ADM/516 - Ethical and Legal Issues for Administrators

Course Description

This course examines the legal and ethical principles for an educational administrator. Participants will develop and refine the skills necessary to analyze and integrate constructive legal and ethical principles into their practice. Emphasis is placed on the understanding and history of law and ethics needed in the educational setting for a school administrator. Current issues for school administrators featured in this course include curriculum and instruction, assessment and accountability, attendance and truancy, laws and liability, hiring and evaluating, Internet usage, and school safety and security.

This graduate course is 4 weeks.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendance and participation are mandatory in all university courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

This course is not available for enrollment to residents of Alabama, Arkansas, and Kentucky.

Course Objectives

Legal Framework of Public Schools and School Liability

• Identify historic laws governing education and the effect of these laws on public schools.
• Analyze court system rulings on education and the significant legal and ethical implications that have resulted.
• Examine student rights and restrictions through the lens of a school administrator.
• Compare intentional and unintentional torts related to public education.
• Summarize the impact of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) on public schools.
• Analyze the legal and ethical issues of using the Internet in public schools.

Law and Ethics of Teacher Employment and Evaluation

• Analyze the issues around employment practices that administrators must adhere to when hiring staff.
• Explain teacher rights and freedoms through the lens of a school administrator.
• Describe the legal and ethical concerns regarding discrimination in employment.
• Summarize due process related to teacher evaluation and dismissal.

School Administration and the Instructional Program

• Determine the legal and ethical stance on issues of compulsory attendance and truancy of students from a school administrator’s perspective.
• Explain the legal authority for defining curriculum for public schools.
• Analyze the administrator’s role involving levels of accountability required of public schools.

School Safety and Security

• Examine the jurisdiction of the USA PATRIOT Act on public schools.
• Define the administrator’s role regarding school safety and violence in schools.
• Explain zero tolerance and due process for public school administration.

Disclaimers

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.

Although our continuing teacher education courses are accepted by some state agencies in the United States toward teacher certifications and endorsements, this may not be the case in all states or foreign jurisdictions. If you plan to use courses for certification or endorsement, please check with your own state agency and your school district for applicability. Continuing teacher education courses are not eligible to apply to degree programs at University of Phoenix. These courses are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.

While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. Please check with an Enrollment Representative.