School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 11 The Instructional Program

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved The legal authority for defining the curriculum of public schools resides with the legislature. Based on constitutional provisions in a few states, this duty is shared between the legislature and the state board of education.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved The legislature may, at its discretion, prescribe the basic course of study, determine testing, and graduation requirements. In most cases, state legislatures delegate curriculum matters to state boards of education and most importantly with local school districts.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Compulsory Attendance Every state requires children between certain ages, usually 6 or 7 through 16 or 17 years old, to attend public, private, or home school.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Today, parents who willfully fail to comply with compulsory attendance laws fact criminal charges.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Home Schools Virtually every state in the nation makes provisions for home schooling. Minimum standards for home schooling vary among the states based on the individual state’s compulsory attendance laws.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Minimal standards for curriculum and instruction, length of instruction time, and the number of days in which instruction should be provided are generally prescribed by state statute or state board of education policies. All such requirements must be met by parents offering home instruction.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Charter Schools Charter schools are public schools that emerge through a contract with a state agency or a local school board. The primary advantage of charter schools is autonomy over their operations; they are relieved of rules and regulations that govern public schools.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved In exchange for flexibility, the charter schools are held accountable for achieving outcomes established by the charter, which includes student achievement as a primary goal.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Health Requirements States typically require medical examinations and certain immunizations as a prerequisite for school admission. Since the state, through its police powers, shares a primary responsibility to protect the health and safety of students enrolled in public schools, they have been supported by the courts in establishing health requirements for public school students.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Curriculum Standards Minimal curriculum standards in public schools are established by state statute and policy. In almost all cases, certain courses and minimum achievement standards are determined through state policy.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Local school districts may establish other standards so long as they do not contradict state requirements. Generally, courts are very reluctant to intervene in matters involving public school curricula based on the view that states retain the authority to establish curriculum standards so long as there is no federal constitutional infringement involved.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Generally, courts are very reluctant to intervene in matters involving public school curricula based on the view that states retain the authority to establish curriculum standards so long as there is no federal constitutional infringement involved.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Intellectual Property and Fair Use Intellectual property covers four basic areas: patents, trademarks, designs, and copyright materials. The Copyright Act prohibits unauthorized use of copyrighted material for profit or public display without appropriate payment to or permission from the copyright proprietor.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved The Copyright Act specified four factors that should be used to determine fair use: 1. The purpose or use relative to whether use is commercial in nature for non-profit, educational purposes. 2. The nature of the work.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved The amount of material extracted from the work in relation to the work as a whole. 4. The impact of the use on the potential market in relation to the value of the copyrighted work.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Copying Computer Software Copyright laws also affect computer software. Teachers should not reproduce copies of software for students from an original program to serve as a backup copy. This is prohibited under the Copyright Act.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Most school districts have purchased site licenses to provide protection for the use of software. This license is essentially a contractual agreement with a software company in which a fee is negotiated for the use of educational software.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Under the contractual agreement, a reasonable number of copies may be reproduced for educational purposes.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Grading and Academic Requirements Requirements regarding progress from one grade to another typically are not reviewable by the courts unless there is substantial evidence of unreasonableness.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Student Testing It is well established that the state has the authority to promulgate promotion and graduation requirements. Often, standardized tests are used to determine student competencies. If the measures are reasonable and nondiscriminatory, they will generally be supported by the courts.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved School officials are provided considerable discretion in matters relating to appropriate academic requirements. By and large, courts do not feel equipped to evaluate academic performance issues.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Grade Reductions for Absences Excessive absenteeism by students poses a challenge for school officials who oftentimes resort to grade reductions as a means of limiting excessive absences. Courts will generally support reasonable policies regarding grade reduction for excessive absences if they do not conflict with state statute.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Grade Reduction for Unexcused Absences School rules that penalize students academically for unexcused absences, or truancy, are not uncommon. Courts have been more supportive of schools on this type of rule than on one that mandates grade reduction based on general misconduct.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Physical Punishment for Poor Academic Performance Physical punishment of public school students for failure to maintain acceptable academic standards has not received support by the courts. Courts have consistently ruled against school officials for the use of physical punishment when the student’s behavior did not involve improper conduct.

School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, 5e Essex © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Withholding Diplomas School officials are delegated the authority to determine when a student has completed the required curriculum entitling him or her to be awarded a diploma. It is well established that when a student has met prescribed academic requirements for graduation, he or she must be awarded a diploma.