Chapter 2

Who should make educational decisions? All laws passed by federal and state bodies, all state constitutions, all regulations, and all board policies are subject to the provisions of the United States Constitution.

Statutory Law – is conceived, debated, and enacted by the U.S. Congress or by state legislative bodies. Statutory represents the nexus between politics and public education. The federal government has no authority to interfere with the educational systems within the individual states(IDEIA, Title IX, NCLB, etc.).

Spending clause law – enforced by the threat of withholding of federal funds unless statutory requirements are met. State Boards of Education are policy making bodies that function just below the state legislature(page 23).

Regulations – developed by government agencies to interpret, disseminate, and enforce statutory law. Two agencies that affect public schools are the Federal Department of Education and the state department of education.

Duties of local boards of education Raise taxes Set and approve budgets Allocate resources Establish and oversee the public schools in their district Local school boards are independent from city and county government boards.

Common law or case law – develops from various court decisions that interpret or apply constitutional, statutory, regulatory law, or school board policy to a particular situation. Based on the premise that not all legal problems can, or should, be covered by a statute Common law is especially important to school administrators

Stare decisis – reliance of courts on previous decisions. Common law is the nexus where the tensions between school board authority and the rights of students and teachers converge. This is where ethical and legal decision making often become controversial.

Fundamental concepts established by common law Behave in a fair and reasonable manner Accord due process of law Assure equal protection of the law Respect individual rights and freedoms

Persons affected by a practice or policy are said to have standing. en banc – when all members of a court hear a case. writ of certioari –only a small fraction of cases are actually heard by the court.

Elements of a court decision(page 29) Named after the parties involved – plaintiff vs. person being sued Legal brief – summarizes the elements of a court opinion into a usable document for further study and referral.