Activity: Legal Issues for New Teachers

Description: A teachers guide to school law was created. We presented it to a group of new
teachers in Septe!er and we offered a second support session in "e!ruary to answer any
additional #uestion that arouse$ revisit any previous concerns$ and to siply touch !ase with our
new teachers.
What went well%
&verall the !a!y teachers were very e'cited to have a !uilt in support syste. We ipleented
an official entor(entee progra at )ast *rainerd )leentary school$ !ut this support session
allowed us to go a step further and to really dive into soe areas of the law that the new teachers
needed further clarification on. At the conclusion of our Septe!er eeting$ we as+ed all
participants to coplete a #uestionnaire that would allow us to prepare for the "e!ruary eeting.
This was very helpful !ecause it helped us get to +now what our participants felt li+e they
needed. The new teachers really felt li+e it was !eneficial having Terrilyn ,oin the )*) staff
since she was an )'ceptional )ducation lead teacher and could provide insight into that
departent. The surveys indicated that that was the area that teachers felt li+e they needed the
ost support in. Teachers also appreciated the fact that they had a docuent that they could put
in a file and go to if they had #uestions and since we opened this up to their entors the seasoned
teachers felt li+e this was !eneficial as well. It truly is aa-ing what the ost seasoned teachers
do not +now.
We focused in on )'ceptional )ducation laws during our "e!ruary eeting since this seeed to
!e the area that teachers were ost concerned a!out during our Septe!er eeting. We also
wor+ed with adinistration and reali-ed that a lot of accident reports had !een su!itted during
the last few onths so we too+ the opportunity to discuss lia!ility with new teachers and the
iportance of !eing very present during every oent of the day .especially recess/. The final
area that we touched on was student privacy !ut we loo+ed at it fro a different angle. "ollowing
our discussion with adinistration we reali-ed the teachers needed to !e reinded that
professional conversations do not need to !e held in the front office$ in the hallways$ and that they
need to !e careful of what is posted on "ace!oo+ and other edia outlets. These teachers are
young and any of the tal+ or type without thin+ing$ !ut it is tie that they reali-e that there is
no roo for roo+ie ista+es0 Again$ we invited the entor teachers to ,oin us and we were very
e'cited that open$ honest conversations were ta+ing place. It was nice to see that our !a!y
teachers were growing and it was easy to see which ones were flourishing and which ones still
needed additional support.
What did not%
We needed to !rea+ things down in Septe!er. It was too uch0 The !a!y teachers were
overwheled and it was very o!vious. They let us +now in their reflections$ !ut honestly it was
written all over their face. The other thing that we wish we could have changed is that one of the
seasoned teachers that showed up happened to !e very ver!al and the inforation that she was
presenting was not always accurate. As always we wanted to a+e sure that we were giving
accurate inforation so we referred to the 12D) *oard 3olicy and to the Tennessee 2ode for
clarification. While we appreciated having the entor teachers there !ecause it provided support
we wanted to a+e sure that we were providing accurate inforation a!ove all else.
4iven the chance to do it again$ how would you do it !etter%
If we could go !ac+ we would do the following differently:
5. We would offer ini6sessions at the !eginning of the year so that !a!y teachers werent
so overwheled.
7. We would a+e the sessions interactive so that they would !e ore involved. "or
e'aple$ we would a+e it li+e a gae show. This would allow the entor teachers to
play against the entees. This would also control what the entors could say a little !it
ore.
8. Invite additional central office figures for a panel presentation. The !a!y teachers really
en,oyed having Terrilyn and they entioned they would en,oy having other central office
eploys ,oin us as well.
Legal Issues for New Teacher
September Meeting
Agenda
5. Introductions
7. 2urriculu and the Law
8. 4rading 3olicies
9. 2orporal 3unishent
:. *ullying and Se'ual 1arrassent
;. Due 3rocess
<. =ero Tolerance
>. 2lu!s? the Dos and Donts
@. Lia!ility(Negligence
5A. Data 3rivacy
55. I)3s
57. Teacher 2onduct? Is your life private%%%
Legal Issues for New Teacher
February Meeting
Agenda
5. 4reeting
7. )'ceptional )ducation Laws Bevisited
6 I)3s? BTI7 and 4oals *ased I)3s C 1ow is your life going to change%
8. Lia!ility
6 The weather is getting warer? are your sweet !a!ies safe% Are you o!serving
the or are you catching up with your teaching partners%
9. 3rofessionalis and Daintaining Student 3rivacy
New Teacher Guide to School Law
January !aluation "esults
#These results$ along with con!ersations with administration$ were used to determine the February agenda%
5. What did you find to !e the ost !eneficial aspect of todays support session%
6 The inforation that was shared on e'ceptional education .I)3s/
6 1aving a pac+et that I can refer to when I have a #uestion.
