Canine Manners Class for Dog Owners

C A N I N E S W I T H
M A N N E R S
C A L L I N G A L L D O G
O W N E R S
'Clients will work with their dogs using positive
reinforcement to teach commands and good behavior '
September 5, 12, 19, & 26
6:30-7:30 pm
Location: Kelley Kennels, Anytown, USA
F o r I n f o r m a t i o n C o n t a c t : JESS KELLEY,
TRAINER
SEC 10-K Analysis Grading Guide
ACC/423 Version 11
3
SEC 10-K Grading Guide
ACC/423 Version 11
Intermediate Financial Accounting III
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
University of Phoenix® is a registered trademark of Apollo

Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
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trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or
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trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply
endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation.
Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix® editorial
standards and practices.
Learning Team / Individual Assignment: SEC 10-K
AnalysisPurpose of Assignment
This assignment allows students to demonstrate their
understanding of the income taxes in financial reporting. Using
the financial statements of a publicly traded organization,
students will prepare a paper describing the components of
income taxes in both the balance sheet and income statement.
Students will also examine the Notes to the financial statements
and describe the required disclosures. Resources Required
SEC 10-K for Ford Motor, Company or Securities and Exchange
Commission's (SEC) Edgar filing systemGrading Guide
Content
Met
Partially Met
Not Met
Comments:
Writes a paper describing the amounts of current and deferred
income taxes.
Explains the items that affect both these classifications.

Provides details of the current and long-term portion of the
deferred taxes. Lists the Note number where the information is
located.
The paper is 350- to 700-words in length.
Total Available
Total Earned
3
#/X
Writing Guidelines
Met
Partially Met
Not Met
Comments:
The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page,

and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting
guidelines and meets course-level requirements.
Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a
reference page.
Paragraph and sentence transitions are present, logical, and
maintain the flow throughout the paper.
Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.
Rules of grammar and usage are followed including spelling and
punctuation.
Total Available
Total Earned

2
#/X
Assignment Total
#
X
#/X
Additional comments:
Required Resources
Text
Buczynski, S., & Hansen, C. B. (2014). The change leader in
education: Roles and strategies in the differentiated
environment. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
· Section 8.1: Understanding Adult-Learning Theory
· Reading this section will prepare you for the Final Project.
Preparation and work on this assignment begin in Week 3.
Section 8.2: Preparing to Teach
· Reading this section will prepare you for the first part of the
Final Project about Theory. Preparation and work on this
assignment begins in Week 3.
· Section 9.2: Seeking Professional Development
· Reading this section will prepare you for the Professional
Development Discussion in Week 5.
·
Shean, A. (Ed.). (2012). The final step: A capstone in
education. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
· Section 3.1: Learning Theory for Teaching
· Reading this section will prepare you for the first part of the
Final Project about Theory. Preparation and work on this
assignment begin in Week 3.
Multimedia
Ashford University. (2017). Real-life challenges in

education (Links to an external site.) [Interactivity]. Retrieved
from https://scorm-iad-prod.insops.net/
· This interactive provides information about real life
challenges in education. This interactive will assist you with the
Workshop Flyer discussion and Workshop Plan assignment.
Ashford University. (2017). Multigenerational Center
activity (Links to an external site.) [Interactivity]. Retrieved
from https://scorm-iad-prod.insops.net/
· This interactive provides information about the
Multigenerational Center. You will tour the center and learn
about the opportunities that the Center can offer you as a recent
graduate. This interactive will assist you with the components
of your Workshop Plan assignment.
·
Recommended Resources
Books
Honigsfeld, A & Cohan, A. (2015). Serving English language
learners. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
· Chapter 8: Lesson Planning for ELLs
· Chapter 9: Effective Strategies for ELA and Content-Literacy
Development
· Reading these chapters will prepare students in the ELS
Program for the Final Project. Read them only if you are in the
ELS Program.
Krogh, S. L., Fielstein, L., Phelps, P. H., & Newman, R.
(2015). Introduction to education: Choosing to teach. Retrieved
from https://content.ashford.edu/
· Chapter 3: How Students Learn
· Reading this chapter will prepare you for the first part of the
Final Project about Theory.
Willis, J., & Mitchell, G. (2014). The neuroscience of learning:
Principles and applications for educators. Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu/
· Section 2.2: What Gets Our Attention
· Section 4.3: Emotional Climate

