EDU 679: School Law, Policy and Regulations in Administration

This course is designed to examine the challenges confronting K-12 educational leaders within the framework of federal and states laws as they relate to education. The course examines legal concepts relating to school administrators, students, staff, boards of education, and the community as it impacts the educational leader. Specific attention is given to issues such as: the authority of governing public education, students' rights, rights of students with disabilities, teachers' rights and freedoms, discrimination, curriculum, and educator and school district liability. This course also focuses on the processes of developing policy and regulations, at the national, state, district, and school levels. The impact and application of policy and regulations are the second areas of focus. Students will become familiar with a variety of analytical methods for evaluating policy and regulations, with emphasis on creating, implementing and evaluating policies to create positive and productive schools. A variety of reference and research media is incorporated into the course, specifically online research, incorporating important legal precedents as well as current issues.