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To me, the basis of the Fastback 317 is to emphasize the First and Fourth Amendments of the Unites States Constitution and how they apply to students in the educational environment. The cases referred to in the book are informative because they illustrate the boundaries for teachers and student boundaries both as an individual and as a citizen of the United States. In my opinion the case that holds the most significance for a teacher was the case of New Jersey v T. L. O. This dealt with the processes of search and seizure within the educational institute itself.
T. L. O. set precedence that the Fourth Amendment rights do apply to students.
This case also stated that school officials are not to act in loco parents but as state officials. As a prospective teacher, I need to be aware of school policies and procedures concerning search and seizure in order to protect myself as an individual. The court established a standard that is called the reasonableness standard, which is two pronged-reasonable suspicion and reasonable scope. In fact, as a school employee, I have unknowingly violated the search and seizure precedence on various occasions for minor infractions by students by reaching into a students book bag and removing a bottle of soda while it is on his person and telling him that it is not allowed on the bus. The Tinker v Des Moines Independent School District (1969) also interested me. In this case, three students were suspended for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.
The court held that the school district was in violation of the students First Amendment rights. The court specifically stated, Students do not shed their constitutional right to freedom of speech or expression at the school house gate. (Ross, Hininger, pg. 8). However, this precedence did not give students the right to disrupt or disrespect their peers, teachers, or learning environment. In this case, I found that as long as a student is protesting something that pertains to social, political and economical issues without disrupting the learning and development that occurs in the classroom environment that it needs to be permitted by the school officials. Even though Tinker v Des Moines Independent School District (1969) made known some important issues that pertained to the First Amendment rights of all students, Bethel School District 403 v Fraser (1980) clarified issues in the Tinker case.
In this case, a student gave a speech for a fellow student, who was running for school office, which contained numerous sexual innuendoes. The school took action by suspending the student for three days and barred him from speaking at the graduation ceremonies. In turn, the student sued the school district. The court found in favor of the school; it maintained that the public school itself has an important role-instilling a respect for civility of public speech. It also made clear that schools are to judge the appropriateness of student speeches and not the courts. In dealing with the students First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, there is yet another court case specifically dealing with student publications.
This case is Hazelwood School District v Kuhlmeier (1988). The case deals with journalism students and what the students wanted to publish in the local school paper and the principal who would not permit the articles to be printed. The articles dealt with teenage pregnancy and parental divorce. The principal omitted these two pages from publication, because he felt those specific students and students families written about would be exploited.
The court decision held that the newspaper was intended as a learning experience for the journalism students and that no public forum was created. It must be noted that the court case of Cornelius v NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, said that control over the non-public forum can be based on the specific subject and personal identity and neutral views. When discussing students initiated religious activities, we need to be aware of one court case and a congress that passed an equal acceptance act giving insight to the issue of separation of church and state. In the Supreme Court case Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools v.
Mergens (1990), that the court held the decided that the Equal Access Act was constitutionally implying that separation of church and state was maintained by the school if the student understood that school was not informing religion. The Mergens decision made the school tighten their policies regarding school-sponsored clubs. In order to protect themselves, the schools devised plans to sanction only curriculum-based clubs, i. e. science class, science club, Spanish class, Spanish club, etc.
Another alternative is for the school to schedule all club meetings during school hours. When dealing with Special Education students, the courts have given school authorities specific measures when dealing with misbehavior's. This topic was covered extremely well in the Exceptional Learner college course that I took this past summer. The IEP (Individualized Education Program) consists of the students educational performance to date. These programs are set up collaboratively with parent, teachers, special education staff, and district representatives of the Special Education Programs, and, when deemed necessary, the student. The IEP creates a set of standards, goals, special handicaps, behavior problems, and procedures on what to do if a problem should occur.
If there are no discipline measures mapped out in the IEP, misbehavior's by the Special Education student are to be dealt with on the same level as that of a mainstream student, i. e. timeout, detention, and expulsion as written in the student code of conduct or as stated in the student handbook. It is the teachers job to know which students have an IEP and what she / he needs to do to make sure he / she is in compliance with the IEP when disciplining or even assigning students homework. A teacher needs to be aware of the definition of expulsion and suspension as they pertain to students with IEPs. Suspension is exclusion from school up to 10 days.
Expulsion is exclusion...
Free research essays on topics related to: des moines, first amendment rights, t l o, separation of church and state, search and seizure
Research essay sample on T L O First Amendment Rights
