Critical Laws and Statutes Affecting Education

When a legislature moves a bill to a law, the various components in the law are called statutes. Typically, statutes change or prohibit something. Case law is based on judicial decision and precedent. Case law is the set of reported judicial decisions handed down by courts (West Encyclopedia of American Law, 2008).

As an education leader, is it necessary to understand the legal implications of the implementation of law, statutes, and case law within the contexts of school personnel, students in general, and students with disabilities and special needs. For this Assignment, you will use case law to write a paper that identifies critical laws and statutes affecting education practices, policies, or procedures as applied to these three contexts; personnel, students in general, and students with disabilities and special needs.

To prepare for the Assignment, read Chapter 2 in Alexander & Alexander. Search the LexisNexis Database for examples of three critical laws and/or statutes demonstrated through case law, one for each context. Use the examples from Shoop & Dunklee (p. 356), on the Miles v School District No. 138 (1979), and the Roberts v Robertson County Board of Education (1985), to assist you in your response. (Note: Identify one case law for personnel, one case law for students in general, and one case law for students with disabilities and special needs).

Write a paper that identifies critical laws and statutes affecting education practices, policies, or procedures, as applied to these three contexts.

Directions for Paper:
Write a paper titled: Critical Laws and Statutes Affecting Education. The paper will have three sections:

Section One: Connecting Case Law to the Course Contexts

Introduction: Introduce the selected case law for each context (personnel, students in general, and students with disabilities and special needs), and provide a brief background for each case.

Connections: Identify the critical law or statute involved in each case.

Section Two: Evaluating the Consequences

For each of the three cases identified in Section One, evaluate the consequences of the decision and the corresponding critical laws or statutes on education.

Section Three: Summarizing the Findings

Summarize general findings by looking across the three cases that were examined. Are there similarities? Are there differences? How has the review of these cases enhanced your understanding of the concept of a legal environment in education?