0Legal Case Studies

Ask students in groups or individually to consider one or more of the following case studies to demonstrate their ability to
recognize the applicable law(s) and plan their actions. For each case the students should

identify the applicable law(s).

describe the teachers and/or students rights and/or responsibilities.

describe a legal course of action for their classroom.

identify ways the situation could be avoided in the future.

(Several probe questions are also included with each case.)

0Law Case Study 1
Your school has had significant gang problems over the last few years. Last semester alone, there were five students who
were expelled for bringing guns to school. There were physical fights between different gangs on school grounds. One
gang member was arrested for dealing drugs out of her school locker.
In response to the gang problems on campus, the School Board has prohibited students from wearing or bringing gang
symbols, clothes, and colors to school. If a student violates this prohibition, he or she is immediately suspended from
school and is subject to further and more severe discipline.
Four months after the School Boards ban goes into effect, a new student transfers into your school. The student and his
family have just moved to the United States from Israel. On the students first day in your class, he proudly displays his
Star of David necklace. When the principal sees the necklace, she wants to suspend the student immediately.
What legal issues do you need to consider?
-The student had no idea that he was wrong. Also, there is freedom of religion so there should be no reason why the
student was suspended immediately.
Is there a way to avoid this situation?
-You can tell the student that they are not allowed to wear the necklace again and tell them to please remove it for the rest
of the day.
What should you do as the classroom teacher?
-I would tell the student to not wear it again and explain why.
0Law Case Study 2
You are the faculty advisor for the student-run newspaper at your high school. The end-of-the-year issue of the paper
includes articles on drug addiction and drug treatment programs. The authors of the articles put a semesters worth of
work into them. The articles are well researched and factually accurate. They include interviews and advice from doctors,
nurses, and counselors. The articles also include anonymous interviews with other students at the school who are taking
drugs now or who have taken drugs in the past.
Just before the newspaper is distributed throughout the school, your principal reviews it. She does not like the articles on
drug addiction, especially the interviews. She threatens to forbid distribution of the newspaper unless these articles are
removed.
What legal precedents should you consider?
-Freedom of speech.
As the sponsor what should you do?
-I would have a meeting with the students and administration and decide if the student should still be in the group.
Is there a way to avoid this problem?
-The teacher could proof read.

0Law Case Study 3

A boy in your sixth grade class was just elected class president. During his acceptance speech, he said, among other
things, I am a person who is firm . . . firm in character and firm in my clothing. . . . I will go to the very end, even the
climax, for each and every one of you. When students (both boys and girls) in your class heard this, some giggled, some
just sat still and some paid no attention.
Which law(s) should you consult to decide what your responsibility is in this situation?
-Freedom of speech.
What are the consequences teachers face if they ignore these statements?
-If teachers ignore this, students could go to administration and teachers could get in trouble for not dealing with the
situation.
0Law Case Study 4
Sandis parents have been divorced since she was five years old. She is now seven. She lives with her mother and visits
her father every other weekend. He brings her to school on Monday mornings following his weekend visitations. Last
year, Sandi was diagnosed with diabetes. She is required to stick to a very strict diet. You noticed that on Mondays
following her weekend visits with her father, Sandi is hungry, tired, and unable to concentrate and has even passed out at
her desk. Upon talking to Sandi, you learn that when she is with her father, he feeds her all kinds of food, like candy and
soda pop, which is not on her diabetic diet.
What is the teachers responsibility in this situation?
-Send her to the nurse.
What are the consequences to the teacher for not acting appropriately?
-The teacher should be reprimanded.
0Law Case Study 5
You have just completed a summer school course on using poetry in the classroom. You are really excited about what you
have learned and want to incorporate it into your classes. You decide that instead of using your usual textbooks, you will
download poems off of the Internet, copy poems from various books and magazines, and put them into a packet for your
students to read and study. Your colleagues see the packet and ask if they can make copies as well. You all decide to make
this a regular unit and use the packet every year.
What law(s) do you need to consider when doing this?
-Not following the curriculum set by state and district and copy right laws,
What guidelines do you need to follow?
-curriculum guidelines set by state and district.
0Law Case Study 6
The principal at your school decides to retire, and several well-qualified teachers on the staff apply for the position. Mr.
England has been teaching for four years and has his administrators license. Mrs. Boyer has taught for eight years, has
her administrators license, and has been the area coordinator for her grade level. When Mr. England is appointed, Mrs.
Boyer asks for an explanation and is told that the committee felt that Mr. England would have more time to do the job and
that it was a tough job dealing with irate parents, and so forth.
Which law addresses this situation?
-Discrimination
What options does Mrs. Boyer have?
-Deal with the situation under discrimination rules/laws
0Law Case Study 7

For many years the composition of your community has been very homogeneous, Christian, and conservative, but in
recent years more and more families of different faiths and beliefs have been moving to your attendance area. One of your
students brings in a childrens Bible storybook for show and tell and begins to retell some of the stories.
How do you respond?
-You tell the students that you can celebrate all different holidays and believe in different things.
What laws do you need to be aware of?
-Do not express your beliefs to the students.
0Law Case Study 8
Recently students at your elementary school have been caught with forbidden weapons (knives, brass knuckles, and
numchucks) on school property. The school has a zero tolerance policy and expels any student found with an item that
could be used as a weapon and is not appropriate to have in school. To address this problem, faculty decide to conduct a
surprise backpack and desk check where every student will be required to dump the contents of their desk and backpack
on the floor in the presence of the teacher who will do the inspection.
What laws should you consult to conduct this search legally?
-4th amendment.
What other responses might accomplish the same purpose?
-inform the students and go over important rules.