· Reading these sections may assist you in completing the fourth
part of the Final Project about Strategies
·
Web Page
Red Mountain Multigenerational Center. (Links to an external
site.) (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.mesaparks.com/parks-
facilities/recreation-centers/red-mountain-multigenerational-
center
· This web page provides information about the Mesa, Arizona
Multigenerational Center and may assist you in your Workshop
Flyer discussion, and Workshop Plan Part I assignment this
week.
Accessibility Statement
Privacy Policy
BACD
As the activity coordinator, Mr. Coleman has set up family
engagement nights at his center. His
intent was to create fun and engaging activities that would help
build a sense of community
within the program. He invited a nutritionist, Mrs. Cabral, out
for the October family night to
encourage healthy eating during a time when most kids are
thinking about candy! Mrs. Cabral
introduced the four food groups to the children and talked about
a healthy way to balance what
you eat. She showed the kids the My Pyramid food group chart,
which is the USDA’s Guidance
for Early Childhood Programs.

The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Agarwal came to talk to Mr.
Coleman. They attended the
presentation together and their young son left the experience
thinking they were not healthy
because they do not eat meat due to their Hindu religious
beliefs. If you were Mr. Coleman, how
would you handle this situation?
BACOG
You have just been hired for your dream job and your first
assignment is to co-present a training session
to your colleagues with your new boss. You just completed
your degree in Cognitive Studies and have
learned a great deal about how people learn and the best ways to
present material to ensure that it is
retained. Your boss is very traditional and has created a very
text filled power point for the two of you
to read from in the training.
How will you share what you have learned in the program with
your boss and what ways will you
suggest you modify the presentation to ensure that it is
engaging and memorable, using brain based

strategies?
BAECDDI
Mrs. Weaver is the director of the preschool at the local
elementary school. One of her teachers, Mrs.
Davis has a child, Brooke, in her three-year-old classroom who
is in a wheelchair. Brooke’s mother came
to school to let Mrs. Weaver know that her child has come home
crying because Mrs. Davis does not
include her in activities where it is difficult for her wheelchair
to navigate the classroom. Brooke’s
mother let her know that she has spoken with Mrs. Davis, but
nothing has changed, and that Brooke is
now sharing she doesn’t want to go to school. If you were Mrs.
Weaver, what would you do?
BAECE

Mrs. Ashland, the daycare teacher, is greeting children as they
enter the room. Mr. Jones and
Caleb are greeted by Mrs. Ashland. Mr. Jones, who is visibly
irritated, states he does not want
Caleb playing in the housekeeping area. He states in their
culture; the kitchen is not a place for
men and he does not want him playing there during the day. He
also finds fault in his son playing
with the dolls and dressing them up. Mrs. Ashland responds
calmly and asks Mr. Jones if he and
his wife would be available to set up a time to talk about this
further. He agrees to come in
afterschool to discuss, but states, “Caleb is not allowed to play
in the kitchen today.” If you were
Mrs. Ashland, how would you handle the situation?
BAECE
Mrs. Ashland, the daycare teacher, is greeting children as they
enter the room. Mr. Jones and
Caleb are greeted by Mrs. Ashland. Mr. Jones, who is visibly

irritated, states he does not want
Caleb playing in the housekeeping area. He states in their
culture; the kitchen is not a place for
men and he does not want him playing there during the day. He
also finds fault in his son playing
with the dolls and dressing them up. Mrs. Ashland responds
calmly and asks Mr. Jones if he and
his wife would be available to set up a time to talk about this
further. He agrees to come in
afterschool to discuss, but states, “Caleb is not allowed to play
in the kitchen today.” If you were
Mrs. Ashland, how would you handle the situation?
BAECEA
Principal Marx hires a first year teacher right out of college.
He enjoys hiring first year teachers because
they are bringing new and innovative backgrounds with them
that the veteran teachers can learn from,
but the new teacher can also be shaped into the best teacher
possible learning from the veteran

