2
Law and Ethics for the Classroom Teacher[1]
Syllabus TCED 6959:
Randy L. Hoover, Instructor
2210 Beeghly College of Education
(941-3260)
http://cc.ysu.edu/~rlhoover/ClassConnections
Prerequisite: Admission to the School of Graduate Studies
Catalog Description: Examination of the legal, ethical, and civic dimensions and interrelations in teaching and schooling from the standpoint of the roles of the teacher and student. (3 s.h.)
Course Purpose: The purpose of this course is to empower practitioners with a critically reflective sense of how law, ethics, and citizenship education affect the contexts and activities of teaching and schooling. It is intended to serve the notions of civic education and constitutional education as they relate to the activities of educators. Likewise, this course serves to help the participants to conceptualize the arenas of ethics and civic education as they relate to the legal regulations and entitlements of teachers, students and administrators. In addition to the examining the explicit elements of these three dimensions, the course will serve to expose how they interrelate in terms of curriculum and learning outcomes.
Course Overview: The course will address regulation of the Constitutional restraints and entitlements for educators and students in public schools; basic contract and tort law governing educators; the evolution of the legal context of teaching and schooling and; the ethical, moral, and civic context.
Readings:
Teachers and the Law. Louis Fischer, David Schimmel, and Cynthia Kelly
Democratic Discipline: Foundation and Practice. R. Hoover & R. Kindsvatter
Democracy and Education, John Dewey
Truth and Credibility: A Citizens Dilemma. Harry Broudy
The Civic Imperative: Examining the Need for Civic Education. Pratte, R. (1988).
CRC Closed Reserve Readings.
WWW: http://cc.ysu.edu/~rlhoover/ClassConnections
http://www.findlaw.com
Topics
Relations across the legal, ethical, and civic dimensions of teaching and schooling:
• Legal Contexts
• Ethical Contexts
• Civic Education
• Conflicts, contradictions, and compatibilities
Contemporary Federal Legislation, Policy, & Court Decisions Affecting Schools:
· Brown v. Topeka BOE
· Civil Rights Act of 1964
· P. L. 94-142
· Tinker v. De Moines 1969
· Lemon v. Kurtzman 1969
· San Antonio v. Rodriguez 1973
· Goss v. Lopez 1975
· Mt. Healthy v. Doyle 1977
· BOE v. Rowley 1982
· New Jersey v. T. L. O. 1985
· Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier 1988
· Missouri v. Jenkins (I & II) 1990 & 1995
· Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 & 2008
· Lee v. Weisman 1992 & Santa Fe v. Doe 2000
· Vernonia v. Acton 1995 & BOE v. Earls 2002
· Gebser v. Lago Vista 1998 & Davis v. Monroe County BOE 1999
· ESEA/NCLB 2001
· Zelman v. Simmons-Harris 2002
· Morse v. Frederick 2007
· Parents in Community School v. Seattle S. D. #1 2007
The Fundamental Legal Context of Schooling:
· The courts and the schools
• Teacher contracts
• Collective Bargaining
• Reasons and due process for dismissal
• Academic freedom
• Speech inside and outside the classroom
• Censorship
• Freedom in personal life
• Liability for student injuries
• Libel and slander
• Student records and privacy
• Regulation of student behavior
• Due process in disciplinary practices
• High Stakes Testing and Accountability Issues
• Copyright laws
• Child abuse and neglect
• Racial discrimination
• Discrimination based on sex
• Freedom of religion
• Rights of the handicapped
• Legal accountability of teachers and students
• Proprietary, parochial, private, and charter schools
• EMIS and Ohio School Net
The Ethical Context of Classroom Teaching:
• The Pedagogical Imperative
· Desire vs. Duty
• Personal & Professional Ethics
· Values, and Morality
• Principled Behavior
• Democratic Foundation of Discipline
• Ethical Foundation of Discipline
• Professional Ethics
• Critical Constructivism and radical behaviorism
Grading and Evaluation
· 30% Collaborative Legal Briefs. (To be presented in class.)
· 20% Class participation based on the professional judgment of the instructor.
