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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY ?

THE LEGAL CONTEXT OF TEACHING: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

Regular Summer Semester, 1989

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Instructor: Terri Sussel

(May 8 - August 4)

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Office:

Tuesday, 5:30 - 9:20 p.m.

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Phone:

Location: MPX 7504

PREREQUISITE:

Education 401/402 or the equivalent of first year practicum.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to provide education students, teachers, counsellors and

administrative officers with a comprehensive understanding of the legal issues and

potential legal liabilities encountered in the B.C. public school system. Special attention

is devoted to the legal dimensions and consequences of routine classroom and

administrative activity. Topics to be discussed will include:

• the new School Act and Teaching Profession Act

• negligence and supervisory activity

• educational malpractice

• copyright laws and school liability

• student discipline and due process

• sexual abuse by school board employees

• the AIDS crisis and school personnel

• teacher discipline and union grievances

• civil rights of teachers.

The course also provides students with a basic introduction to the legal terminology used

in the lectures and seminars. No prior knowledge of the law or legal system is required.

REQUIRED TEXT:

Alex J. Proudfoot and Lawrence Hutchinson, Teacher Beware: A Legal Primer for the

Classroom Teacher (Calgary: Detselig Press, 1988).

TEXTS ON RESERVE:

A. Wayne Mackay, Education Law in Canada (Toronto: Edmonds Montgomery, 1984).

M. E. Manley-Casimir and T. A. Sussel, Courts in the Classroom: Education and the

Charter of Rights (Calgary: Detselig Press, 1986).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Students will be evaluated on the basis of class participation (20%), an in-class

presentation (40%), and a research paper (40%).