teachers. At first the new teacher does well. About the second
month of school, teachers overhear her
complaining about certain students out loud to other teachers.
One day, she is overheard talking to a
group of families about the children in her classroom. She is
talking about behavior issues, special
education accommodations, etc. That same night she has posted
something on her social media account
about a student and uses a name. Teachers begin complaining
to the principal so that he will know
what is going on. How should Principal Marx address this
situation?
BACOG
You have just been hired for your dream job and your first
assignment is to co-present a training session
to your colleagues with your new boss. You just completed
your degree in Cognitive Studies and have
learned a great deal about how people learn and the best ways to
present material to ensure that it is
retained. Your boss is very traditional and has created a very
text filled power point for the two of you

to read from in the training.
How will you share what you have learned in the program with
your boss and what ways will you
suggest you modify the presentation to ensure that it is
engaging and memorable, using brain based
strategies?
BAID
Mark, an instructional designer working for consulting
company, was just assigned a project to work
with a local company to develop training focused on increasing
worker productivity. The company,
hereby referred as the “stakeholder,” is convinced that training
is the solution. Once Mark begins the
project and does his own needs assessment, he finds that
training may not be the most effective
solution. He interviews several employees and concludes that
the lack of productivity is rooted more in
the negative views that the employees have toward the
company’s culture. The consulting company has
signed a contract for $30,000 with the stakeholder. Knowing
that training will most likely not solve the
productivity problem, Mark is now in an ethical dilemma.
Should Mark tell the stakeholder, as well as his boss, that the

training may not be the answer and risk
losing the contract or should Mark follow through with the
training seeing that it’s what the stakeholder
has decided will fix the problem?
If you were Mark, how would you handle this situation? Be sure
to reference any professional standards
and provide justification for your decisions.
BALS
For some time, a local militia group has been meeting in one of
the library meeting rooms each Tuesday
evening. There have been complaints from patrons about
inflammatory messages on their t-shirts
(examples: Anarchy rules! & Women belong in the home).
When you told the militia group about these
complaints, they voluntarily moved their meeting time to the
hour before closing so they are the only
patrons using the library.
Members of the militia group have begun checking out and
reading library materials. They are using the
library computers before and during their meetings over the last
month. Last night you noticed papers

left behind in the printer. As you collected these, you realized
they seemed to be instructions on how to
create explosive devices. As you examined them more closely, a
militia member came to collect them
and you handed them over.
Not sure what to do, you were still thinking this over when two
Homeland Security officers appeared at
the library the next day. The officers wanted access to all
computers used by members of the militia so
they could explore the website visitation history, and they also
wanted to know if any of the militia
group had checked out library materials, or viewed any on the
premises. If they had, Homeland Security
wanted a copy of the library records, and the titles of any
materials used in the library.
• What are you going to do?
• Will you help Homeland Security and turn over the library
records of the militia group
members?
• Will you allow them to search each computer, and tell them
about materials you noticed the
group examining?
• What other options might you have?

Refer to the Library Bill of Rights
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill or The
ALA Code
of Ethics
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/conten
t/proethics/codeofethics/Code%20of
%20Ethics%20of%20the%20American%20Library%20Associati
on.pdf
in your response, and explain how the Bill of Rights and/or
Code of Ethics does or does not apply to this
situation. Thoroughly justify your answer.
Refer to the Library Bill of Rights
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill or The
ALA Code
of Ethics
t/proethics/codeofethics/Code%20of
%20Ethics%20of%20the%20American%20Library%20Associati
on.pdf
in your response, and explain how the Bill of Rights and/or
Code of Ethics does or does not apply to this
situation. Thoroughly justify your answer.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
t/proethics/codeofethics/Code%20of%20Ethics%20of%20the%2
0American%20Library%20Association.pdf
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
EDU 499 Professional Standards by Program
BA Education
Studies
InTASC Standards
http://programs.ccsso.org/projects/interstate_new_teacher_asses
sment_and_support_consortium/
BA Child
Development
BA Early
Childhood

Education
BA Early
Childhood
Education
Administration
BA Early
Childhood
Development
with
Differentiated
Instruction
NAEYC Standards
https://families.naeyc.org/accredited-article/10-naeyc-program-
standards
BA
Instructional
Design
ISTE Standards
https://www.iste.org/standards
BA English as a
Second
Language
TESOL Standards
http://www.tesol.org/advance-the-field/standards

