A Judicial Cases Study on U.S. Public School Teachers' Rights and Liability

• Main Authors: Lin Hui-Hsiang, 林慧香
• Other Authors: Chiang, Fang-shen
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/00158731495227889139

碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 比較教育學系 === 94 === The topic of this thesis is a study of judicial cases on teachers' rights and liabilities in U.S. public schools. Besides court cases, it also mentions U.S. Constitution, the Amendments, state statutes, and judicial principles drawn from the common law. On the disputes of teacher’s rights and liabilities, it provides references for Taiwanese educational institutions through discussion and analyses of the final explanations and decisions of courts. In the research, U.S. Supreme Court cases are the main subject, while relevant federal circuit court cases and state supreme court cases are supplemental. After examining these cases, the rights of public school teachers are summarized into two categories: freedom and employment. The right of freedom contains speech, academics and religion. The right of employment includes employment, association, due process, appearance and privacy. Teachers at school may have tort liabilities in two ways: negligent and intentional. A careful review and examination of these judicial decisions revealed that public school teachers are protected by the Constitution and their rights are not affected due to their occupation. The court, in addressing the conflicts involving constitutional freedoms of teachers, sought to strike a balance between public interests in education and personal rights of teachers. In tort liability, the main missions of teachers are to take care of children in the school and to achieve the objectives of education. Once the disputes lead to lawsuits, the crucial points of judgment are whether the teachers had performed their duties appropriately, whether the procedures fulfilled the educational purposes, and whether it improved overall educational interests. The study also offers some suggestions. First, we should clearly define teacher’s legal status in order to clarify their rights and liabilities at school. Second, we must protect teachers’ rights on the premise of preserving students’ rights. Third, we can promote teacher’s knowledge of law to avoid unnecessary disputes. Fourth, teacher’s routine working hours and loads should be clearly specified. Last but not least, school regulations should be openly defined to promote the quality of education and protect all teachers and students’ rights.