Legal Issues In High School: Banned Books, Sex Assault, And Discipline Problems

Banned Books and Censorship in High Schools

Consider the issues presented in each scenario. They often involve several legal issues. Cite key cases and statutes you would consider in resolving these issues. Discuss the implications of these statutes and cases. Tell what actions you would take including such issues as investigation, documentation, and procedures required.

1. You are the principal of a high school and the English department is organizing celebrate banned books week. They have been working on this event since the previous semester. The American Library Association provided posters, bookmarks and other materials. Your English department presented the proposed event at a slightly attended PTA meeting at the beginning of the school year. A group or African-American parents are at your office at 8:00 A.M. with grave concerns about certain books and authors on the list including Maya Angelou ,“I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings”; Mark Twain, “Huckleberry Finn”; Langston Hughes, “The Best Short stories by Negro writers”; and others. The parents want their list of books excluded from the event and suggest the entire event be cancelled. They believe the books are offensive and do not match the district curriculum. They also suggest certain library books be removed from the library. They have brought representatives from special interest groups to the meeting. What steps will you take to work with the parents and with the teachers. What cases and statutes support your actions. If this case is brought , what will the courts say?

2. Linda Collins was employed as a probationary teacher for Walnut Grove High School in a mid- sized city. A student was sexually assaulted by another student behind a portable chalkboard during her class. Mrs. Collins separated the students but did not report the event. Parents of the assaulted child filed suit against the school district. This was your first notice of the assault. What standards are teachers held to in this situation? Does the sexual assault of a student by another student automatically result in liability? What actions should you take toward the students and the teacher as principal?

3. An eighth grade student, Jon, has had numerous discipline problems throughout the school year. His behavior usually involves angry outbursts at teachers or other students. Jon was administered psychological testing as a sixth grader and was diagnosed as emotionally disturbed and was provided special education services. Jon has been suspended for eight days so far. Last Friday, Jon had another major incident in class in which he cursed his teacher and then threatened to do her physical harm. The teacher enlisted the services of another teacher next door to get Jon to the office without physical confrontation. What disciplinary options are available to the campus administrator? What legal issues are implicated?

Legal Liability in Cases of Sexual Assault by Students

1. The High School and the English Department are celebrating the Banned Books week in association with the American Library Association. At a slightly attended PTA, this event was proposed and met with concerns with respect to certain by a group of African American, who wanted to remove the books not only from the event but also from the school library and suggested the cancellation of the event.

What action can be taken for working with the parents and the teachers?

Whether the books can be removed from the school library, what would the ruling of the court be in this regard?

It is essential for the parents to understand and they should be made to understand by the school that the censorship of the books and other such materials of the curriculum would lead to the violation of academic diversity and freedom which is protection under the Constitution of U.S. The books cannot be pulled out of the library shelves just because the ideas of the books are not liked. It was held in the case of Board of Education vs. Pico by the Supreme Court that the First Amendment was violated by the school officials where they removed various books from the library of a junior high school for being controversial in nature (Board of Education vs. Pico, 1982). These books are important classics that need to be read by the students for their enrichment of knowledge. The parents need to be assured that these books would not be damaging to the students but would open avenues of learning especially of their own culture and its past.

Further, it has been opined by the Court in the case of Board of Education vs. Pico that the students' right of receiving ideas and information was protected under the First Amendment, and the library is the main place for receiving such information (Board of Education vs. Pico, 1982). The only reason why the books could be removed from the library the court opined in this case if it was pervasively vulgar.

The cases of the Supreme Court indicate a broad trend towards supporting the schools when it comes to the censorship issues. However, it also cautions the educators to be aware of the values which include values of the minority in the community in which they serve. 

The Constitution’s First Amendment has been cited by experts as protection both the right of the teacher to academic freedom and right of the student to know. It has also at the same time been argued by the legal experts that there is a right that haves have to protest against materials or books which they consider will have a damaging affect on their children.

Discipline Problems and Available Disciplinary Options

The Island Trees Union Free High School v. Pico (1982) was a landmark case of censorship in which it was asserted by the court that there is no permission under the Constitution for suppression of the ideas officially and the books that were banned were returned to the school library (Board of Education vs. Pico, 1982). The court in this case and similar other cases has allowed the boards of the school a rather free hand with respect to the materials of the curriculum. In the case of Texas v. Johnson, it was opined by Willian J. Brennan, Jr. Justice Supreme Court that the bedrock principle which underlies the First Amendment is that there should not be any prohibition by the government of an ideas expression only because the opinion of the society is that it is an offensive idea or not agreeable (Texas v Johnson, 1989).

Thus it can be concluded from the various case laws that the general view of the court would be in favour of not removing the books from the Library since it would lead to the violation of the First of both the students' as well as the teachers.' Further, if the First Amendment is to be continued to be protected the words of Naom Chomsky are to be kept in mind that if there is no belief in the freedom of expression of those people whose ideas are not liked, then there is no believing in it at all (Imber & Van Geel, 2000).

Lind Collins a probationary teacher separated a student sexually assaulting another student. However, she did not report this incident. The parents of the student who was sexually assaulted filed against the school district a suit.

What standards are the teachers held to in this situation?

Does assault by one student of another leads automatically to liability?

What action can be taken against the student and the teacher?

