Legal Handbook - Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix - Essay Example

? Legal Handbook s 2nd July Introduction With reference to the writings by Osborne and Russo , they wrote that for human beings to exist peacefully and relate with each other in a harmonious way there is need for enforceable laws that will guide how people in the society conduct themselves and how they interact with each other. Furthermore, they stated that these laws should bear consequences or punishments upon their violation in order to ensure strict compliance by the members of the society. This theory applies in every profession in the sense that every profession should be guided by a set of laws or regulations in order to ensure that the members within a certain profession conduct themselves in a manner that promotes the ideologies of the profession as well as portray or represent the profession positively to the public. This present essay focuses on the teaching profession and its main objective is to generate a “legal handbook” for teachers in the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix, Arizona. The “legal handbook” will contain state and district policies and some case law that pertains to the teaching profession. However, the “legal handbook” will be generally advising teachers more so those who teach schools that are within the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix on certain issues that include academic freedom, freedom of association, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and employment rights and responsibilities. It is important to note that in the United States, teachers are entitled to certain rights in regards to their employment including their freedoms, protection against any form of discrimination and dismissal from their job. These rights are mostly stipulated in the federal and state constitutional provisions (Loose, 2005). Teachers’ employment rights and responsibilities The Arizona State Legislature, which also applies to the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix, has stipulated the duties of teachers as well as the rights that teachers enjoy in title 15 for education under chapter 2 in the first article, and in chapter 5 in the first article. According to section 15-521 of this legislature, the key responsibilities for teachers within the district of Arizona and the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix is to ensure that the learning of students is the primary focus of the their professional time. Secondly, the legislature stipulates that it is the responsibilities of the teachers to hold their students to strict account for any inappropriate behaviour. Thirdly, the legislation requires teachers to record and maintain the attendance records for students on a daily basis. Fifthly, the legislation delegates to teachers, the responsibility of making the decision as to whether to allow a student to proceed to the next grade in the case of a common school or to issue a pass or fail to the student in the case of a course in high school. However, decisions in this regard can be overturned by the procedures stipulated in section 15-342 under the Arizona state legislature. Lastly, the legislation stipulates that teachers have a duty to comply with all the rules and policies that have been developed by a school’s governing body (Arizona State Legislature). The case of Spanierman versus Hughes was a federal court case in 2008 whereby Spanierman who was a teacher at the Emmett O’ Brien High School in Connecticut failed to overturn the decision by the school board not to renew her contract because of engaging in actions that are disruptive to school activities via her MySpace page (Neuburger, 2008). This case law affirm the fact that the failure of teachers to abide by the rules and policies can lead to detrimental consequences such as dismissal from work. According to Osborne and Russo (2011), teachers enjoy certain rights that include right to receive notice of termination and even right to a fair hearing when an issue arise. Secondly, under the bill of rights in the first amendment teachers have been guaranteed freedom of association and expression. Thirdly, based on the first amendments, all teachers within the U.S have a right to academic freedom. Fourthly, the U.S constitution accord teachers the protection from unreasonable seizures and searchers of their personal belongings by school officials. In order for teachers to know more about issues pertaining to their employment rights and responsibilities they can visit the Arizona State Legislature Website (http://www.azleg.gov/arizonarevisedstatutes.asp?title=15). Academic freedom According to Loose (2005), the law in Arizona and in the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix limit the content or the subject that teachers can teach and/ or discuss in the class. The law stipulates that teachers should only present to the class contents that are relevant and even consistent with the responsibilities that have been stipulated for teachers and they should avoid introducing topics or subjects that have political or personal agendas in the classrooms. Osborne and Russo (2011) stated that while deciding a case against academic freedom the court of law would normally take into consideration the experience, the grade level and even the age of the students involved in the case. In the case law Hardy versus the Jefferson Community College, 260 F.3d 671 (6th Cir. 2001), the contract of a professor was not renewed because of a complain that was filed by an African