School Law Basics for Middle School Teachers

This module was written by Sharon McNeely. The information in this module is not meant to be legal doctrine, nor should it be the sole guide upon which you make decisions when facing legal issues in the classroom. Always check with your school administration, and other resources, if you have a legal concern.

1. Statement of learning outcomes:

As a result of reading this module, the participant will be able to:

· Identify legal aspects that are of concern for middle school teachers

· Describe procedures for dealing with those aspects in the classroom

2. Performance indicators:

As a result of reading this module, the participant will be able to:

· Look at the school policy manual and indicate areas in which more information is needed for the teacher to appropriately work within the law

· Know where to go to get information on the law and updates.

3. Content

Schools are supposed to be safe places for students, and staff. Most schools have written policies that help teachers enforce state laws, and also set parameters for conduct within the school. As a result of various court cases, the general assumption that most administrators follow is that schools have latitude to enforce policies that they feel are justified to keep students safe. Likewise, teachers can use reasonable actions to enforce policies, as teachers (as well as school administrators) are assumed to be acting in loco parentis. The concern is that teachers act in the best interest of students. Here are some specific legal areas that teachers of middle school students generally encounter while teaching:

School lockers: Federal courts have consistently upheld that schools own lockers, and allow students to use them. Therefore, school officials can search a student’s locker without a warrant and without the student’s consent. However, the individual teacher should not go out on a limb and search a locker unless the administration has agreed that there is reasonable cause for the search, or school written policies mandate the action.

Student searches: The same general idea holds for searching an individual student. Assume that there is a suspicion of a problem, such as drugs, weapons, or stolen items being on a student. In most cases, the teacher would notify the school administration, and the administration would then conduct a personal search. In most cases, unless there is grave danger, a teacher should not engage in searching a student alone. There should always be another teacher present to verify the need for the search, and the search process used. As a general rule, in most schools administration will tell teachers to call security and try to have the student wait for security instead of engaging in a personal search, especially if it involves any physical contact between the teacher and the student.

Child abuse: All states have laws that regulate the process that school officials use to deal with reported suspected child abuse. If, as a teacher, you suspect that a child has been abused, you should notify your administration, and follow the state law. In most states the teacher is a “mandated reporter,” and must call a state official to report suspected abuse, even if administration is notified. In some states the administration and the teacher are required to interview the student, and possibly check the student’s body for signs of abuse before they contact officials. In other states the officials are supposed to interview and check the student, and it is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that the student is safely kept at the school until the state official arrives. Be careful in not asking the child to detail information to you unless you have specific training in how to do this. In some cases the questions you might ask may be construed as “leading” or “implanting memories,” and could compromise an investigation into suspected child abuse.

Harassment: Teachers and school administrators work hard to try to make sure that schools are places where all students feel valued, and no student is harassed or intimidated. Many schools have written policies that prohibit material that is racially divisive or creates ill-will or hatred. Teachers need to know the school policy and exercise due diligence. This includes making sure that students do not draw pictures of symbols associated with hatred groups, etc. In some school districts where there is known gang activity, a student engaging in drawing gang signs is seen as intimidation. In these instances, students may be suspended, or even expelled for this behavior. It is incumbent upon the teacher to make sure that the school policies are explained to the students and their parents, and that the slightest harassment, even if it is done as teasing, is appropriately stopped.

Dress code: Another way that schools work to keep students safe is by providing a dress code. It is the teacher’s job to know what the school’s code is and to enforce it. In some instances, because clothes can be used to represent gangs, and to otherwise intimidate students, it becomes important for teachers to be carefully monitoring the clothing that the student wears, and immediately dealing with violations. Even small things like the color of shoe laces can signify a gang involvement.

Health: Keeping students safe also involves looking after their health. By federal law, teachers cannot discriminate on the basis of gender. Court rulings related to the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 lead us to some generalities in terms of teachers dealing with students. In general, if a student is pregnant, has had an abortion, has fathered a child, etc., the teacher should be careful not to engage in any behavior that might be construed as discriminating against that student. The same idea applies to other health-related issues such as when a student is suspected as being HIV positive. If the teacher knows that the student is HIV positive, the teacher is obliged to make sure that that information is kept confidential, but to also help the student not spread the infection, and help the student maintain good health. In many cases the teacher does not know if a student has HIV or any other disease, so reasonable precautions should always be taken to make sure that students do not come into contact with body fluids of other students.

