Current Issues in School Law Facing School Administrators
Ivan A. Shibley, D.Ed.
Director of Clinical Practices at The University of Scranton
An understanding and working knowledge of school law has always been a basic requirement for every successful school administrator. Technology has added to the need for a constant refresher in school law. Some legal challenges facing school administrators are:
United States Constitution – First Amendment – Free Speech
Until the advancements in technology, free speech issues generally dealt with the school newspaper, the graduation speech, or small student protests. Those issues have been expanded to include cell phones, computers, blogs, and social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter. Depending on the school, cell phones may be carried and even used by students or might be totally banned. Sexting has become a major, controversial issue that gets the students, parents, the school and often the courts involved. The more liberal judges have ruled that sexting is a private matter, over which, schools have no authority. Other, more conservative judges, use the Supreme Court free speech standard and conclude sexting causes a disruption to the normal flow of activities in school.
United States Constitution – Fourth Amendment – Search and Seizure
The Supreme Court ruled that any administrator has the right to search a student or staff member with probable cause. That standard is still supported in the courts but is being challenged more and more by students, staff and parents when dealing with computers, the Internet and cell phones. Parents especially do not feel the school has the right to look at what the student has accessed on the computer or the cell phone. With the advent of Smartphones any student can access just about any type of information and easily bypass the firewalls built into school computers.
Special Education/Inclusionary Practices
The federal government passed and re-enacted the Individuals with Disabilities Act that mandates schools are responsible for meeting the individual needs of students in the least restrictive environment possible. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Emotionally Disabled (ED) and Severely and Profoundly Mentally Retarded (SPMR) were the more recognized and accepted disabilities. Added to that basic list today are autism, bi-polar, and Asperger syndrome. The legal ramifications of not meeting the basic needs of these identified students are staggering. Districts have been required to pay thousands of dollars for extended services because the school did not identify the student correctly at an earlier age.
LGBTQ students
Dr. Derry Stufft and Ms. Colleen Graff, located at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and The University of Scranton, recently published an article in Current Issues in Educationentitled, “Increasing Visibility of LGBTQ Students: What Schools Can Do To Create Inclusive Classroom Communities.” As a former school superintendent, Dr. Stufft knows that few school administrators are ready and able to address this rising issue in schools today due to lack of training. LGBTQ – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning students are in our schools and need to be supported. This legal issue will become even more common in the future.
Cyberbullying
Ask any administrator today at almost any level of education if they have had to deal with cyberbullying and the answer will most likely be yes. Technology has allowed a person to berate, humiliate, embarrass, and harass another individual without ever having a face to face confrontation. The media often reports on students committing suicide due to being bullied or harassed. Administrators walk a very fine line between what is the responsibility of the school and that of the parent because many parents select not to police what their child does on the computer and yet revolt if a school official even suggests that the student might be posting inappropriate or hurtful information on the web.
Historically, school administrators and educators were asked to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. The school’s responsibility started at the schoolhouse doors at age 5 or 6 and continued until age 21. Today’s educators are responsible for providing education beyond the basics. Today, an administrator’s responsibilities may include dealing with teenage suicide or other similar tragedies, discussing abstinence, working on parenting skills, policing social network sites, or teaching young people how to make friends. With each new requirement the school administrator must expand his or her legal knowledge in order to protect the school, the staff, and the student.