For the Fifth Circuit the United States Court of Appeals in the case of Walton v. Alexander (5th Cir. 1994) added the notion of indifference that is deliberate indifference while analyzing liability and the definition which it was that where the official of a school was aware of or has avoided willfully knowing about a serious harm that could happen possibly to the student and there is failure to take any action that is appropriate, and there is harm which has been caused to the student. It was further clarified by the Fifth Circuit in the case Doe v. Taylor (5th Cir. 1994) that there is no absolving of liability of a public school officials simply because there was no special relationship that existed especially in cases where they were aware and still failed to take any action for the protection of the student where there are students present who are disruptive and aggressive dangerously (Doe v. Taylor, 1994).

Thus, the teacher should have reported the incident for the safety of the student who was harassed knowing that the harassment was of grave nature. Failure on the part of the teacher to report is actionable (Vacca & Bosher, 2008).

Further in the case of Davis v.  Monroe County Board of Education (1999) it was held by the high court that the official of public school may be held liable in a sexual harassment situation where it was a student on student in the case wherein the harassment is so pervasive and severe that victim student’s ability to learn is limited, where there was a knowledge of this harassment by the school officials, where there was deliberate indifference which was showed by the school officials  and where there were no responsible steps that were taken for remedying such situation (Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 1999).

This standard of deliberate indifference is a tool which subsequent court applies consistently. In the given case as well this standard would be made applicable for determining whether the teacher would be made liable (Mason & Stephenson, 2012). There is no automatic liability of the teacher unless there is the fulfillment of the standards of deliberate in which case the teacher would be held to be liable.

Further, the school district can also be held liable for violation of Title IX if there is the failure to take action that is reasonable against long-term and serious sexual harassment that is student to student which the school employee was aware of (Hudgins & Vacca, 2012). Thus there has to be action taken against both the student and the teacher however it has to be kept in mind what the seriousness of the act was and what would be the most reasonable action that could be taken.

In this case, an eighth-grade student Jon, who, has had various discipline issues and has been diagnosed as emotionally disturbed threatened violence against a teacher.

What are the disciplinary options that are available?

What are the legal implications in this case?

When there is harm or violence which is threatened by a student the administrator may implement any of options such as (i) removing the student immediately from the classroom the student who has threatened the injury, (ii) the student to be placed in a setting where his behavior can receive attention immediately, including, though not limited to the office of (a) the school principal, (b) the vice principal, (c) the assistant principal, (d) the psychologist of the school who has been licensed by any mental health professional's office or by the Teacher Standards and Practices Commissioner, and (e) the counselor before being allowed to return to the setting of a classroom, and (iii) the guardian of the student has to be informed promptly and no later than 24 hours of the incident regarding the behavior of the student and the action of the school (Fein, et al., 2002).

In the case of Lovell v. Poway Unified School District (Lovell v. Poway Unified School District, 1996),  where a suit had been brought by a student's parents called Sarah for removing the referral form from her file the Ninth Circuit Court upheld the action of the court and ruled that the communication made by Sarah was a true threat. It is an objective standard, according to the Ninth Circuit, which lays focus on the speaker by which alleged threats are judged. The test is that whether a person who is reasonable while making a statement can foresee that there could be an interpretation on the part of the listener as an expression that is serious for intending harm. The First Amendment does not protect true threats under the categories of expressions that are protected the Ninth Circuit Court further emphasized. Thus by the principal was justified in taking action against Sarah by suspending her and filing the form of student referral (Snyder & Swahn, 2016). 

Other than the test of the objective speaker the court also required that the statement which appears to be a threat should be considered in the light of the facts of the case that surround it. If, the surrounding and statement are such that it is immediate unconditional, specific and unequivocal that the purpose's seriousness is conveyed and that there is a prospect of the statement being carried out in near future, then it would be held to be a true threat (Peterson & Skiba, 2001).

Thus, in the given case as well considering the history of the student, it can be stated that the threat was a true threat, and any action that may be taken against the student of either suspension or submission of a referral form would be justified legally.

References

Board of Education vs. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982).

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999).

Doe v. Taylor (Fifth Circuit 1994).

Fein,, R., Vossekuil, B., Pollack, W., Borum, R., Modzeleski, W., & Reddy, M. (2002). Threat assessment in schools: A guide to managing threatening situations and to creating safe school climates. Retrieved from https://www.secretservice.gov/ntac_ssi.shtml

Hudgins, H. & Vacca, R. (2012). Law and education (8th ed.). Charlottesville, Va.: Michie Co.

Imber, M. & Van Geel, T. (2000). A teacher's guide to education law. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Lovell v. Poway Unified School District, 90 F.3d 367 (9th Cir 1996).

Mason, A. & Stephenson, D. (2012). American constitutional law (8th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Peterson, R. & Skiba, R. (2001). Creating School Climates That Prevent School Violence. The Social Studies, 92(4), 167-175. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00377990109603997

Snyder, H. & Swahn, M. (2016). Juvenile suicides, 1981–1998. Youth Violence Research Bulletin..Ncjrs.org. Retrieved 29 July 2016, from https://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/196978/contents.html

Texas v Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989).

Vacca, R. & Bosher, W. (2008). Law and education. Newark, N.J.: LexisNexis.