6 1aving y entor here with e. It was nice to tal+ a!out certain issues that
cae up.
6 Enowing what to do if a parent is upset a!out a !oo+ that we are reading. FI
have always wondered a!out how that is handled.G
6 "inding out who to go to? who the e'perts are in our school.
6 )n,oyed having Terrilyn here. She gave us insight a!out special ed.
6 I didnt reali-e I could go to a *i!le study here at school? and that we have an
active group that eets !efore school0
7. What do would you have changed a!out todays session.
6 I feel very overwheled.
6 It was a lot of inforation.
6 I wish we could have !ro+en it down into saller chun+s.
8. What do you want to hear a!out at our ne't eeting%
6 I still want ore inforation a!out special education laws. I have several
special ed +ids this year and I want to a+e sure that I a eeting their needs$
!ut I also want to a+e sure that I a eeting the needs of y regular ed
students.
6 2ontinue to tal+ a!out student privacy issues. I have parents in y roo all the
tie. 1ow do I a+e sure that they dont find out a!out other students.
6 I worry that I a going to get sued? do I need to !uy special insurance%
&New Teacher's Guide to School Law Sur!i!al(
a. What should you do if a parent o!,ects to aterials used in a re#uired curriculu
or re#uests reoval of li!rary !oo+s%
The li!rary is a Far+etplace of ideasG$ eaning that the li!rary is a place where you can
learn a!out different things. In the li!rary you are given Faccess to ideasG !y the 5
st

Aendent. The HSS2 allows school systes .such as 12D)/ the a!ility to control the
curriculu$ and is generally in favor of e'panding the curriculu for the ar+etplace of
ideas.
If the parent a+es an o!,ection for their child in regards to aterials used for
curriculu or reoving !oo+s$ there are options.
5. 1ave a conversation with the parent to find out what their o!,ection is.
7. 2onsider these things when tal+ing a!out the parents o!,ections: A. Does
the aterial coincide with the curriculu% *. Is the aterial age
appropriate% 2. Is the parent challenging the wor+ .in part or in whole/.
The teacher could have the student coplete an alternate assignent if the parent
insists that aterials not !e presented to their child. While this is a good option
this is not re#uired of the teacher.
If the parent is re#uesting that the aterial and !oo+s !e reoved altogether for
everyone .!ecause the parent feels the aterial is vulgar/:
5. A coittee ust !e developed to review the aterials or !oo+s.
7. 2oittee e!ers are a teacher .who used the docuent/$ a teacher
.who didnt use the docuent/$ parents and the li!rarian.
8. 2oittee reviews the docuents and a+es recoendations to su!it
to the school !oard.
9. The school !oard decides whether to reove the aterials or !oo+s
*. 2an a teacher reduce a studentIs grade !ecause of the students isconduct% If the
answer is Isoeties(ay!eI$ then e'plain when s(he ay and when s(he ay not.
It is not appropriate for a teacher to reduce a students grade !ecause of the students
.!ehavior/ isconduct. )nforcing an acadeic penalty for negative !ehaviors is not
soething a teacher should do. The only tie that a teacher should enforce an acadeic
conse#uence is when a student cheats !ecause cheating is really an acadeic isconduct.
If a student is caught cheating on a test$ then the student should !e punished with an
acadeic conse#uence such as a reducing the students grade of " for that test$ !ut there
needs to !e Jnotice$ i.e.: forewarning of the penalty. This should !e an e'aple of
a+ing sure the Fpunishent fits the crie.G In other words$ an act of !ehavioral
isconduct should result in a !ehavior conse#uence .)sse'$ p. 5;;/. If a student is
suspended then each situation will !e e'ained on a case6!y6case !asis. In soe
situations students will !e allowed to a+e up wor+ upon their return to school. Wor+
that can !e copleted at hoe will !e sent hoe so that the student can coplete it while
out on suspension. Again$ the student and the parent ust !e given notice of the policy
so that they are aware of how the students grades will !e affected.
