Sex, drugs, hip hop, and school prayer (a.k.a. School Law, Education Ethics) From TS&S, Chapter 8

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities In a job interview, can teachers be asked about their plans to have children? What rights do school citizens have when feeling sexually harassed? Can teachers smoke pot? “Personal lifestyle… significantly disrupt the educational process or erode credibility with students, colleagues, or the community.”

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities What to do with teachers (and students): smoking marijuana? engaging in private homosexual behavior? adultery? vulgar language? living with HIV/AIDS? disability? “Balancing personal liberty and community standards: homosexual advances to non-students, sex with students, encouraging students to attend certain religious meetings, allowing students to drink alcohol, not living within the district.”

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities To what extent can teachers lawfully teach about sex, drugs, hip hop, and prayer? Academic freedom: present and limited Legal liabilities and educators: Misfeasance…failure to conduct in an appropriate manner Nonfeasance…failure to perform Malfeasance…not lawful regardless, to do Educational malpractice…academic damage

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities Can we teach from: Napoleon Dynamite? Rolling Stone, Cosmo, The Onion? A People’s History of the United States? (Zinn) YouTube? Copyright Act (fair use worksheet) fair use brevity spontaneity cumulative effect Can we strike? Figuratively: labor rights: the right to organize? Literally: corporal punishment? (read to understand)

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities Can students see their school records? Buckley Amendment, parents and guardians Can one’s sex be used as criterion for award? Can’t be used as a criterion Can teachers suspend and discipline as they see fit? Due process Zero tolerance policies Corporal punishment Can students express whatever they want to? Freedom of speech

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities Can public schools support prayer? student led at public events forbidden Can schools search students? Search and seizure…fewer restrictions than the police in loco parentis Can schools censor school newspapers? Can HIV-infected students be discriminated against? How much sexual harassment is happening? gap between intentions and student perceptions gap between actual and reported

Teachers’ Rights and Responsibilities Can teachers keep secrets? Mandatory Reporting: physical abuse, sexual molestation, neglect (medical, educational or physical) emotional abuse Can I make you more like me? moral education… inculcation, values clarification, character education, moral stages of development