BA Library
Science
BALS students can use any of the following Professional
Standards:
ALSC (Assoc. for Library Service to Children) Competencies
for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries (III
Programing Skills)
http://www.ala.org/alsc/edcareeers/alsccorecomps
http://programs.ccsso.org/projects/interstate_new_teacher_asses
sment_and_support_consortium/
https://families.naeyc.org/accredited-article/10-naeyc-program-
standards
https://www.iste.org/standards
http://www.tesol.org/advance-the-field/standards
http://www.ala.org/alsc/edcareeers/alsccorecomps
EDU 499 Professional Standards by Program
ALA’s Core Competences of Librarianship (7. Continuing
Education and Lifelong Learning )
http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/sites/ala.org.educationcare
ers/files/content/careers/corecomp/corecompeten
ces/finalcorecompstat09.pdf
Additional standards for librarians:
ALA links to standards for many kinds of
libraries:
http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecom
pspecial/knowledgecompetencies
YALSA focus on Young Adults
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines/yacompetencies2010
ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School
Librarians (2010)
http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aasleduca

tion/schoollibrary/2010_standards_with_rubrics_a
nd_statements_1-31-11.pdf
Non- ALA standards:
SLA (Special Libraries) https://www.sla.org/about-
sla/competencies/
Future-Ready Librarian Framework
https://www2.follettlearning.com/projectconnect/pdfs/future-
ready-librarian-
framework_follett.pdf
BA Cognitive
Studies
APA (Counselors and Psychologists):
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Gifted and talented:
http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/national-
standards-gifted-and-talented-education
Special education:
https://www.cec.sped.org/Standards
School psychologists:
http://www.soe.unc.edu/academics/requirements/standards/NCD
PI_School_Psychologists_Standards.pdf
ers/files/content/careers/corecomp/corecompetences/finalcoreco
mpstat09.pdf
ers/files/content/careers/corecomp/corecompetences/finalcoreco

mpstat09.pdf
http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/careers/corecomp/corecom
pspecial/knowledgecompetencies
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines/yacompetencies2010
tion/schoollibrary/2010_standards_with_rubrics_and_statements
_1-31-11.pdf
tion/schoollibrary/2010_standards_with_rubrics_and_statements
_1-31-11.pdf
https://www.sla.org/about-sla/competencies/
ready-librarian-framework_follett.pdf
ready-librarian-framework_follett.pdf
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/national-
standards-gifted-and-talented-education
https://www.cec.sped.org/Standards
http://www.soe.unc.edu/academics/requirements/standards/NCD
PI_School_Psychologists_Standards.pdf
Program:Bachelor of Arts in Administration Early Childhood
Education
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Demonstrate knowledge of child development
principles, including cognitive, language, physical and affective
domains, in creating environments that are healthy, supportive,
and challenging for children.
PLO 2. Analyze the influence and impact of families and
communities on a child’s learning and development.
· PLO 3. Design and assess developmentally appropriate
strategies and programs promoting positive development and

learning for children.
· PLO 4 Apply leadership principles in directing and managing
a child care setting.
PLO 5 Identify components of personnel management in the
recruiting, hiring, and maintenance of staff in quality child care
settings.
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Child Development
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Utilize knowledge of child development to construct and
evaluate curriculum that effectively addresses the stages of
development including cognitive, language, physical and
affective development of young children.
PLO 2: Analyze the influence and impact of families and
communities on a child’s learning and development.
PLO 3: Describe how family structure and cultural backgrounds
influence communication processes in a child’s environment.
PLO 4: Evaluate the critical role of play in children’s learning
and development.
PLO 5: Apply their knowledge as an advocate for children,
families, childcare, and education.
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Studies
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Apply knowledge of brain functioning to diverse ways
of learning and teaching.
PLO 2: Examine cognitive development and the impact of
learning across the lifespan.
PLO 3: Evaluate the unique needs of learners with
developmental delays, brain-behavior relationships, and
cognitive advances, and programs to address these needs.

