Teachers and the Law (6th Edition) [Paperback]

Louis Fischer (Author), David Schimmel (Author), Leslie Stellman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0321082109 | ISBN-13: 978-0321082107 | Edition: 6

A non-technical, non-intimidating look at legislation and cases that apply to the experience and daily life of teachers and students in schools. Clearly written and useful to both teachers and school administrators, this text focuses on legal issues reflecting national trends most important to educators today. The authors designed the text to help school professionals avoid unnecessary litigation by educating them about their legal rights and responsibilities and how and why the courts decided the way they did. This up-to-date presentation is technically accurate yet presented in ordinary language that non-lawyers can understand. Guiding legal principles are developed by examining actual current cases, and the question-and-answer format enables students to contextualize legal issues within the school environment.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

“At the moment, this is the best [education law] book on the market. I like the way this book shows students about potential troubles and how they may go about avoiding legal hassles.”

 

–Fumie K. Hashimoto, Saint Martin’s College

 

“I believe that this is a very comprehensive text that generates a great deal of discussion in my class.”

 

–Leonard R. Goduto, Rider University

 

Teachers and the Law is the only text that provides a question and answer format that addresses every aspect of school law from a teacher’s and school administrator’s perspective. Clearly written and useful to both teachers and school administrators, this text focuses on legal issues reflecting current trends that are important to educators in the 21st century. The authors designed the text for school professionals seeking an easy to use reference on every important area of school law, including student and employee rights, the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on those rights, and how to understand their legal rights and responsibilities.

 

New to This Edition

• New material highlights controversies to be confronted during the beginning of the 21st century, including updated information on school choice addressing charter schools and the voucher system, the re-authorization of IDEA, copyright issues, bullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, affirmative action, rights of homosexuals, and zero tolerance policies.
• A new chapter on No Child Left Behind and High Stakes Testing and their implications illustrates material that is essential to teachers and students.
• The latest cases in educational case law have been added. All areas have been updated to correspond to the most recent court decisions.
• New pedagogy such as chapter introductions and summaries assist understanding and ease of use.
• An updated Instructor's Manual includes edited Supreme Court cases, references to related materials, discussion and examination questions, suggested teaching activities, key terms, and chapter topic discussion.

 

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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Louis Fischer (J.D. and Ph.D., Stanford University) is Professor Emeritus and former dean

of the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

David Schimmel (J.D., Yale University) David Schimmel is Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachustts, Amherst and Visiting Professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. He is author of over 60 articles and co-author of six books about law and education including School Law: What Every Educator Should Know (2008) and is recipient of the Education Press Association of America's Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism.  After graduating from Yale Law School, he briefly practiced law, was an Army Infantry Officer, and served on the Peace Corps staff for six years before starting his teaching career at UMass.  His current research and writing focuses on promoting legal literacy for teachers.

Leslie R. Stellman (J.D., Syracuse University) Leslie Robert Stellman is the team leader of the education law department of Maryland’s largest school law firm, Hodes, Pessin & Katz, P.A., located in Towson, Maryland.  Mr. Stellman has been practicing education law for over 35 years and represents many of Maryland’s public school boards as well as colleges and universities.  He received his Bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University and his Juris Doctor from the Syracuse University College of Law, magna cum laude.  Mr. Stellman is widely known as an author, lecturer, professor, and practitioner in all aspects of school law, and is a member of the Education Law Association and the National Association of Boards of Education’s Council of School Attorneys.  He is also on the faculties of the Johns Hopkins University School of Education and the University of Baltimore College of Law. 

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 461 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 6 edition (July 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321082109
• ISBN-13: 978-0321082107
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Law > English Law > Employment
  • #93 in Books > Law > Specialties > Educational Law & Legislation

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource, but guidance was helpful, February 24, 2006

By 

Matthew J. Fuller "Matt J. Fuller" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teachers and the Law (6th Edition) (Paperback)

Teachers and the Law (6th Edition) was the primary text used for my National-Louis University (Wheeling, IL) School Law course. Although the text implies that only information regarding teachers will be discussed, Fischer actually covers legal issues that deal with many levels of educational law including student cases, administrator cases, and even cases that don't involve teachers at all, but loosely relate to educational law in general.

This was my first exposure to any formally-presented school law information and I must confess that I was quite overwhelmed at first. Fischer tends to present a major case very clearly and then fully explains its implications and outcomes. However, he then presents several other related cases that often have conflicting or opposing outcomes to the original point.

What I learned from this text is that there is very little "black and white" when it comes to interpreting school law. I was interested to learn that even the landmark decision cases are still constantly debated in the courts and sometimes ignored when decisions are made by judges or juries. It took our experienced professor to help us understand the subtext of some of the cases and discern the probable reasons why some cases were decided in seemingly arbitrary ways.

In general, Teachers and the Law greatly increased my understanding of school law, but without an experienced professor, I would not have gleaned as much practical information.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Teachers, April 30, 2003

By 

Lane Young "Teacher and Librarian" (Highland Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teachers and the Law (6th Edition) (Paperback)

Case law, unless done perhaps by the likes of John Grissam, is not page turning material. However, the authors have done an incredible job of putting very pressing and often complex areas into an accessible and engaging book. Written in an easy to use question and answer format, the updated book touches on education legal issues ranging from free speech, to students with disabilities, to internet issues. While of great use for educator (or educators to be), the book could also easily be adapted for classroom use, either as a debate or research starter. Worth every penny of its price.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super informative and easy to read, August 2, 2008

By 

I. Struk - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teachers and the Law (7th Edition) (Paperback)

Teachers and the Law (7th ed) is divided into chapters and sections, and is written in a question/answer format. Different cases are also introduced, discussed and their significance in education is explored. All kinds of issues are discussed, from what constitutes libel to marriage between administrators and teachers within the same school. The vocabulary/terminalogy is not difficult....you do not need a legal dictionary, nor any dictionary for that matter. It is very interesting, not mundane, and easy to read. One of the few books that I didn't dread having to read for my courses. This is an excellent book to have in your educator's library.