Area E: Legal Aspects of Educational Administration

The questions:

1. As a school administrator, you are responsible for the educational program that goes on in your school. In order to do so, you must know the law as to what you can do to discipline students. Discuss the rights of students with at least one major court case to justify your position. Topics to include, but not limited to, in your discussion are: due process; student publications; free speech and expression; search and seizure; discipline for ‘regular’ students and special education students; drug testing.

2. Due process is a fundamental concept of individual liberty balanced against the interest of the state. Discuss and include in your discussion four aspects of due process that encourage justice and fairness to the individual in relationship to the government.

3. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution provides that no state shall deny to any person the equal protection of the laws. Discuss the use of the Equal Protection Clause as it has been interpreted in Plessey v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Alexander v. Holmes County, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and San Antonio v. Rodriguez. Conclude by discussing the significance of these cases for the United States and especially the South. Use appropriate case and statutory law to support your opinions.