Law in schools: policies, implementation, and student rights

Trenton School

The environment at School1, were I am employed revolves around the many different standards of behavior and conduct. While much of this conduct is derived by local customs and habits, the imposing of law and order also significantly contributes to what is and what is not allowed. The purpose of this essay is to explore the relationship with both state and federal laws and School 1. This essay will explore the law and its applications to my school by examining key points and relevant issues related to these interactions.

Background Of Trenton School District

It is important to understand the starting point of this discussion in order to see the bigger influences that state and local governments have on the school district. According to the districts website, the mission of this school district is " All students will graduate with a vision for their futures, motivated to learn continually and prepared to succeed in their choice of college or career." It is interesting to note that this mission does not include any statement about improving the learning outcomes of the students, rather graduation, regardless of how or what is the standard.

Trenton School District has, within its human resources department established a division of law to serve as a central point to address the issues of both state and federal legislation. The Division of Law provides legal advice to the Superintendent of schools, central office, school-based administrators, employees and parents in many different legal areas. These areas include labor relations, negotiations, special education, student discipline, subpoenas, tort notices and all other school law issues. According to its policies the Division of Law refers to New Jersey Statutes Annotated 18a (NJSA 18) and New Jersey Administrative Code 6 (NJAC 6) as the legal authorities to their policies.

NJSA 18A and NJAC6

New Jersey Statute 18A deals with education for the state of New Jersey. The information presented online in this document is written in a legislative language and attempts to codify each and every important rule that legislatures derive. This document provides definitions for terms, lists financial arrangements the state has with its school districts, mandates on teacher and administrator qualifications, privacy issues, hazing issues, actions prohibited by institutions of higher education, and much more.

The New Jersey Administrative Code is a collection of the rules and regulations that were created by the state government. The New Jersey Office of Administrative Law (OAL) is the overseeing body for this code. Title 6 and 6a deal with the rules surrounding the state's education system. This code lays out the important information that administrators need to be familiar with to fully grasp the large bureaucracy that is associated with the New Jersey educational system. Included in this code are bylaws for the state board of education, standards and assessments, rules on charter schools, special education programs, appeals and disputes and many more.

Federal Laws Imposed on the State Educational System

The United States federal education legislation is amazingly large and complex. Title 20 of the United States Code is the baseline rulebook, however, thousands of pages of federal legislation have been added to this immense code by different departments of the federal government. Certain federal laws to consider are the Early Childhood Education Act, Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, the TEACH Act, the Bilingual Educational Act, the National Defense Education Act, the No Child Left Behind Act and many more. It is apperant that their exists a complex web of federal laws that are most likely impossible to navigate without the help and assistance of a lawyer or legal advisors. It is quite amazing that scope and depth of the micromanagement efforts that the federal government has imposed on states and local educational systems.

Federal vs. State

Trenton, New Jersey is regulated under the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The Third Circuit also regulates Delaware, and most of Pennsylvania. There is a Federal District Court located in downtown Trenton. There is a constant battle between New Jersey and the Federal Government on what laws apply and what laws do not apply within the educational system within the state.

The U.S. Department of Education states that "education is primarily a state and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation." The federal government influence however comes in the form of funding. Federal funding for education comes at the discretion of federal laws that promote this type of support. The Department of Education is supposed to play a leadership role in the ongoing dialogue of improving the educational system. This done by raising awareness, revealing discoveries, and flatly getting involved in everywhere that this institution deems problematic.

Private schools are held to a different standard since these types of institutions are not bound by certain federal regulations. Federal forces use their funding as a tool to control school districts in general and private schools are eligible for this funding under certain rules. Public schools are government institutions that must adhere to state and federal laws due to this status. It appears that private schools have much more freedom in terms of what, how and where they can educate their students. Private schools are much like private businesses where their autonomy is centered at their ability to remain independent of governmental forces.

Over the past 20 years there has been an increasing amount of legislation, both state and federal, that has found its way into the public school systems. There is intense desire to overlook and micromanage local school districts from administrators and politicians that are quite ignorant on the idea of education. There appears to be a lack of trust forming from both sides as teaching professionals are treated as incapable of performing their job without some sort of parental supervision. While this is true in some instances, local governments and school boards are more prepared to handle these situations. The big problems arrive when federal funds are threatened to be cut off, oftentimes leaving the school district with no other option but to concede to the wishes of the larger institutions.