Overview

The second edition of Teachers and the Law is not just an add-on to the original text — it is an entirely new book that has been completely revised, updated, and expanded. The detailed table of contents provides the many topics discussed within the framework of the book.

The two authors, Wayne MacKay and Lyle Sutherland, have conducted numerous educational conferences across the country, and through first-hand discussion with teachers, have gathered a vast array of important material for this text. They have shaped the book to address the legal matters that affect today’s classroom teachers. This informative new resource demystifies the law’s impact on teachers and school boards, and provides a much-needed legal resource.

TopFeatures

• Explains negligence and liability issues for teachers.
• Examines the implications for teachers of the Criminal Code’s sexual abuse provisions.
• Focuses on teachers as education state agents, including teachers’ duties imposed by education statutes, the Charter, and provincial human rights codes.
• Provides information on school violence, bullying, and cyberbullying.
• Offers new information on inclusive schooling.
• Explains the impact that constitutional law has on the expanding role of the teaching profession, highlighting the importance of section 93 and its legislative authority over education to all provinces.
• Tackles the challenging issue of special needs education and equality.
• Provides guidelines for making and enforcing school rules.
• Discusses “subordinate legislation” and “regulations” that may be authorized through the Education Act.
• Examines the teacher as a state agent for the police, in discussion of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the roles played by teachers, using case law examples.
• Deals with the teacher as a social welfare agent and paramedic, and the legal parameters of these expanding social welfare roles.
• Examines the labour and employment rights and duties of teachers.
• Provides epilogue material on copyright law, intellectual property, and information technology.

TopFull Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Constitutional Basis of Law Specific School Law Sources Related Sources of Education Law Legal Procedures and Related Matters Legal Role and Status of Teachers Modern Day Roles of Teachers

CHAPTER 1 Teachers as Parents

Liability for Accidents at School — Negligence Principles — Vicarious Liability — Application of Negligence Principles in the School Liability for Corporal Punishment in Schools Sexual Interference and Invitation to Sexual Touching: The Teacher’s Liability Duty To Prevent Sexual Abuse Educational Malpractice

CHAPTER 2 Teachers as Educational State Agents

State Agent Defined Application of Section 32 of the Charter The Nature of Charter Rights and Litigation — Application of Charter to Plaintiff and Defendant — Breach of Rights — Section 1 of the Charter — Remedies — Teachers’ Role Students’ Rights Under the Charter — Fundamental Freedoms: Section 2 of the Charter Special Education and Inclusion — Access to Schools — Appropriate Education — Related Services — Balancing Limited Resources Other Equality Issues — Sex — Age — Race — Sexual Orientation — Bullying and School Violence Enforcing School Rules in the Wake of the Charter — Rule Making — Enforcing Rules — Penalizing for Breach of Rules

CHAPTER 3 Teachers as Agents of the Police

The Juvenile Delinquents Act The Young Offenders Act The Youth Criminal Justice Act — Declaration of Principle — Age Limitation — Extrajudicial Measures — Detention Before Sentencing — Detention — Right to Counsel — Sentencing — Custodial Dispositions — Interference with Dispositions A School’s Investigative Role — Arrest and Detention — Search and Seizure — Personal Searches — Locker Searches — Dragnet Searches Questioning Students and the Admissibility of Statements — Persons in Authority — Informing Youths of Their Rights — Consultation with an Appropriate Adult — Summary Citizen’s Arrest Student Records and the Youth Criminal Justice Act Competing Interests: Attempts at Resolution

CHAPTER 4 Teachers as Social Welfare Agents

Teacher as YCJA Rehabilitation Counsellor — Identification of Young Offenders Teacher as Social Worker — Reporting Child Abuse — School Attendance Teacher as Child Advocate Teacher as Family Mediator — Physical Access to the Child at School — Decisions About a Child’s Education — Access to Information About the Child’s Education Teacher as Paramedic

CHAPTER 5 Teachers as Employees

Labour Law Stress: The Inclusive Classroom and Other Challenges — Stress — Occupational Safety — Risk Management — Parental Harassment Legal Rights of Teachers — Freedom of Religion — Freedom of Expression — Personal Views and Lifestyle Freedom of Association Equality Rights — Age — Physical Disability — Sex — Sexual Orientation Dismissal for Denominational Cause Procedural Rights — Procedural Safeguards in Disciplinary Context — Procedural Rights Under the Charter — Duty of Fair Representation Sexual Misconduct in Schools

EPILOGUE The Omni-competent Teacher

Copyright — What Is Copyright? — How Does Copyright Protection Work? — How Does Infringement Occur? — Are There Exceptions that Allow Copying Without Infringing? — What If I Want To Copy a Work for Which There Is No Appropriate Exception? — Why Should Teachers Care About Copyright? Intellectual Property in Materials Prepared by Teachers Information Technology