PLO 4: Compare and contrast changes in the child and adult
brain over time and the impact on cognitive functioning.
PLO 5: Integrate environmental and cultural theories into
teaching and learning strategies.
PLO 6: Investigate an area of cognitive functions and processes
using foundational research skills.
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Development
with Differentiated Instruction
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Synthesize theories, processes and approaches in the
study of child development from diverse perspectives across
domains.
PLO 2: Analyze theories which address the interrelationship of
child, family and community, and culture on the growth,
behavior, and development of children.
PLO 3:Compile evidence based strategies that demonstrate an
awareness of exceptionalities and cultural diversity within the
field of child development.
PLO 4: Assess the impact of contemporary issues and trends
relating to the field of child development and their multiple
influences on current practice and knowledge.
PLO 5: Propose diverse models of inclusion to emphasize
access, participation, and partnerships with children and
families.
PLO 6: Apply professional and ethical practice aligned to
national standards to include critical thinking, individual
reflection, and collaboration.
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education

PLO’s:
PLO 1: Demonstrate knowledge of child development
principles, including cognitive, language, physical and affective
domains, in creating environments that are healthy, supportive,
and challenging for children
PLO 2: Analyze the influence and impact of families and
communities on a child’s learning and development
PLO 3: Design and assess developmentally appropriate
strategies and programs promoting positive development and
learning for children
PLO 4: Identify components of personnel management in the
recruiting, hiring, and maintenance of staff in quality child care
settings
PLO 5: Demonstrate knowledge of fiscal, legal, ethical, and
program requirements in quality child care settings
Program: Bachelor of Arts in English Language Learner Studies
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Apply concepts, linguistic theories, research,
knowledge of the structure of English, and sociolinguistics to
facilitate the acquisition of English for English Language
Learners
PLO 2. Analyze the influences of culture and diversity as it
affects second language learning
PLO 3. Apply knowledge of meta-linguistics in second
language development in constructing multiple identities
PLO 4 Describe standards-based practices and strategies for
developing and integrating English listening, speaking, reading

and writing skills in instructional settings
PLO 5 Demonstrate knowledge of history, research and
current practices in the field of second language acquisition and
ELL
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Design effective curriculum, instruction and assessment
to meet the needs of diverse learners
PLO 2: Demonstrate knowledge of child and adolescent
development in the cognitive, social, physical, and emotional
domains
PLO 3: Identify the unique needs of special learners and adapt
curriculum and instruction to meet these needs
PLO 4: Apply alignment practices of standards, instruction and
assessment to identified academic, district and state standards,
goals and priorities as part of the planning and material
selection process
PLO 5: Apply foundational research skills to a topic of interest
in an area of education
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Instructional Design
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Design instructional and training interventions and
assessments for online, place-based, and blended delivery
PLO 2: Apply the results of learning, task, performance, and
other analyses to the design of training and instruction
PLO 3: Apply evaluations of technologies for developing,
delivering, and assessing instructional and training

interventions
PLO 4: Distinguish how different principles and theories of
learning, design, and assessment influence design processes and
outcomes
PLO 5: Develop plans to manage collaborative processes and
participants typically involved in an instructional design project
PLO 6: Respond appropriately to ethical, legal, and political
factors influencing instructional design projects for diverse
learners and contexts
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Library Science
PLO’s:
PLO 1: Synthesize input from library patrons and knowledge of
resources to provide solutions to information, academic and
individual needs.
PLO 2: Research solutions utilizing technology, information,
programs or resources to meet the diverse needs of all patrons.
PLO 3: Evaluate customer service strategies to promote a
welcoming environment and culture of learning.
PLO 4: Construct ethical responses to contemporary issues
impacting libraries and library patrons.
PLO 5 Apply learning strategies that teach research and
information skills to diverse learners .

What is Special Education? 1
iStockphoto/Thinkstock
Pre-Test
1. You can use the terms disability and handicap
interchangeably. T/F
2. The history of special education began in Europe. T/F
3. The first American legislation that protected students with
disabilities was passed in the 1950s. T/F
4. All students with disabilities should be educated in special
education classrooms. T/F
5. Special education law is constantly reinterpreted. T/F
Answers can be found at the end of the chapter.
8Contemporary Concerns
Bjanka Kadic/age fotostock/Superstock
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
• Identify sources of educational funding, and describe how
traditional state funding formulas can result in
school inequities.
• Cite federal legislation and judicial decisions that affect
teachers’ legal responsibilities and civil rights.
• Describe various school choice alternatives and the
characteristics of each.
• Describe teachers’ responsibilities to students.