Character and values education: One of the direct, or indirect, curriculum goals in most middle schools centers around building student character. In many middle schools there is a character education curriculum that is either integrated within another subject area, or taught in a special class time, usually an advisory. Middle school teachers often have to walk a careful line to make sure that as they try to help students define, develop, and refine a core set of values, they do not specifically teach a religion, or a religious-based doctrine of values. Many teachers struggle with this concept, as they are not clear about the bounds of values as a general concept, and values within religious concepts. Various decisions by the courts relative to teaching values have lead to the following general guidelines (drawn from LaMorte, 2002):

· Schools and teachers may teach civic values and virtue.

· They may teach about the moral code that holds together our society or other societies.

· They may teach comparative religions, and how religions influence societies.

Sex education: Another area that some teachers feel that they are walking a fine line is in regards to sex education. In most states, parents have a legalized right to have access to the curriculum before it is provided to the students. Parents then must sign a permission form to either have their children receive this education, or “opt out,” and the student is not present during this instruction. Some states have mandates that health educators or school nurses are the primary providers of sex education. It is important for you to know what the specific laws of your state are. You may want to engage in a web search of your state laws to learn more about this.

Condoms: Connected directly or indirectly to sex education is also the question of the laws as they relate to distribution of condoms and birth control materials. In most states, the schools can distribute condoms and other birth control materials as long as they do so as part of a health and hygiene program, and as long as parents have prior notice so that they can “opt out” their student from having the materials presented to the individual. Some middle schools have developed health centers which are staffed by medical professionals. When medical professionals provide these materials, they fall under rules that may be slightly different, based on the state laws. It is important for you as a teacher to know if your school has a health center, and how teachers and students interact with it.

Service referral: In addition to a health center, various schools may have other services for students that are provided at the school, though not necessarily through the school. It is important that the teacher know the services, and who is eligible for them. In general, teachers should not refer students to services unless they are sure that these services are available for this particular student. In some schools, parents have signed generic consent forms that allow teacher referral. In most cases, the teacher needs to talk directly to the parent and make the referral through the parent.

Out-of-school law violations: What students do outside of school, on their own time, is becoming more and more of an issue for the schools. In most states, the assumption is that a student who engages in violence outside of school has the potential to be violent at school. Therefore, teachers have a responsibility to report any known student law violations to school officials and to follow school policy in dealing with the student. Teachers need to be particularly careful to uphold the standard of “innocent until proven guilty.” In most states, teachers cannot give extra punishments to students who participate in illegal activities outside of school. However, school administration may legally be able to impose additional sanctions, as long as school policies and state laws are followed.

Confidentiality: Teachers have a responsibility to make sure that at all times student privacy and confidentiality are maintained. Recent changes in privacy laws have reinforced that teachers must do everything possible to make sure that student privacy is maintained. This means that student work that is graded is not shared with other students or displayed. Student work can be displayed without grading, and without the name of the student on it. As classrooms are public places, lists of students who are in the classes and any information about them should not be displayed. This, of course, includes pictures of students with their names on them, full names of students for seating charts, etc. There is some question as to if students should be seeing and grading each other’s work. To be safe, most schools inform teachers that they should grade all work, and not have other students do this. Along the same line, teachers need to make sure that students are not calling out their own grades, or those of anyone else during class time. If you assume all information about student grades is private, and only for the student and the parent of that student, you should be okay. Assume this also in posting any grade information. In most cases you can post grade information only if you have assigned each student a random number known only to the student. Again, if in doubt, check with your administration.

Parents and confidentiality: Teachers have to insure confidentiality when working with parents, and when sharing information about the student with the parent. If you contact a parent on the phone, you should not leave confidential information on a machine which does not indicate confidentiality. If you email a parent, you should never use names or share confidential information. Email is generally considered public information, especially when you use a school server, etc. When kids come from divided families, one parent may not have legal access to those records. Don’t assume when someone asks for information that you should give it. If you are in doubt, ask your administration to get clarification for you before you share information. Of course, as a teacher you never share information about a student with someone who is not legally entitled to it. For instance, you never tell another parent that student X is a special education student, etc.

Special Education: There is not enough space in this module to provide you with all of the information you need to know related to special education law as it relates to teachers. Only major ideas will be covered here. Make sure you talk to your administration and special education coordinator if you have any concerns about legal issues! For teachers, one of the most difficult areas related to the law deals with students who have disabilities. If you suspect a child has a disability, and is not currently diagnosed, you need to check with your administration as to the process you should use for working with that child. Never tell a parent that you suspect a student of having a particular disability. Never label a child. In some cases you will be asked to try specific interventions and report back to administration. In some cases, the parents have refused to have diagnosis or special education services, and you need to work with the student as best you can without getting extra services for the student. It is imperative that you read all of your student’s files at the beginning of the school year. You need to know which students have special education plans, and what your role is in those plans. You need to know what special services the student is supposed to receive and help that student get those services, including reminding the student when it is time for going to special services, etc. (Of course, you would not say this when others can hear, but instead talk individually to the student.) If you violate the plan, you will be liable. Make sure you carefully document how you are handling any plan, and any issues that arise.