· 50% Final Project the nature of which will be discussed in class. The project assignment is found on the class materials download site for this course.
· Grades are scaled for each individual course section at the end of each semester.
· PR Grade: A PR (Progress) grade may be given in the case of final projects still in progress at the time grades are to be reported. The PR grade is used to indicate the nature of the scholarship is in progress and that it is not the student’s intellectual ability to complete the assignment that is in question. (See the Graduate Bulletin for the specifics of this policy.)
Americans with Disabilities Act:
Anyone requiring special adaptations or accommodations should inform the instructor as soon as possible. In accordance with University procedure, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the office of Equal Opportunity and Disability Services at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Disability Services' (330-941-1372) intake procedure.
Academic Dishonesty:
Please refer to student handbook, The Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct p. 30, noting sections on plagiarism and dishonesty. Failure to comply with these standards may result in an “F” for the course.
Candidate Disposition Alert Process:
The purpose of this alert process is to identify candidate performance or conduct that fails to satisfy professional expectations associated with professionalism, inclusivity and collaboration determined by the BCOE faculty as necessary standards to effectively serve all student or clients. The Candidate Performance Alert form is completed when a concern is raised about a candidate’s performance during any class, sponsored activity by the Beeghly College of Education, or during a YSU required field or clinical experience. This form may be used when a candidate engages in conduct, irrespective of its time or location, which raises substantial questions about the candidate’s ability to perform his or her role as an educational professional. The Candidate Performance Alert Form can be used by university faculty, staff, supervisors, cooperating teachers, or other school personnel when they have a concern, other than one that can be effectively addressed through routine means of supervision.
Instructional Objectives
The students will:
1. Compare and contrast the legal, ethical, and civic domains existing both implicitly and explicitly in classrooms and schools.
a. (R2a; NBPTS1a; 4c)
2. Distinguish among legal, ethical, and civic education activities in teaching and schooling.
a. (R2a; NBPTS1a; 4c))
3. Understand and deal with the contradictions, conflicts, and compatibilities of the three domains.
a. (R2a; NBPTS1a; 4c))
4. Demonstrate understanding of the fundamental legal basis and context of classroom teachers.
a. (R2a; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4c))
5. Recognize when they or the school have violated the rights of students.
a. (R2a; R3b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4c))
6. Know the procedures and agencies that should be involved in redress of these violations.
a. (R2a; R3b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4c))
7. Evaluate their own and the school's behavior in light of ethical practice.
a. (R2a, c; R3b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4c))
8. Understand their professional and contractual rights and responsibilities.
a. (R2a, b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4c)
9. Know the proper avenues and procedures for redress of contract violations.
a. (R2a, c; b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4c)
10. Recognize the constitutional principles undergirding student and teacher rights and responsibilities.
a. (R2a; b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c;; 4c)
11. Compare and contrast the role of the Federal government and state government in the legal context of schooling.
a. (R2a, b; b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4c)
12. Understand the history and effect of collective bargaining relative to school personnel.
a. (R2a, b; b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c;; 4c)
13. Define and analyze legal basis for dismissal.
a. (R2a, b; b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c)
14. Show fluent understanding of the principle of academic freedom.
a. (R2a, b; b, c; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
15. Discriminate between restricted and unrestricted freedom of speech as it applies to teachers and students.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
16. Understand the difference in the application of Constitutional rights between the public and private sectors.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
17. Distinguish and understand the legal differences between libel, slander.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
18. Apply the principles of Due Process to the context of schooling and teaching.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d;
19. Understand and value the nature and ramifications of high-stakes testing.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; R6a; NBPTS1a, 3a, c; 4b, c)
20. Understand the educator’s responsibility under child abuse and neglect laws.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b)
21. Understand and apply legal principles affecting discrimination across race, class, gender, disability, and age.
a. (R1d; R2a, b; R3 c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
22. Know the legal commonalties, differences and distinctions across proprietary, parochial, private, and charter schools.
a. (R2b; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
23. Understand and value EMIS and Ohio School Net as supplements to understanding Ohio’s legal context for schooling.
a. (R2a, b; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b)
24. Apply the principle of the pedagogical imperative across legal, ethical, and civic education domains of teaching and schooling.