School Funding 8.1
Educate every child as if he were your own.
—Rachel McMillan
From its earliest beginnings, public education in the United
States has had to deal with vari-
ous concerns and controversies. Schools have evolved side by
side with an evolving demo-
cratic national governing structure. Thus, questions about what
education should look like
and who it should serve in a democracy have provoked
continuing controversies. For exam-
ple, in the earliest colonial times, there was no expectation that
every citizen should be taxed
to provide education for all children; likewise, funding remains
an issue today. As well, con-
troversies have always surrounded models of schooling. Should
the teacher be a “sage on the
stage” who delivers lectures to obediently listening pupils? Or
is facilitative teaching more
appropriate in a democratic society? Can both models exist,
with parents allowed to choose
between them? Teacher rights and responsibilities have changed
over time also. Rules gov-
erning teachers’ personal lives, such as the expectation that they
should remain unmarried,
have been replaced by far looser ethical demands. In short,
issues have always arisen and
show no signs of disappearing.
In this chapter, we investigate three general topics of concern:
school funding, school choice,
and teacher rights and responsibilities. Because each topic

contains a number of issues and
controversies, read about them with an eye to deciding what
your own views are and how
they might develop in the future as you begin your teaching
career.
8.1 School Funding
School funding became an issue well before the United States
was established as a country. In
the 1640s, the Massachusetts colony led the way by requiring
any settlement of 50 or more
households to hire and pay for a reading and writing teacher. A
settlement of 100 or more
households taxed property owners for the purpose of
establishing a grammar school. The
colonial view was that property owners were the wealthier
citizens and should, therefore, be
expected to fund education. This long-ago view set the
precedent for much of today’s school
funding, which continues to be provided through state property
taxes. The Bill of Rights,
established by 1791, made no mention of rights regarding
education. This fact, coupled with
the tradition of individual colonies creating their own school
funding laws, led to little federal
spending on education. In fact, colonies and territories applying
for statehood were required
to agree to fund their own education.
Over time, federal spending on education has increased,
particularly in times of need such
as during the depression years of the 1930s, or when
international competition has arisen,
such as in the 1950s, when Russia led the way into space.
However, because federal spending
on education today constitutes only about 5% to 6% of the total

expenditures, local and state
revenues are extremely important for school finance. Sources of
funding and the percentages
provided by each are determined by individual state and local
governments. Basically, taxes
are generated through a (1) personal income tax placed on
individual earnings; (2) state sales
tax placed on items of purchase; (3) personal property tax on
homes, personal items, and busi-
nesses; and (4) privilege tax placed on licenses such as a
driver’s licenses, hunting licenses,
and so on. In some states, revenue is generated from legalized
gambling or (5) a state lottery.
Section 8.1School Funding
Personal Property Tax
Historically, an individual’s wealth was
measured by land, and taxes were lev-
ied accordingly. This situation remains
true today regarding public school-
ing—the mainstay of financial sup-
port for schools comes from revenue
generated from personal property
taxes. Because a high percentage of tax
money for education comes from prop-
erty owners, a vote to increase school
taxes often faces opposition. For retired
homeowners who no longer have chil-
dren in school, or those persons on
fixed incomes, paying school taxes can
be seen as an unwanted and unfair bur-
den. Furthermore, some property own-
ers complain it is unjust that they must

pay for schools, when families who rent apartments or homes
are exempt. It should be pointed
out, however, that a renter’s landlord must pay the taxes, which
no doubt show up as a por-
tion of the renter’s monthly payment. Additionally, some
parents whose children go to private
schools feel they are unfairly saddled by school taxes; after all,
they are already burdened by
costly tuition fees. Aside from these arguments, others have
pointed out that schools are not
producing sufficient outcomes, and thus they are undeserving of
revenue increases. In those
school districts where there is the most dissatisfaction with
local schools, attempts to increase
taxes are usually unsuccessful.
During the latter part of the 1970s and through the 1980s, many
states across the country passed
tax and spending limitation laws that fundamentally altered the
way schools had traditionally
been financed (Carroll, Krop, Arkes, Morrison, & Flanagan,
2005). These laws often led to a
decrease in school funding. One of the most well known and
well documented of these funding
changes occurred with the passage of Proposition 13 in
California. This amendment to the state
constitution, which passed in 1978, capped the amount of
property tax a homeowner would
pay and rolled back tax rates. It also shifted the primary source
of funding for schools from local
property taxes to the state’s general funds (Carroll et al., 2005;
Wassmer, 2006). While Proposi-
tion 13 reduced tax rates for homeowners, it had the added
effect of significantly reducing the
tax dollars collected by the state and local counties used for
education funding. While other fac-