The same way that you would obtain permission from parents to develop and use any behavior modification plan on any student, you need to do the same when the student has a special education plan. Disciplining a special education student takes on special dimensions because in some cases the behavior that is manifested in the classroom may be a result of the disability. This is especially important when you are thinking that the child should be disciplined by classroom removal, suspension, or expulsion. Make sure you talk to administration before you even suggest that this may be the case. In most cases, special education students cannot be suspended or expelled without a special hearing.

Parental consent: Some teachers feel a need to help students beyond the normal school day. The same way that you would never take a student on a field trip without having written parental permission, you should always have written permission for any activities that go beyond the normal school day. If the student is engaged in extra curricular activities that involve unusual hours, make sure the parent has given permission. Do not have a student meet you or other students off school grounds unless you have parental permission. In general, be careful that the parent and the student cannot misconstrue a situation as being inappropriate.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA legislation has also impacted schools and teachers in many ways. Similar to special education laws, it is difficult to summarize all of the specifics that apply, and as various challenges are made, new policies and procedures need to be addressed. In general, teachers need to make sure that they are not discriminating against anyone with a disability. Additionally, they need to monitor to make sure that students are not discriminating against anyone with a disability. Some students will require medications during the day. As a teacher, you should NEVER hold any medication for a student unless your school policy specifically states that this is part of your duties, and you have parental permission to do so. In some schools, the school nurse or another designated official keeps student medications and the student reports to that person to obtain the medication. In other schools, the student must keep the medication, and it may be up to the teacher to remind the student to take the medication, or to watch as the child takes the medication and document that it is taken. This is especially important in medically sensitive children that may have immediate medical problems if their medications are not taken at a particular time of the day.

School law is one aspect that changes as state laws change, and as there are court challenges and rulings. Additionally, as parents and students become more informed about the law and expect various aspects of it to be implemented at the school, they expect the teacher to be following the law at all times. It is important for you to know the address of the websites that your state government provides to update you on state laws. In many states, the teacher associations, state teacher unions, etc., also have websites that update you on the laws. These sites are also likely to have examples and commentary to help you understand how the law applies to you. The United States Supreme Court has a website that is updated with its decisions. In addition, some general web sites, such as http://www.law.com can be of help for you if you search through them for information.

As laws change rapidly, you should not take any of the information in this document as absolute. Rather, use it to help you think through issues and always try to obtain more information when you face a decision that may involve legal regulations.

4. Assessment for CPDU/Graduate artifacts

As a result of reading this module, you should be able to:

· Identify at least five legal aspects that are of concern for middle school teachers

· Describe procedures for dealing with each of those aspects in the classroom

5. Activities (adult learner/middle level student)

· After reading this material, you should be able to go to the websites below, or your state websites, and obtain an update on information in this document

· Look carefully around your classroom and school. Are there areas that student confidentiality is violated? If this is your classroom, make changes you need to insure confidentiality. If you are looking at others’ rooms, you may want to find ways to talk with teachers about this. Make sure that you are not accusatory or jumping to conclusions that they have violated the law. Remember, you are not a lawyer!

· Prepare a short hand-out to help middle school students and their parents know current laws that impact them.

· Read your school policy manual and suggest areas that should be updated to be current with legal regulations.

6. Links and other resources

· http://www.law.com

· http://www.supremecourtus.gov

· United State Code Annotated

· Federal Register

· Code of Federal Regulations

· Federal Reporter

· Supreme Court Reporter

· West’s Education Law Reporter

· The Journal of Law and Education

· School Law Bulletin

7. Standards (which are utilized within module)

· In general, the NMSA and state standards that apply to teachers knowing state laws are met in this document. However, no specific state laws are covered, and individual state standards about specific state laws are not covered here.

8. Pre-requisites: None

9. Navigation process: See the links above.

10. Strategies: In addition to reading, the participant should be able to use the internet to best make use of this module.

11. Learner characteristics: It is assumed that the learner is capable of thinking through the information in this module and appropriately applying it to individual situations.

12. Author information: Sharon McNeely, Ph.D.; Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL

Email: mcneelys@execpc.com

13. *Modifications/Extensions for exceptional students: Does not apply

14. *Contextualized experiences (interactive): Does not apply

15. *Technology: Participants should use the Internet to access websites associated with this document, and to search for additional state information.

16. *Reflection:

As a result of participating in this module, you should be able to write a short statement about ways that you have been impacted directly or indirectly by various laws as you prepare to teach, or as you currently teach. Reflect on how laws have changed since you were in school. Do you think that students today have more or less rights compared to when you were a student?

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