American student who was protesting the professor’s use of the term “nigger” and “bitch” in the classroom. The introduction of such topics or discussions by the professor was a violation of academic freedom (Office of Legal Affairs, 2013). Freedom of association Loose (2005), also stated that the law in Arizona and in the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix accords teachers the right to freedom of association of which under the national constitution it is the first amendments, which accords the citizens of the state the right to peaceful assembly. The right to freedom of association therefore allows public school teachers in the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix to join any labour or professional organization of their own choice, run for an elective public office, and even form association of their liking or profession. However, the rights to freedom of association are limited in the sense that public school teachers in the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix are required to ensure that their involvement in activities regarding associations does not interfere with their role as teachers. This is because the state policies require that the teachers ensure that the learning of students is the primary focus of their professional time. Additionally, the state as well as the district policies stipulates that the teachers’ involvement in the activities of an association should not be dependent on their role as teachers in public schools. In the case titled Elfbrandt versus Russell-384 U.S 11 that was decided on April 1996, it was noted that the Arizona Act pertaining to the freedom of association prohibits any association to political groups that have illegal aims. In this regard, critics have lamented that the Arizona Act unnecessarily infringes upon teachers rights to freedom of association (Justia, 2013). Therefore, despite the protection of the freedom of association by the Arizona State and district law, teachers are still limited by the same law in the extent of their association. Freedom of expression According to Osborne and Russo (2011), the First Amendments rights also guarantee the freedom of association, meaning that under the national constitution, the citizens of the U.S enjoy the freedom of expression but within certain limits. The state law of Arizona as well as the policies of the Cartwright School District 83 in Phoenix prohibit teachers against expressing themselves in a manner that deviates against the interest of Cartwright School District 83 and even undermine the schools’ authority. The most famous legal case regarding teachers’ freedom of expression is the Pickering versus Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 that was decide in 1968. In this case, it was noted that it was unconstitutional to attempt to prohibit teachers from expressing their views on issues that were of public interests (Justia, 2013). Freedom of religion Loose (2005) stated that under the First Amendment and Title VII of the civil rights act of 1964, teachers have been protected against discrimination based on their religion and therefore, they have the freedom to engage in any religious practice but with certain limitations. According to Loose (2005), these limitations are drawn from the Establishment Clause that prohibits public school teachers against promoting or advocating for one particular religion. This is to say that despite the freedom of religion, teachers cannot preach Christianity or any other particular religion in public schools. The Engel versus Vitale, 370 U.S 421, which was decided in 1962 was a landmark case regarding the freedom of religion and the ruling that was upheld deemed it unconstitutional for public school officials to create a school prayer and then encourage the recitation of such prayer in public schools (Justia). This therefore, affirmed that despite the freedom of religion, teachers are limited to the extent to which they exercise this freedom. Conclusion This “legal handbook” has looked at some of the most important legal issues surrounding the role of teachers in particular, their rights and even responsibilities. While discussing their rights, the “legal handbook” has mentioned the extent to which teachers may exercise these rights and even instances that they might violate the state laws of Arizona and policies of the Cartwright School District 83. Pertaining to the sources used in this “legal handbook” it is observed that teachers can seek for additional information in relation to legal issues from Arizona State Legislature Website and the Justia.com website, which contain relevant legal issues that affect teachers. References Justia (2013). US Supreme Court Center (Elfbrandt v. Russell, 384 U.S. 11 (1966). Retrieved from: http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/384/11/case.html. Accessed on [02.07.2013] Loose, D. A. (2005). Arizona Laws 101: A Handbook for Non-lawyers. Arizona: Wheatmark, Inc Neuburger, J. (2008). Teacher Fired for Inappropriate Behavior on MySpace Page. Retrieved from : http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/10/teacher-fired-for-inappropriate-behavior- on-myspace-page289. Accessed on [1.07.2013] Office of Legal Affairs (2013). Relevant Cases on Academic Freedom in the Classroom. Retrieved from: https://legal.uncc.edu/legal-topics/academic-freedom-classroom. Accessed on [1.07.2013] Osborne, A. G. and Russo, C. J. (2011). The Legal Rights and Responsibilities of Teachers: Issues of Employment and Instruction. California: Corwin Press Read More