2. What does a teacher need to +now and do regarding the legal aspects of corporal
punishent%
The TN State statute nu!er9@6;695A8 says that corporal punishent is allowed as a
for of discipline. It ust !e used in a reasona!le anner and for a good cause to
aintain order. 9@6;695A9 provides rules and regulations a!out how corporal punishent
can !e applied. 2orporal punishent:
2an !e applied !y adinistrator$ witnessed !y principal and one faculty e!er
*ut TN 2ode says 9@6;695A8. 2orporal punishent.
Any teacher or school principal ay use corporal punishent in a reasona!le anner
against any pupil for good cause in order to aintain discipline and order within the
pu!lic schools.
Beasona!le force can !e used to correct or restrain a student. Beasona!le force is
the reasona!le force to +eep the event fro happening. A teacher should !e aware
of FevenG level of force6 his(her si-e and perceived level of strength.
Staff cannot !e arrested unless an investigation conducted !y law official$ and an
independent edical report docuenting student in,uries reveals the need for a
,udge to issue a warrant for the arrest.
12D)$ particularly ). *rainerd )leentary School$ allows corporal punishent under
the following circustances:
2orporal punishent ust !e applied !y the principal and students are to !e told
what type of isconduct they are receiving the corporal punishent .ver!ally and
through a student hand!oo+/.
3arents ust give their written consent for the principal to apply the corporal
punishent
A school official or teacher ust witness the corporal punishent.
3arents can as+ for a written docuentation a!out why corporal punishent was
used and who witnessed it.
2orporal punishent should not !e the first ethod of discipline !ut used only
after other ethods have !een attepted to reshape the students !ehavior.
Tennessee statute on corporal punishent. .n.d./. Betrieved >(8(7A58 fro
http:((www.state.tn.us(tccy(tnchild(9@(9@6;695A8.ht

D. What does a teacher need to do if a student reports that s(he is !eing !ullied or
se'ually harassed !y other students% 2onsider that the !ullying ay !e occurring
!oth inside and outside of school.
What to do a!out !ullying:
5. All school staff e!ers and school officials who o!serve or !ecoe aware of acts
of !ullying are re#uired to report these acts to the !uilding principal or designee in
accordance with esta!lished procedures. Beports of !ullying ay !e ade ver!ally or
in writing and ay !e ade confidentially. All such reports$ whether ver!al or in
writing$ will !e ta+en seriously and a clear account of the incident is to !e
docuented. A written record of the report$ including all pertinent details$ will !e
ade !y the principal or designee of the report.
7. If either the !uilding principal or designee is the alleged !ully$ the report should !e
ade to the District Adinistrator. Any other person$ including a student who is
either a victi of the !ullying or is aware of the !ullying or any other concerned
individual$ is encouraged to report the conduct to the !uilding principal or designee.
8. There shall !e no retaliation against individuals a+ing such reports. If it is
deterined that students participated in !ullying !ehavior or retaliated against anyone
due to the reporting of !ullying !ehavior$ the students shall !e su!,ect to disciplinary
action$ which ay include: suspension$ e'pulsion and(or referral to law enforceent
officials for possi!le legal action as appropriate.
What to do a!out se'ual harassent:
The FschoolG could !e in trou!le if se'ual harassent occurs and no one reported it.
The school operates under a F+new or should have +nownG principle. There are 8
conditions for the school syste to !e found li!el for harassent:
Deli!erate indifference .conscious or rec+less disregard of ones acts/
Severe and pervasive incidences .eaning that the environent is one that a
reasona!le person would consider it to !e intiidating$ hostile$ or a!usive/.
Significant ipact on victi that !arred the victis !enefit fro school
.negatively ipacting the victi to where his(her learning is negatively
affected/.
