An analysis of the laws affecting North Carolina public school teachers
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Abstract
This study has provided an up-to-date source of information for North Carolina public school teachers to help them understand the sources of school law, the legal basis for education, the system of state and federal courts, and their rights and responsibilities.
Appropriate federal and state judicial decisions, federal and state constitutional law, state statutes, State Board of Education policies, and the opinions of the Attorney General have been analyzed to determine legal principles in the following areas:
- constitutional rights of teachers as a public school employee and a private citizen which included the areas of freedom of speech and expression; academic freedom, freedom of religion; private life; personal appearance; loyalty;
- terms and conditions of employment which included certification, tenure, teacher's duties, due process for tenured teachers, procedural rights for nontenured teachers, dismissal for cause; and the
- teacher's liability for students.
Tort liability included strict liability; the intentional torts of assault and battery, defamation, and false imprisonment; the unintentional tort of negligence and its elements and defenses; educational malpractice; governmental immunity; and students' records. Of particular concern were assault and battery and child abuse cases as related to corporal punishment, the use of qualified privilege as a defense in defamation, and the option provided by the legislature for school boards to waive governmental immunity. North Carolina courts have determined that the fundamental principle of negligence cases in North Carolina is foreseeability of harm.
As a result of this study, it has been recommended that the study be updated on an ongoing basis to maintain an up-to-date source of legal information for North Carolina teachers. ln addition, a similar study has been recommended for other states. lt was further recommended that a study examine the developing case law in educational malpractice along with state legal restrictions which interfere with good educational practices.