MED 6490 Education, Ethics, and the Law

This course explores legal and ethical issues that arise in elementary and secondary schools. It provides school leaders with the knowledge necessary to understand and prevent legal problems, and helps school leaders think through questions of educational policy and ethics that legal disputes raise but don’t resolve. Topics include liability for student injury, due process, search and seizure, staff appraisal, employment discrimination, church/state conflicts, control over the curriculum, the expression of controversial views, legal and ethical issues related to the financing and adequacy of state school finance plans, and the schools’ authority to make rules governing student and teacher conduct. The course also reviews legal/ethical issues related to equal opportunity, including: school desegregation, bilingual education, sexual discrimination and harassment, privacy issues, affirmative action, and the education of exceptional children.