William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

1. Lecture Notes
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

2.  How school law is related to ethics and the
practical art of leading in a school.
 How understanding the nature of law can
illuminate both its general intent as a
community moral resource and its immediate
goal of restricting, defining, or prescribing
educational and schooling practice.

3.  Introduce the idea that being ethical may
require that we occasionally challenge certain
laws because they run counter to some
fundamental moral principles and virtues.
 Describe the relationship of the school
administration to very specific prescriptions
and prohibitions and the human need to sense
what is just in specific circumstances.

4.  We conclude that the wisdom of leaders is as
critical to developing the moral architecture of
schools as it is to developing prudent law.

5.  Jurisprudence is the study of the nature of law.
 Educational leadership is also a practical study.
Scholars and practitioners are inevitably drawn
to moral philosophy.
 The policies and regulations make up
administrative law. Administrative law is
relevant to school administrators. Districts
create their own policies and regulations that
coincide with administrative law.

6.  Factor: Law
Emphases: The legal is embedded in the moral
and vice versa.
 Factor: Legal Intent
Emphases: The legal intent goes beyond the
literal rendering of written law.

7.  Factor: Empowerment
Emphases: The law can and often does protect
the powerless.
 Factor: Justice
Emphases: The fair decision treats equals
equally and unequals unequally.

8.  Factor: Wisdom
Emphases: The wise decision is based on
multiple considerations.
 Factor: Courage
Emphases: The virtue of courage is needed to
ensure that justice and wisdom are balanced
with renderings of the law.

10.  What is meant by the statement that the law
can be a moral asset?
It means that the law can be an aid to school
administrators as they make ethical decisions
and can sometimes aggravate rather than
improve situations.

11.  What should be done in schools for the well-
being of students and society?
Laws enacted to better serve students of colors
and challenges are all examples of a move
toward the betterment that is achieved through
moral law.

12. Trying to lead by relying on the dictates of the
law alone is at least as risky as trying to lead
with only grand moral theories in mind.
Educational leaders need to take guidance from
many relevant sources. The law is clearly one
such source.

14. No conscientious educator should ever think of
the law as an unimpeachable or exhaustive
force dictating clear and precise directives in
advance of all imaginable circumstances
(Simpson & Wagner, 2009).

15. Example: Child Abuse
Teachers are protected by the No Child Left
Behind Act with “Limitations on Liability of
Teachers.” This law protects administrators
and faculty from liability if a premature report
is made in good faith and without malice.

16.  The safest strategy is for the administrators to
report any mishap that comes his or her way.
 Administrative consideration of such matters
must always begin with the consideration of
the welfare of the child.

18.  Zero tolerance policies are a recent
development presumably representing the
belief of some that states’ administrative school
laws, district policies, rules, and regulations
were too often administered capriciously or
with prejudice.
 The penalty or punishment for the same
offense should be equal. What counts as the
same offense or the same penalty?

19. Equality- the state or quality of being equal
Fairness- the state, condition, or quality of
being fair
Justice- the quality of being just
Unfair- not fair; not conforming to approved
standards

20.  Justice is blind. The blindness of justice
protects her from bias when rendering a
decision in light of the law. The scales of
justice symbolize that she must know more
than the law alone and must feel for the law’s
administration.

22.  Is the law a source of wisdom?
 Should the law be a source of wisdom?
 Wisdom- knowledge of what is true or right
coupled with just judgment as to action

23.  Common sense is presumably also what many
people mean when they talk of wisdom and the
law.
 Wisdom is a good idea on which to close our
exploration into the mortality of ethical leaders.

24. 1. If you could change a current law that influences your
work as a principal, what would it be?
2. What are some key questions educational leaders
should address with stakeholders when attempting to
build a moral architecture for the organization?
3. How should an administrator handle a teacher’s report
of suspected child abuse?

25. Mr. Jones, a seventh-grade teacher, comes to Ms.Winston, the new principal at Raleigh
Middle School, to discuss an issue that he says is of growing concern to classroom
teachers. Mr. Jones says that Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committees are
more frequently determining that students with special needs should receive services in
regular classrooms and that many teachers believe that they are not prepared to provide
appropriate instruction for these students. “Many of us believe that the special education
teachers are the ones who should be mainly working with these kids,” he says. “They’re
the ones who have the specialized training.”
1. Ms.Winston believes that the larger issues raised by Mr. Jones must be addressed if
students with special needs are to be served appropriately. Her encounter with Mr. Jones
suggests that the school is in need of stronger leadership in the area of
A. establishing formal communication channels through which teachers’ concerns can be
addressed.
B. preparing and supporting teachers so they can meet the needs of all students.
C. providing increased opportunities for teachers to participate in school governance.
D. identifying more accurately the students who are in genuine need of special education
services.

26. 2. Mr. Jones also brings up the subject of a student in his class who has a disability and
receives special education services. This student is extremely disruptive and unruly.
Mr. Jones urges Ms.Winston to consider transferring the student to an alternative
education program (AEP). In this situation, Ms.Winston should be aware that
A. changes in the placement of a student who receives special education services may be
made only by the action of an admission, review and dismissal committee.
B. she must obtain the approval of the school’s special-needs coordinator before making
any change in the student’s placement.
C. changes in the placement of a student who receives special education services must be
initiated by a certified special education teacher.
D. Mr. Jones must document the reasons for his request before Ms.Winston can change
the student’s placement.

27. Several parents have contacted a middle school principal with regard to a concern they
have about the school’s extracurricular program. The parents say that after-school
activities sometimes end early, leaving students to wait for up to 45 minutes, usually
unattended, until the late bus arrives.
3. Which of the following would be the most important immediate step for the principal
to take in response to this issue?
A. Appoint a staff member to gather more information and report back as soon as
possible regarding the extent of the problem
B. Temporarily suspend extracurricular activities until a task force is formed and is able
to develop a permanent solution to the problem
C. Arrange for a staff member to be responsible for supervising any students who
remain after extracurricular activities end
D. Assign each student a back-up activity to report to if their chosen activity ends early

28. Simpson, D., & Wagner, P. (2009). Ethical Decision
Making in School Administration: Leadership as
Moral Architecture. Thousand Oaks: Sage.