access Act (EQAA) applies only when the school has a “limited open forum,” meaning the school recognizes “non-curriculum-related” student groups.
FAPE stands for “free appropriate public education,” and it can be found under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, protects the privacy of student records. This law also examines due process. The U.S. Department of Education notes on its website the following information: “Schools may disclose, without consent, ‘directory’ information such as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA.”
Title I is the largest federal education funding program for schools. Its aim is to help students who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind. School funding is based on the number of low-income children, generally those eligible for the free and reduced price lunch program.
The aim of Title IIA is to increase student achievement through comprehensive district initiatives that focus on the preparation, training, recruitment, and retention of highly qualified educators.
Title IID is a federal grant program intended to help districts improve student achievement through the use of technology in their schools.
Title III is the section of No Child Left Behind that provides funding and addresses English language acquisition and standards and accountability requirements for limited English proficient (LEP) students.
Title IV, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, supports programs to prevent violence in and around schools; prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs by young people; and foster a safe and drug-free learning environment that supports academic achievement.
Title V promotes informed parental choices and innovative programs.
Title VI, part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlaws discrimination based on race, color, and national origin for agencies or programs receiving federal funding.
Title VII usually deals with racial imbalance and involves compliance in the following areas, according to the Department of Education in Massachusetts: If it can be proved that there is work toward improving a racially imbalanced plan to improve the quality of education; if more than half of the pupils attending the school are defined as minority based on the Federal Emergency School Aid Act; if a district can show racial isolation; or if it is a magnet school facility and educational programs.
Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 bans sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds, whether it is in academics or athletics. For example, if the school buses the football team of boys to games but not the cheerleading team of girls, this can be a violation of Title IX. If a female student wants to play football or take part in wrestling or any other traditionally male sport, she can participate; likewise, a male student who wants to cheerlead cannot be denied. A male student who wants to join glee club or cheerleading cannot be denied based on gender.
Administrators should be versed in special education law. According to the federal government’s website, www.ed.gov, “In order to comply with the federal mandate [Public Law 102-119, known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (34 CFR Parts 300 and 301 and Appendix C)] that all disabled children receive a free appropriate public education, a school district must provide special education and related services at no cost to the child or her/his parents.” FAPE works in conjunction with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is a civil rights law passed in 1990 that does not allow discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public service, and public accommodations. Schools are required to comply with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 plans under special education laws.
The laws regarding English as a second language, bilingual education, and sheltered English immersion are very strict. For example, Title VI is violated by a school district if programs for students whose English is less than proficient are not designed to teach them English as soon as possible or if they operate as a dead-end track. Title VI has been interpreted by U.S. federal courts to prohibit denial of equal access to education because of a student’s limited proficiency in English. Another law that you should be familiar with is the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA). This act was designed to require school districts to establish language programs and eliminate language barriers in schools. In 1981 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Castaneda vs. Pickard, formulated a method to determine if a school district is in compliance with the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (1974). The three-part test includes the following criteria:
• “The school is pursuing a program informed by an educational theory recognized as sound by some experts in the field or, at least, deemed legitimate experimental strategy.”
• “The program and practices actually used by [the] school system are reasonably calculated to implement effectively the educational theory adopted by the school.”
• “The school’s program succeeds, after a legitimate trial, in producing results indicating that the language barriers confronting students are actually being overcome.”
Finally, district teachers and administrators must remember that under the law undocumented alien children cannot be denied a free public education, and school districts cannot inquire about the child’s family’s alien status.
Case law is always changing, and almost all departments of education have a website page updating current laws or cases. The American Civil Liberties Union has an entire section of its website dedicated to school law and the protection of student rights. Most city and town libraries keep referenced volumes of state and federal laws. Currently, educational law websites are becoming more and more available on the Internet, helping you find the most recent cases.
The citation of a public law, such as Public Law 107-110, always begins with the words “Public Law.” The numbers that follow these words indicate the session of Congress that enacted the law, followed by the sequential number of the law within this session. So, in this example, the law was passed by the 107th Congress, and it was the 110th law passed. Public Law 91-189 would be a law enacted by the 91st Congress and the 189th law passed.
Citations for court decisions follow a similar format. The citation for the case Normdabro v. Southern Administration Dept. of Education, 309 US 224 (1969), for example, indicates that the case was decided in 1969 and reported in volume 309 of the U.S. State Reports on page 224.
If the case was heard on appeal, you will find it in the Federal Reporter. If you read the citation for Barlow v. Coombe County Board of Education, 91 F.2d 1313 (3rd Cir 1990), for example, you would know that the volume was 91, in the second series, on page 1313 for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the year 1990.
If it is a Supreme Court case, you might want to simply look it up at www.supremecourtus.gov.
You may also use research systems such as WESTLAW and LEXIS. Or for quick lookups, you can go to www.wrightslaw.com and review cases by subject.
The school committees should determine the policy for all school sanctioned or sponsored events. A teacher may take a group of students to Scotland, but the trip may not be a school district sponsored event. The teacher then assumes any liability associated with the trip, unless the school in some indirect way made it possible for the students to travel on school time. Following are some considerations for your safety and well as for student safety:
• Make sure your district creates a policy for noncustodial parents’ signatures. I have had cases where noncustodial parents have actually come to the classroom seeking to speak briefly with their child. Schools need policies of what to do in these situations that are clearly communicated to teachers, as well as to students and parents. Non custodial parents do not have the same rights as custodial parents. It is highly advised that guidance and the administration be made aware of any attempts by a parent to see a child before access is granted.
• If a school committee or administrator has not sanctioned the trip, teachers should not use school stationery or letterhead. An administrator may use letterhead to send parents a letter to the effect that the school has not sanctioned the event. The school has no obligation to contact or inform the noncustodial parent. The noncustodial parent may not in some judgments be allowed access to the child and therefore may not attend school functions.
• State law may or may not require parental permission to leave school grounds, but most permission slips are not binding documents and can still leave a district and its chaperones open for possible litigation.
• The head chaperone should meet with parents and students ahead of time to set the ground rules for any trips.
• Never transport students in your private vehicle. If you release a student to ride with a noncustodial adult, make sure the person has been checked by Criminal Offender Record Information—widely referred to as “being CORI checked.”
• If a school group is traveling, be sure all students’ guardians have signed a medical waiver.
• Be sure to offer travel insurance, as school trips do get cancelled.
• Make sure that legal disclaimers for liability are predetermined.
• Make sure you have appropriate chaperones, as you are ultimately responsible for students’ safety.
• School trips are considered a twenty-four-hour school day if away from your home school.