School Law and the Public School Book - Assignment Example

? Assignment 5 Question Education is a tool through which human intellect and free will are promoted. Through education, individuals are able to identify their capabilities. Educational institutions enable individuals to realize their potential in various spheres of life, whether social, political or economic. The state fosters and supports education to enable individuals realize their self worth and maximize their potential. It also enables individuals to make personal decisions that best suit them. Education, being a state matter, should therefore be separated from matters of religion. A state that promotes liberty and free will knows when not to mix state affairs with religion. Separation of church and state is paramount in bringing up a society that respects freedom of religion, and which enables people to tolerate others’ religions. The state therefore must not side with one religion over another, or promote the creeds of one religion over another. Although all religions should be taught in schools, the government should not foster the spread of certain religions over others. Students should be given the freedom to choose which religion to belong to, without their schools indicating support of any religion. In the first situation, allowing the Local Church Association to donate a copy of the Ten Commands to be placed in the hallway would be a plus for students who profess that religion. However, it is discriminatory because it highlights the basic teachings of that religion over other religions. It indicates a preference of that religion, which would not be taken very kindly by students whom it does not represent. Placing the Ten Commands in the hallway of the school symbolizes an endorsement of that religion by the school administration. Additionally, the act may influence students to follow the commands and profess the beliefs of that religion. Therefore, the act violates Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It fails the three prongs of the Lemon test in that it does not have a secular legislative purpose. Secondly, it has a primary effect of advancing that particular religion. Thirdly, it results in “excessive government entanglement” in that it displays direct contact with church authorities (Essex, 2011). In the second situation, applying the lemon test would render starting a Bible club in School a violation of the Establishment Clause. This stipulates that the school is not allowed to establish any religious group including a church. Since the religious group in the school would promote particular religious precepts, this implies that the wellbeing of other religions would be compromised. Furthermore, it is worth appreciating that the school program is already established. Arguably, fixing the religious club as one of the options that students have during the club’s period implies that the school administration considers it equally important and would actually give it an opportunity when given a chance. This contravenes the provisions of the lemon principles that prohibit the government from advancing or inhibiting religion. In the third situation, I would give the non denominational a chance to conduct prayers on a rotational issue, just like the previous principal. From the outlook, the school community is appreciative of religion and does not force its members to participate in the prayers. Furthermore, the prayers do not unfairly promote the beliefs, values and practices of a single region. This is consistent with the provisions of the Establishment clause that seeks to uphold the respective state of affairs (Essex, 2011). Question 2 Although the school is responsible for providing religious education, it should not promote the religious precepts of any particular religion. In addition, the students should be at liberty to choose which religious principles to support and promote. Relative decisions need to be personal and should not be influenced by the school administration or any instructor. By parents complaining in this case, it implies that some of the students are not comfortable with the singing of religious songs in the school choir. From a legal standpoint, this is unacceptable because the teacher does not seek the opinion of the students. With reference to the three lemon principles, the teacher is contravening the first principle. This cites that the state should be guided by a secular legislation. The state, which is represented by the school in this case, is certainly not embracing this. In this case, I would instruct the choir master to focus solely on secular music as opposed to religious music. Further, the decision of the History teacher to request willing students to give a history of their religions is equally unacceptable. In this regard, the particular session is not entrenched in the instructional curriculum and cannot therefore be considered to be purely for informative purposes. The situation is further compounded by the fact that the History teacher is the wife of the choir master. Presumably, her actions could be geared towards promoting religion and influencing the decisions of the students. The ultimate goal from this point of view would be to change the students and gradually make them accept any religious information that is presented to them at different points. In this respect therefore, I would inform the teacher to stop the practice or seek the opinion of all the students before asking those that are willing to provide any religious information. Question 3: A bible is an important religious book that provides insights and important information about religious values and virtues. It promotes Christianity, one of the global religions that is upheld by a significant percentage of the population. Issuing bibles by a student to his or her peers can have diverse implications on the holistic wellbeing of the group of students. The lemon principles indicate that the state should neither promote nor inhibit religious practices. Since the school is not directly involved in the issuing, the bible presents can be issued. Since they are merely presents, the students can decide either to accept or reject them. They should not be compelled in any way to choose any decision, rather they should be accorded the liberty to make decisions that they are comfortable with. I would instruct the teacher to oversee the process sand insure that it conforms to the abovementioned conditions. Question 4: Education is of paramount importance on the holistic wellbeing f the child and should be provided by both the state and the parent. The role of parents in deciding the type of education that the child should receive has been clearly defined in the legal sphere. The parent has the liberty to choose whether the child should get private or public education. However, it should be appreciated that quality education requires significant funding that can be provided by either the parent or the government. Currently, the courts have maintained that the government or state is at liberty to provide funding for private schools. In this regard therefore, private students can benefit from the state funds. The bone of contention stems from the inherent gaps in the quality of education offered by the two institutions. Comparatively, education offered by private institutions tends to be of higher quality than that offered by public institutions. Also worth mentioning is the fact that a significant percentage of private educational institutions are owned or influenced at different degrees by religious institutions. In Mitchel V. Helms, the court maintained that the state needed to provide and distribute relevant educational materials to private religious institutions in the state of Louisiana. Question 5: It cannot be disputed that the quality of education that students receive is highly depended on the skills, knowledge and expertise of the teachers. The ability to employ suitable instructional methods enables the teachers to deliver optimal results. In the state of Tennessee, the government has taken practical steps to ensure quality education. One of these has been to evaluate the performance of teachers using objective models. In this regard, the performance of the teachers is compared against certain benchmarks underscored in the particular model. This ensures that the services provided by the teachers are consistent with the established standards. Question 6: The role of parents in the educational wellbeing of the child cannot be overstated. The decisions that both parents make greatly influence the welfare of the child in different ways. This can be attributed to the distinctive roles that the parents play in the life and development of the child. Besides financial help, the parents determine the type of education that their child gets. In cases where the parents are divorced, both have the duty to assume financial responsibility of the child. This can be used to explain why in the case under review, they have a joint custody for the child. In this regard, they contribute equally to the educational decisions concerning the child. This is because they have an equal influence on the holistic wellbeing of the child (Essex, 2011). Because of the fact that the parents contribute equally to the welfare of the child, it is certain that the educational decisions made by a single parent concerning the child can have diverse implications on the welfare of the other parent. Question 7: The difference between IDEA and Section 504 lie in the procedures that are followed when determining the eligibility of the child. Essex (2011) indicates that in the case of IDEA consent is sought from the parent who in this case is an adult having great influence in the life of the child. Section 504 on the other hand does not require a written consent of the parent but rather requires that the parents be notified accordingly. Particular issues that parents need to be informed in this regard include placement options, evaluation data nd several other deceions that concern the wellbeing of the child. Similarities between the two institutional documents on the other hand encompass the requirement to provide important services that the children might require. Relative services pertain to transport, occupational therapy, language therapy and so forth. Reference Essex, N. (2011). School law and public schools: A practical guide for educational leaders. USA: Prentice Hall. Read More