This course provides an introduction to legal foundations for public education, investigating district policy, state board rule, state and federal statutes, and case law.

Some of the essential questions we will tackle in the course are: 

1. What are the legal bases for school policies? 
2. What are teacher rights and freedoms in public schools? 
3. What are student rights in public schools?
4. What are teacher responsibilities regarding policy implementation in public schools?

All course materials will be provided to you in Canvas (there is no required textbook). That said, you are also encouraged to locate and share outside resources that you find helpful to your learning. I will do the same, and may send the class messages with useful resources that will help you process materials in each module. I want you to be able to take control of your learning and not simply digest the information I provide. You will most likely find some great resources that I have not included!

In answering these questions, you will be able to do the following by the end of this course:

1. Analyze and apply the legal bases for school policies.
2. Identify, explain, and discuss teacher rights and freedoms in schools.
3. Identify, explain, and discuss student rights in public schools.
4. Identify and discuss teacher responsibilities.

Course Assessment Table

Discuss cool things with your peers

Online discussions can be one of the richest elements of your online course experience. Asynchronous discussions offer a unique opportunity to be “heard.” You can think carefully about what you want to say and look it over before you post it. You can consider the contributions of your peers more thoughtfully and go back to comment again when a second reading offers clarification and a deeper understanding.

Discussions are processes that are student-driven and you have a great deal to offer and to learn from one another. I love to learn from your insights, creativity, and wisdom about teaching and learning through these discussions.

Discussion topic questions will come from the readings and other course materials. Discussions conclude on Monday night at 11:59 pm. Your participation in the discussions will be evaluated using a rubric. You are encouraged to interact with the discussion board more than 1-2 times during the week - come back to it and contribute several times so that all may further their learning on the topic!

Please do not to wait until Monday to do all of your posts. A true discussion cannot happen if all of you wait until the last day to post. Because thoughtful discussion is a requirement of the assignments, you will not receive credit for your initial post if it is not made by Saturday. 

If you prefer, you can get into groups of 4-6 students and complete the weekly discussion as a Zoom meeting. One person would schedule the Zoom meeting and, using that link, the group would attend the discussion synchronously and record the group discussion. 

Analyze law cases 

The law case analysis assignments are designed to provide practical, hands-on experiences in order to assist you in improving your abilities and knowledge of legal issues in the schools. Law Case Analysis Assignments are aligned with the course objectives and readings found in each Module. 

For each of these assignments, read the case and use the information in the module and any other information you locate to analyze the case. Each case will ask some specific questions to which you can respond, but you are encouraged to discuss your overall thoughts on the case.

Be sure you are using legal evidence when stating your thoughts, not just how you "feel". You must cite sources for the legal terms and standards that you use for your analysis. You are encouraged to use outside resources to better your understanding of the legal precedents used in each case and to solidify your arguments and analyses. Really get in there and deeply analyze each case - it's super fun!

Study and learn law terms 

A short law term quiz will be given early in the course to assess your understanding of important law concepts and principles.

Complete applied legal assignments

During this course, you will complete two Applied Legal Assignments (ALA’s) as part of the course requirements. One of these focuses on your school policies/handbook and the other on students with disabilities. These assignments are designed to provide practical, hands-on experiences in order to assist in improving your knowledge, abilities, and skills. These assignments are aligned with Utah Effective Teaching Standards (UETS). 

How will my learning be assessed?

According to SUU COEHD policy, you must earn at least a B for graduate credit to be awarded. The following grading standards will be used in this class:

I will provide rubrics or standards for mastery for each assignment. Please review these prior to completing assignments and reach out to me if any of the assessment standards are unclear. 

Communicate with me about due dates

I expect you to strive to be an active participant in this course and strive to meet due dates. This class has due dates which should be followed, but (with the exception of discussion) you have flexibility to complete work at your own pace while the module is still open. Once it closes, no further work can be completed in that module. Please follow the specific instructions for discussions because these cannot be done at the last minute.

Please note that this is a 7-week, accelerated course and, therefore, you will want to make sure you do not fall behind. I understand that sometimes "life can get in the way," so if you have unique emergency circumstances, please contact me in advance and we will come up with a plan.

Collaborate with your classmates

I expect that you will strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas. This extends to assignments other than weekly discussions, as I encourage you to collaborate on any assignments in the course. Collaboration is a critical skill for educators and I hope that you embrace this in the course. All I ask are 2 things:

• that the names of all collaborators is included on your assignment submission and
• that all collaborators are actively involved in all assignments (please do not separate up the assignments and put everyone's name on them).

Demonstrate mutual respect and professionalism

In order to learn, we must be open to the views of people different from ourselves. In this time we share together over the semester, please honor the uniqueness of your classmates, and appreciate the opportunity we have to learn from one another. Please respect each other’s opinions and refrain from personal attacks or demeaning comments of any kind. Finally, remember to keep confidential all issues of a personal or professional nature that are discussed in class. Please contact the instructor if you have suggestions for improving the classroom environment. It is preferable if students discuss issues directly with the instructor, however, students may also begin the conversation via email.

Other expectations

You will maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you.

You will do your best to have patience with technology. There will be hiccups, expect them. We will get through them together.

You will give yourself grace. Expect to make mistakes. You are human and you are stressed.

Is there anything else you would like to add to this list?

Attend and Actively Participate

Your active participation is paramount to your success for this online course. You will need to login at least 3-4 times per week to interact with the material and with your peers. I encourage you to seek additional information on your own to expand your understanding of the course concepts. When you find items that are particularly helpful to you, please share them with your classmates through the bulletin board discussion or in the weekly discussions. 

We will have optional Zoom meetings twice during the semester. While you do not need to attend at the time they are held, you are required to either attend synchronously or watch the recording and submit a summary and questions you have after watching. 

See the Zoom page in Canvas for dates and times.

View all of SUU's Program and Course Fees

Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.

• For Passwords or any other computer-related technical support:
  • 435-865-8200
  • support@suu.edu
  • IT Service Desk
• For Canvas help:
  • 435-865-8555
  • canvas@suu.edu
  • Canvas Help Center
  • How to Use Canvas