Richard Fossey – författare

Do American professional public school teachers have the same rights to a private life as other citizens? This is an astute and incisive analysis of every teacher’s dual life – as responsible exemplars to society’s youth and as their own professional and private selves. Using historical and legal analysis to capture the tension between these two guises, it explores the balance between the weight of expectation from teachers’ communities on one hand and the need for autonomy in professional environments on the other. A Teacher’s Private Life explores some of the core questions that surround this debate: what kind of out-of-school behaviour should constitute dismissal, and what should be protected? To what extent should teachers serve as role models adhering to the values of the community in which they work? How does the special position of trust and responsibility enjoyed by teachers weigh up against their liberty to fashion a life for themselves? Should their private lives be subject to greater scrutiny than those in other professions? This is an enlightening guide for education and legal scholars, local and state level policymakers, community leaders on how the legal framework around these core issues has emerged and evolved over time.

Do American professional public school teachers have the same rights to a private life as other citizens? This is an astute and incisive analysis of every teacher’s dual life – as responsible exemplars to society’s youth and as their own professional and private selves. Using historical and legal analysis to capture the tension between these two guises, it explores the balance between the weight of expectation from teachers’ communities on one hand and the need for autonomy in professional environments on the other. A Teacher’s Private Life explores some of the core questions that surround this debate: what kind of out-of-school behaviour should constitute dismissal, and what should be protected? To what extent should teachers serve as role models adhering to the values of the community in which they work? How does the special position of trust and responsibility enjoyed by teachers weigh up against their liberty to fashion a life for themselves? Should their private lives be subject to greater scrutiny than those in other professions? This is an enlightening guide for education and legal scholars, local and state level policymakers, community leaders on how the legal framework around these core issues has emerged and evolved over time.

Students’ early morning decisions about what to wear to school have led many school districts into legal issues and policy challenges. Confederate belt buckles, exposed bellies, sagging pants, political statements, and social commentary have all been banned from schools, and these bans have often resulted in litigation by students who claim their constitutional right to free speech has been violated. Student Dress Codes and the First Amendment: Legal Challenges and Policy Issues explores the legal issues that arise when a school prohibits various types of student attire. Through an analysis of major Supreme and federal court cases, this volume examines conflicts that arise when administrators juggle a student’s right to free speech with the need to maintain an environment conducive to learning.

Students’ early morning decisions about what to wear to school have led many school districts into legal issues and policy challenges. Confederate belt buckles, exposed bellies, sagging pants, political statements, and social commentary have all been banned from schools, and these bans have often resulted in litigation by students who claim their constitutional right to free speech has been violated. Student Dress Codes and the First Amendment: Legal Challenges and Policy Issues explores the legal issues that arise when a school prohibits various types of student attire. Through an analysis of major Supreme and federal court cases, this volume examines conflicts that arise when administrators juggle a student’s right to free speech with the need to maintain an environment conducive to learning.

School uniform polices, often associated with private schools, are increasingly being adopted in public schools; but not without controversy. The often asserted reasons for mandating uniforms include improved student behavior, better attendance, less competition over clothing, and improved student learning because students would not be distracted by who was wearing what and could focus on their studies. Wishful thinking or empirically tested hypotheses? However, opponents assert that a mandated uniform seeks to homogenize the students, violates their free speech rights, and does not solve the problems the policy is intended to remedy. The Challenges of Mandating School Uniforms in the Public Schools: Free Speech, Research, and Policy explores the policy rationale, the constitutional rights of students, and the research on the impact of school uniforms. Educators, parents, and policymakers will find this book and its companion, Student Dress Codes and the First Amendment: Legal Challenges and Policy Issues, a must read when considering student attire issues.

Nearly 50 years ago a California court heard a complaint from a recent high school graduate who alleged that he could not read at a level that would allow him to apply for, let alone hold, a meaningful job. He asserted that the public school district was negligent and that his prospects for a productive life were diminished by their negligence. The court disagreed and educational malpractice was cast outside the schoolhouse gate and an educational malpractice wall was erected. In sum, both federal and state courts have constructed a sturdy wall against the recognition of educational malpractice lawsuits. However, recent advances in research on instruction, statistical analyses that some have argued can identify substandard teaching, may have cracked the wall. Thus, confluence of events may lead to demolishing the educational malpractice wall constructed over the past half century.The authors of Raising a Cautionary Flag: Educational Malpractice and the Professional Teacher, explore the judicial reticence to recognize educational malpractice as a viable tort of negligence. They review the concept of what constitutes a professional, what is malpractice and how is it related to the professional malpractice of physicians and attorneys, and the potential responses to education malpractice. They conclude by raising a cautionary flag about breaching the judicial wall.

Nearly 50 years ago a California court heard a complaint from a recent high school graduate who alleged that he could not read at a level that would allow him to apply for, let alone hold, a meaningful job. He asserted that the public school district was negligent and that his prospects for a productive life were diminished by their negligence. The court disagreed and educational malpractice was cast outside the schoolhouse gate and an educational malpractice wall was erected. In sum, both federal and state courts have constructed a sturdy wall against the recognition of educational malpractice lawsuits. However, recent advances in research on instruction, statistical analyses that some have argued can identify substandard teaching, may have cracked the wall. Thus, confluence of events may lead to demolishing the educational malpractice wall constructed over the past half century.The authors of Raising a Cautionary Flag: Educational Malpractice and the Professional Teacher, explore the judicial reticence to recognize educational malpractice as a viable tort of negligence. They review the concept of what constitutes a professional, what is malpractice and how is it related to the professional malpractice of physicians and attorneys, and the potential responses to education malpractice. They conclude by raising a cautionary flag about breaching the judicial wall.