Dr. Vivian Gordon’s Research
THE NATURE AND ROLE OF SCHOOL LAW IN PUBLIC SCHOOL
ADMINISTRATION: A NATIONAL STUDY
Vivian Hopp Gordon, J.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Loyola University Chicago
The United States has witnessed increased legislative and judicial activity concerning schooling. Federal legislation and judicial intervention in schooling has impacted elementary, secondary and higher education. School law issues are prevalent in the every day life of an educational leader in the 21st Century and often provide the bases for multi-million dollar suits against school districts. Tort liability, residency, special education, school records, teacher evaluations, teacher dismissal, truancy, student discipline, free speech, violence and religious issues are just a small number of school law issues facing educational leaders on a daily basis. To comply with the legal aspects of educational administration, school leaders have become highly sensitive to legal issues and it has become accepted that school law has been mandated by states as part of administrative certification to become a building or district leader.
In order to become familiar with extant school law issues facing educational leaders, a series of national studies have been developed . These studies examine the nature and role of school law in public school administration. Some of the questions school leaders were asked were: how much time they spend on school law issues, what school law issues are increasing or decreasing in importance, whether the school leaders believed their administrative preparation programs met their needs, and what importance knowledge of school law plays within their administrative positions and practices.
The conclusions of these data are important, not only for our understanding of the current status of the nature and role of school law in public school administrative practice but also for providing guidance and direction of preparing future school leaders. The information also guides us on providing needed school law information to current educational leaders as they lead our future generations of children in successful learning environments.