a. (R2a; R6a, b; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b)
25. Discriminate between family values and the value of family; community values and the value of community; legal values and the value of democratic principles.
a. (R2a, b; R3a, b, c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
26. Define and act on the concept of principled behavior.
a. (R2a, b; R3b, c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
27. Compare and contrast principles of democratic discipline, ethical discipline, and legal discipline.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; NBPTS1a, 3, c; 4b, c)
28. Develop activities that facilitate civic education within the framework of the Constitutional initiative.
a. (R1a, b; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
29. Understand and apply principles of professional ethics both formal and personal.
a. (R2a, b, c; NBPTS1a; 4b, c)
30. Understand and value the principle of teacher advocacy and empowerment as applied to professional associations and unions.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c; 5a)
31. Apply the principle of accountability/decision latitude ratio to legal, ethical, and civic education domains.
a. (R2a, b; R3b, c; NBPTS1a; 4b, c)
32. Understand and value the role of technology in terms of fair use, privacy, legal use, and ethical application.
a. (R2a, b; R3b, c, d; R7a. b; NBPTS1a, 3c; 4b, c)
33. Distinguish between ideology and philosophy and also hegemony and discourse in shaping teacher and student views of the legal, ethical, and civic education domains.
a. (R2a, b; R3 c, d; R6a; NBPTS1a; 3c; 4b, c)
Americans with Disabilities Act: Anyone requiring special adaptations or accommodations should inform the instructor as soon as possible. In accordance with University procedure, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the office of Equal Opportunity and Disability Services at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Disability Services' (330-941-1372) intake procedure.
Academic Dishonesty: Please refer to student handbook, noting sections on plagiarism and dishonesty. Failure to comply with these standards may result in an “F” for the course.
Candidate Disposition Alert Process: The purpose of this alert process is to identify candidate performance or conduct that fails to satisfy professional expectations associated with professionalism, inclusivity and collaboration determined by the BCOE faculty as necessary standards to effectively serve all student or clients. The Candidate Performance Alert form is completed when a concern is raised about a candidate’s performance during any class, sponsored activity by the Beeghly College of Education, or during a YSU required field or clinical experience. This form may be used when a candidate engages in conduct, irrespective of its time or location, which raises substantial questions about the candidate’s ability to perform his or her role as an educational professional. The Candidate Performance Alert Form can be used by university faculty, staff, supervisors, cooperating teachers, or other school personnel when they have a concern, other than one that can be effectively addressed through routine means of supervision.
Incomplete Grade Policy: An incomplete grade of an “I” may be given to a student who has been doing satisfactory work in a course but, for reasons beyond control of the student and deemed justifiable by the instructor, had not completed all requirements for a course when grades were submitted. A written explanation of the reason for the “I” and a date (which must be within one year) by which all course requirements will be completed, must be forwarded to the Ohio Registrar for inclusion in the student’s permanent record, with copies to the student and department chairperson.
The instructor will initiate a grade change upon completion of the course requirements. If no formal grade change occurs within one year, the “I” automatically converts to an “F”. If graduation occurs within the one-year time period, the “Incomplete” grade will be converted to an “F” prior to graduation.
Department chairs are granted authority to convert grades of “I” into final grades in cases where instructors may have severed connections with the University or have become incapacitated before converting the grade.
Course Reference List
Aronowitz, S., & Giroux, H. (1993). Education still under siege (2nd ed.). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Baker, R., and Carey, K. (1993). (Current) Handbook of Ohio school law. Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing Company.
Bennett, K. P., & LeCompte, M. D. (1990). The way schools work: A sociological analysis of education. New York: Longman
Broudy, Harry. (1982) Truth and Credibility: A citizen’s dilemma.
Cherryholmes, C. H. (1988). Power and criticism: Poststructural investigations in education. In Advances in Contemporary Educational Thought, Vol. 2. New York: Teachers College Press.
Deskbook encyclopedia of American school law. (1990). Rosemount, Minnesota: Data Research, Inc.