EDL 5330 - School Law & Ethics

Credits: 3 Class: 3 Lab: 0
Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of program director.
Fair and equitable leadership includes legally-sound and ethical decision making. This course explores significant legal issues that arise in public elementary and secondary schools and their implications for school leaders. The course also examines evolving legal standards on a variety of issues, including school safety, discipline, and student well-being; free speech; services for students with disabilities and English language learners; and harassment, bullying, and cyber-bullying. Students will analyze educational, political, ethical, and financial questions that these legal issues often generate. The course will draw on real cases and legal/policy/ethical dilemmas that practitioners face, and focus on preventive law - providing aspiring school leaders with knowledge and skills they will need to make ethical and sound decisions, advance important educational objectives, and minimize legal problems.