Se'ual harassent should !e prevented if possi!le !ut reported if it occurs. The
12D) should have a policy in place outlining the procedures for how to deal with
se'ual harassent. 12D) policy states that a student coplaint should !e
reported to the Assistant Superintendent of 2apus Support within 79 hours and
it should include detailed inforation. The report will !e su!itted !y the
adinistrator of the school in a confidential file. Teachers should adhere to the
12D) policy for reporting such harassent.
If the event occurred off capus !ut continues to unreasona!ly interfere with the
individuals wor+ perforance or education then the occurrence ust !e reported.
Retrieved 8/4/2013 from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/harassment.cfm
). What does Idue processI ean when it coes to school discipline% *e sure to
address !oth procedural and su!stantive due process.
Due process is afforded to us !y the 59
th
aendent$ which says that life$ li!erty and
property cannot !e ta+en away without due process. There are two parts to due
process that needs to !e considered when it coes to school discipline.
There is procedural due process:
Deans the FstepsG that you ta+e when considering ta+ing away soeones
life$ li!erty and property.
When a student is suspended you are to give the a re6entry conference. Kou
can delay the conference !ut you cannot deny the conference.
3arents invited !ut do not have to attend re6entry conference
In re6entry conference$ give students chance to tell their side$ and e'plain the
other !ehavior choice options were at the tie
Tea a+es a plan to find solutions colla!oratively in case future issues
arise.

There is su!stantive due process:
Deans Fdoes the punishent fit the crieG
Kou would not punish all student !ehaviors the sae .for e'aple$ if a student
is caught using profanity$ he(she is not punished the sae way a student that
caused serious !odily har to another/.
Students are e'plained the conse#uences of wrong !ehavior.
Kou also want to !e sure that you do not enforce an acadeic penalty for
!ehavior isconduct .students that are suspended for fighting .!ehavior/
cannot !e counted down in grades .acadeic/ !ecause of suspension/
.)sse'$ pp. 768/
". If a student coits a J-ero tolerance violation$ can I e'pect that s(he will !e out
of school$ at least for a while% .Kou DHST define -ero tolerance here666and cite
TN law/.
=ero tolerance eans that drugs$ drug paraphernalia$ violence and dangerous
weapons will not !e tolerated on any school property$ !us$ or event and the violator
will !e punished according to the policies that have !een listed in the school !oards
code of conduct. The punishent that is ipleented will !e one that Ffits the
crieG and will !e deterined on a case6!y6case !asis !y the principal. Since it is a
case6!y6case !asis and since all students will !e given an opportunity to e'press their
side of the story you cannot assue that they will !e out of the classroo. There are
laws that protect students who are acting in self6defense so they would not !e
suspended and our special education students also have laws that protect the so we
can never generali-e and assue that the student will !e out of the school.
If a parent disagrees with the conduct hearings held at the school level then they can
appeal to the superintendent who ultiately has the final say.
Tennessee Law: 9@6;6975;. School policies and procedures 6 2ontents 6 =ero tolerance
policy 6 Notice to students and parents.
4. 2an you hold a 2u! Scout(4irl Scout eeting in your classroo at ;3D if you
are the 2u! Scout leader% What a!out a !i!le study group%
2u! Scout eetings ay !e held at school. Teachers have a right to associate and
lead a eeting at ;3D in a school !ecause it is not a sectarian event and that is the
critical difference. A teacher could hold a coo+ing class$ or a DADD eeting$ or a
cu! scouts eeting. "aculty and staff ust reain neutral when wor+ing with
students on religious atters. A e!er of the faculty(staff ay !e a leader if the
eetings are not ta+ing place on school property. Teachers are still entitled to
possess their individual !elieves. Therefore$ teachers ay participate in !i!le study
groups as long as the groups consist of adults only e'cellentLost others totally
issed this. Kou ay never ipose your !eliefs on students or other faculty
e!ers since you are to reain neutral at all tiesM however$ if there are other
consenting adults who wish to participate in a !i!le study group during non6
instructional hours then it is o+ay to hold those eetings at school.
Betrieved: Nuly 7A$ 7A58 fro http:((www.capitol.tn.gov(*ills(5A5(*ill(S*A79A.pdf
1. What guidelines should a teacher follow to !e Osoewhat sureO s(he is not found
in violation of lia!ility(negligence%
5.Da+e your class a safe place: Kou operate in place of parents for students assigned to
your classes. Kou are also called on to perfor three iportant legal dutiesLto instruct$
supervise and provide for the safety of students as deterined !y the courts.
