Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Teachers and the Law, 8e by David Schimmel, Leslie R. Stellman, and Louis Fischer PowerPoint Presentation by Gerri Spinella, Ed. D

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Chapter 6 What Constitutes Slander and Libel?

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Chapter 6 What Constitutes Slander an Libel? Essential Question In what ways has the reputation of teachers or students been harmed in our society?

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Defamatory Statements about Teachers Key Concepts Chapter 6 –What Constitutes Slander an Libel? Defamatory Statements about Students Public Officials

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Defamation Slander Libel Qualified Privilege Absolute Privilege FERPA In loco parentis Public Figure KEY TERMS

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Case Presentation The Pitka Case The Pitka Case

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Defamatory Statements The truth is not an absolute defense to defamation action: depends on malicious motives requires justifiable purpose Kinds of Defamatory Statements: impute criminal offence impute a loathsome disease disparage professional competency impute lack of chastity or morality

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Defamatory Statements The truth is usually but not always a defense for a defamation action: depends on malicious motives requires justifiable purpose Kinds of Defamatory Statements: impute criminal offence disparage professional competency impute lack of morality

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Internet Postings Derogatory statements about teachers on the internet have generally been found not to create a right to sue for defamation. However, if students have been identified as having made derogatory comments on the internet, they may be found responsible for defamatory conduct warranting punishment.

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved How is Amount of Damage Determined? Plaintiff’s general character and reputation in community Nature of statements made Number of people who heard or read statement Varies according to the degree to which the jury believes the plaintiff’s reputation has been harmed:

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Defamatory Statements about Students Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 Guarantees students’ rights to privacy for educational records Due to federal funding, students and parents must have access to permanent school records Exclusive right for student (18 years old) to have records

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Who Can Be Sued? Students may sue when students request recommendations, teachers are entitled to a qualified privilege (which means that the teacher cannot be held liable for unintentional misinformation). for educators who act maliciously by making statements that are known to be untrue may be liable for their false statements. Defamatory Statements about Students

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Who Can Be Sued? Teachers may be sued for their defamatory statements published in students’ permanent records for knowingly spreading false gossip that harms student’s reputation for spreading false gossip that harms a student’s reputation Defamatory Statements about Students

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Constitution applies to slander and libel New York Times v. Sullivan U. S. Supreme court ruled that First Amendment (freedom of speech and press) requires that public officials cannot be awarded damages for libel or slander unless they can prove that such statements were made with actual malice Administrators are considered public officials (vary from state to state) The standard applies to statements of opinion as well as facts Damage awards Public Officials and Slander

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Analysis of New York Times v. Sullivan Analysis of New York Times v. Sullivan

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Initial Proceedings Complaint Facts of claim by plaintiff seeks Defendant Answers (30 days) or motion to dismiss Discovery Begins Step by Step In The Court System OUTCOME EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATION Interrogatories Depositions Document Requests Settlement Conference

Teachers and the Law, 8 th Edition Schimmel, D., Stellman, L., Fischer, L. s © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Chapter 6 Reflection Having thought through the issue of slander and libel, how can teachers and administrators protect their reputation?