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Legal Issues in K-12 Education
EDU A235

Course Information

Description

This course is designed to provide an overview to legal issues impacting K-12 education in the United States. We will begin by learning how the legal system works, generally, and how to navigate legal tools, e.g., cases, statutes, regulations. We will then begin to address specific legal topics in K-12 education, including sections on the First Amendment, which historically protects speech and expression; the Equal Protection Clause, which historically prohibits different treatment on the basis of race, gender, and other similar categories; related non-discrimination laws like Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments; finally, we'll discuss other legal issues that may arise at the K-12 level (e.g., due process and discipline, search and seizure issues, etc.). There is also a separate disability law module, as that is a very big area, so we may or may not incorporate disability law into the class depending on time. (*Note that other countries have different legal systems that operate differently from the United States. Because there is so much to cover, we do not explore other legal systems in any real depth.)

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 2
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Student Option (Letter Graded, Sat/Unsat)
Learning Goals The primary goal of this course is to de-mystify the laws that guide education. We begin the course by learning about legal concepts and beginning to read legal cases, and then we continue practicing these skills as we work through specific topics that have legal importance in education, e.g., disability law, First Amendment, Equal Protection, etc. We will then discuss current events through an historical lens, i.e., whether things that are happening now have any legal precedent.
Career Focus This course is focused on educators, administrators, and anyone who is focused or curious about education and the law.