7.&!serve #uality teachers to copy proper Duty of 2are: Kou are e'pected to e'ercise the
sae degree of care as fellow teachers would e'ercise under siilar conditions. The
standard of care will vary !ased on the age$ aturity$ e'perience and ental capacity of
students in your classes and the type of activities in which they are involved.
8.Loo+ for 3ro!les Ahead: *e indful that you are o!ligated to anticipate that certain
situations ay prove harful to students. &nce deterined$ you ust ta+e steps to
prevent avoida!le in,uries.
9.Avoid Negligent *ehavior: Dost lia!ility cases involve teacher negligence where
teachers fail to e'ercise the degree of care that is necessary which results in physical
in,ury to a student.
:.Avoid acts that ay in,ure students: Intentional acts coitted against students such as
assault and !attery in corporal punishent cases can occur if students are punished
e'cessively !ecause of disruptive !ehavior.
.)sse'$ pp. 59:659>/
I. What guidelines should a teacher follow to !e sure s(he does not violate a
students right to privacy regarding educational data% List at least 9 and e'plain.
Teachers should !e aware of ")B3A ."aily )ducational Bights and 3rivacy Act/.
*ecause a teacher +nows a!out a childs educational data$ he(she ust not tell any of
it.
")B3A essentially eans:
)ducational data is private to anyone e'cept to the student and the students
parents
)ducational data can !e shared with other teachers with a legitiate need to
+now .for e'aple$ a teacher serving the students ay need to review
educational data to deterine strategies to help the student succeed/.
Another school the child is transferring to or in response to a su!poena !ut
parents ust !e notified that the inforation was sent .for e'aple$ if the
student is transferring to a new school$ the educational data can !e sent to the
new school without a release for/.
In an eergency defined as necessary to protect health and safety of the
student .for e'aple$ the student ay have an illness eergency and the
educational records ay hold inforation regarding a diagnosis. The data can
!e shared in an eergency situation to deterine how to treat the students
eergency.
)sse'$ pp. <76<9/
N. What should a teacher do when s(he learns that student in h(her class has an I)3%
According to )sse' .7AA@/$ all teachers should !e prepared to teach students with
disa!ilities who are placed in their classroos. If a teacher learns that a student in
his(her class has an I)3$ the teacher should as+ the students case anager to allow
the teacher to review that students I)3. The teacher ust sign the FAccess to
BecordsG for in the I)3 folder to show that the I)3 has !een read !y who and
when. The teacher ust !e aware of accoodations and odifications to the
students curriculu that help the student with the I)3 access the curriculu in the
least restrictive environent. It would !e wise for teachers .with students with
disa!ilities/ to colla!orate with special education teachers and other educators to
share research6!ased and data6!ased strategies to use to help students with disa!ilities
access the curriculu in the class they are in. Additionally$ teachers should !e aware
of iportant special education6related services that students ay have$ such as
speech(language$ &T$ 3T$ vision services. It is also iportant for teachers to as+ for
training if there is a strategy or technology s(he does not +now how to use. Kou
cannot clai ignorance0
E. When can a teacher !e disciplined for his(her conduct outside of school%
Hsually$ teachers have the right to privacy and a private life$ !ut not always. What
are li+ely to !e e'ceptions to that rule%
Teachers can !e disciplined for conduct outside of school. Soe e'aples of !eing
disciplined include:
Inappropriate use of social edia .coitting defaation$ li!el and slander
against another or inappropriate photos of oneself/ and technology .such child
pornography$ se'ting$ etc./
Arrests for DHI$ isdeeanors and felonies. Teachers can !e placed on
adinistrative .3aid/ leave until the investigation is coplete.
Inappropriate relationships with students and other inors.
Inappropriate !ehavior$ conduct un!ecoing a teacher .such as e'otic
dancing/ 3u!lic into'ication$ etc. C If the district can show that these
!ehaviors have detriental effect on the teachers a!ility to !e effective.
Lie on your ,o! application or resue
4uilty of a felony
2onvicted of doestic violence(a!use against a spouse or child a!use on your
children