.

?

.

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

EDUCATION 4454

THE LEGAL CONTEXT OF TEACHING: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

Spring Semester, 1991

?

Instructor: ?

M. Kingma

(January 7 - April 5)

Thursday, 4:30 - 8:20 p.m.

Location: MPX 8651

PREREQUISITE -

Education 401i402 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

• special education placements and the law

• student discipline and due process

• sexual abuse by school board employees

• the AIDS crisis and school personnel

• parental entitlement to involvement in educational decisions and

processes

* The Charter and education

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).

Educational Administration for Canadian Teachers. Lawrence M. Bezeau, Copp Clark

Pitman Ltd., Toronto, 1989. ISBN 0-7730-4750-6.

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%).

---

Centre for Distance Education

?

Simon Fraser University

EDUCATION 445-4

LEGAL CONTEXT OF TEACHING

This course is primarily for educators: teachers, administrators, counsellors,

librarians, and anyone else with an interest in serving students and staying

within the law. Students who have taken this course have commented on the gulf

dividing the disciplines of law and education. To date, there has been too little

dialogue between their members. This course is designed to enable students to

take steps toward closing this gap and improving their legal literacy. Former

Chief Justice Bora Laskin remarked: "It's very important to have a citizenry

which is socially literate and social literacy involves some appreciation of the legal

system." The legal context of teaching is important to day to day life in

classrooms, the staifroom and other school-related settings. This course will

provide a framework for weighing the legal factors in daily decision-making.

Unit 1 Introduction to Law and Education: The Intersection

Unit 2 The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Unit 3 Student and Parent Rights and Responsibilities

Unit 4 Teacher Rights and Responsibilities

Unit 5 Negligence, Intentional Torts and Educational Malpractice

Unit 6 Criminal Law and Wrap Up

PREREQUISITE:

Required: 60 credit hours

REQUIRED TEXT:

Proudfoot, Alex J. & Hutchings, Lawrence.

Teacher Beware: A Legal Primer for

Classroom Teachers.

Calgary: Detselig, 1988.

Manley-Casimir, Michael E. & Sussel, Terri A.

Courts in the Classrooms.

Calgary: Detselig, 1986.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Professional Journal completion

15%

Midterm Project

15%

Major Project

40%

Unit Assignments (combined)

30%