It’s
back-to-school season again! As parents send their kids back to class
it’s important that they are aware of their students’ legal
rights—especially in regards to personal safety.Lawyers.com—the
largest legal website for consumers—has straightforward advice for
common legal concerns parents could face this new school year. I had a chance to interview Lawyers.com Editor-in-Chief, Larry Bodine, Esq. about some issues families might face.
1) Why are parents often unaware of some of the legal rights they and their students have in the school environment?
When
school starts and parents focus on their kids’ classes, friends and
sports, it doesn’t occur to them that students still have their legal
rights once they pass the schoolhouse gate. They have a right to a safe
educational environment when they are in class, and also at recess,
lunch or sports practices. Schools can be held responsible for
reasonably foreseeable injuries to students. Kids also have a First
Amendment right of freedom of speech, so long as it’s not lewd or
disrupts the school. This issue just came up when two middle school
students wore “I ❤ Boobies” bracelets to school in support of breast cancer awareness. The 3rd
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the school could not ban the
bracelets because they were not plainly lewd and because they commented
on a social issue.
2) Bullying is a hot-button issue right now. What legal recourse do parents and students have in cases of bullying?
Bullying in schools has finally been recognized as a serious problem. About 77 percent of students
have admitted to being the victim of bullying – in person or online.
Almost every state has passed an anti-bullying law, and specifically
anti-cyberbullying. A child is bullied when he or she is exposed,
repeatedly and over time, to negative actions by one or more other
persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself.
Prime examples of bullying include name calling, verbal or written
abuse, exclusion from activities and social situations, physical abuse
and coercion.
Tragedies
of young teenagers committing suicide after being victims of cyber
bullying have been a wake-up call for change. Who can forget the horror
of the suicide of Megan Meier in 2006. She hanged herself with a belt in a closet after being bullied online by a neighbor who pretended to be a teenage boy.
Parents
should start by contacting the parents of the bully and school
officials to stop the aggression. The time to call a lawyer is when
parents are getting nowhere with the school or the parents of the bully.
Often parents of the victim are met with a “boys will be boys” attitude
of indifference. However, the school has a duty of supervision and can
be held liable for any reasonably foreseeable risk of harm. Bullying can
be a crime, and the attacker can be charged with assault, battery,
harassment, stalking and disorderly conduct. Bullying can violate civil
laws as well, and the bully can be sued for defamation, slander and
libel. Adults don’t have to tolerate intimidation, and their children
don’t either.
3) Another
big issue for schools is liability for injuries. What are the legal
issues parents need to consider in case of an injury on school grounds
or at school functions?
Students
have a right to attend safe, secure and peaceful campuses. Parents
trust the schools to keep their children safe. The school’s legal duty
of supervision covers lunch, recess and extra-curricular activities –
not just class time. Kids have been beaten, raped and assaulted in
schools. Parents of children who are injured may file a claim against a
school or district for contributing to a student’s harm or failing to
keep the premises safe at school. For example, the Miami-Dade School
District agreed to pay $1.875 million to the parents of a student who
was slain at a high school by another student. Parents of a 17-year old
boy in Florida who collapsed and died during baseball tryouts recovered a
$2 million judgment because the school’s defibrillator was not
accessible. A Pennsylvania high school student who lost her leg after
being struck by an out-of-control school bus won a $14 million judgment
against the school district.
Unfortunately,
many schools are immunized against lawsuits, because they are part of
the government. Further, tort reform laws set limits on the damages that
schools must pay. The girl who won $14 million had her judgment cut to
only $500,000, which means she didn’t get all her medical bills paid.
4) What are the legal ramifications of school choice? Are parents able to choose their school in every state, regardless of residency?
Each
state has its own laws governing the transfer of a student to another
school. Whether a transfer is permitted is within the discretion of
local school districts. There is a nationwide movement
to give parents stronger rights to choose the best school for their
children. So far seven states and the District of Columbia have passed
school choice programs that let parents choose the education they feel
is best. A federal school-accountability law – The No Child Left Behind
Act – allows parents to choose other public schools if the school
assigned to the student needs improvement or is unsafe. However, 34
states have obtained waivers from the law and have designed their own
academic improvement programs.
Parents
should start by meeting with the current school guidance counselor and
principal to discuss their concerns, and to get a list of schools open
to new applicants. Parents should investigate a target school to
determine the class size, philosophy, learning environment, curriculum,
approach to grades, how “wired” it is, extracurricular activities and
library facilities. In deciding a transfer request, school districts
will weigh factors such as the effect on class size, racial and ethnic
balances, and if it would require more funds to educate the student.
Ordinarily, districts are under no obligation to honor a transfer
request.
5) Are there often-overlooked legal rights families have that are worth mentioning in regards to education?
Options
for students besides public school include charter schools, which are
free from many traditional school regulations, and which are sponsored
by local, state or other organizations to provide increased educations
options. Parents can consider magnet schools, which are designed to
attract students from diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.
Magnet schools focus on a specific subject, such as science or the arts.
If parents can afford it, there are private schools, most of which are
affiliated with a religious faith. A last resort is homeschooling,
where children may be taught by one or both parents, by tutors and
through online programs. Accountability for homeschooling is governed by
state law.
(Editor's note: although I don't consider homeschooling a "last resort" as I know many families who successfully homeschool for a variety of reasons, it isn't necessarily the first option every family should consider. It is important, if you choose homeschooling, to check with your state for its homeschooling laws.)
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