tors have contributed to the reduction in funding across a
number of states, many attribute the
downturn in school funding to laws such as Proposition 13
(Carroll et al., 2005).
Assess Yourself
1. Issues that affect people’s pocketbooks tend to create the
greatest dissension. What do
you think about property taxes being the main source of revenue
for schools? Does this
type of tax unfairly penalize those who own property? Or does
this system seem fair?
2. What alternatives would you propose?
AP Images/Rick Bowmer
The fact that education funding at the local level
comes from property taxes virtually ensures that
the topic will be surrounded by heated debate.
Inequities in School Finance
The most obvious limitation of school districts’ heavy reliance
on local property taxes is the
disparity found in local schools. In communities where property
valuations are higher, the tax
bases will inevitably be larger, which means that the district’s
schools will mirror that afflu-
ence. Thus, one school district might have an ample operating
budget while another district
can barely make ends meet.

To better understand this problem, consider reading the now-
classic Savage Inequalities:
Children in America’s Schools by Jonathan Kozol (1991). After
touring schools from East
St. Louis, Illinois, to San Antonio, Texas, Kozol reported his
findings. In poorer schools, he
observed clogged toilets; bathrooms without hot water, soap, or
paper products; playgrounds
without swing sets or jungle gyms;
and outdated textbooks. The pres-
ence of support staff was negligible.
At the opposite end of the financial
spectrum, Kozol toured schools with
carpeted hallways, music suites, and
lounges for students. Study halls were
fully equipped with the latest technol-
ogy, and libraries were stocked with
state-of-the-art equipment. There
were opportunities for students to
perform or study abroad. He noted
modern school buildings surrounded
by trees and landscaped gardens, with
spacious playing fields for sports. In
recent years, inequities such as those
described by Kozol (1991) have pro-
vided an impetus for school finance
reform at the federal, state, and judi-
cial levels.
Federal Government’s Response
The federal government’s role is and has been somewhat limited
regarding school finance.
However, the Department of Education, a Cabinet-level office
created in 1979 by Presi-
dent Jimmy Carter, distributes grant money to schools. Most

federal assistance has been
in the form of categorical aid, money that is earmarked for a
specific school need such as
a library, computers, reading programs, transportation, or free
lunches for economically
disadvantaged students. A large portion of categorical grants are
reserved for schools with
a high proportion of children from low-income families or other
children whose special
educational needs put them at a disadvantage. The drawback to
categorical aid is that there
are strings attached; the schools must use the monies only for
the designated purposes.
There are strict federal guidelines that accompany these dollars.
Stringent documentation
is required from those schools accepting categorical aid. A
national study in 2008 found
that the state average dependence on categorical grants was 25
grants. By 2012, the aver-
age was 16, with Florida and Montana depending on just one,
and Iowa on 64 (Smith, Gas-
parian, Perry, & Capinpin, 2013).
1a_photography/iStock/Thinkstock
Inequities in education have serious and long-
lasting effects on the lives of students and their
families.
During the 1980s, restrictions on local school administrators
eased under the Reagan admin-
istration when another type of federal assistance, known as a
block grant, was made avail-

able. Simply put, block grants are large sums of money that
come with fewer federal restric-
tions, which means that schools are given more latitude as to
how money can be spent to best
serve students’ needs. Regardless of the federal government’s
role in financing schools, the
major financial burden of schools continues to rest on states and
the local school districts.
States’ Response
In an effort to correct inequities, states are asked to equalize
funding among districts by issu-
ing flat grants, equalization grants, and foundation grants. A
flat grant is the oldest, intro-
duced in the mid-19th century. It is also the most unequal
method of financing schools. A
fixed amount of money is divided by the number of students
attending, which explains why
it is crucial for districts to keep meticulous records on
attendance. Unfortunately, flat grants
do not take into consideration the extra costs associated with
educating special education
or English language learners, or the comparative wealth of a
district. An equalization grant
addresses the inequities of the flat grant. It requires that
wealthier districts give back surplus
revenue to the state, which will in turn distribute excess funds
to poorer districts. A founda-
tion grant is designed to provide poorer districts with state aid
to compensate for insufficient
local funding. Hence, local school districts that have trouble
raising revenue because of low
property values can receive assistance from the state to make up
for these deficiencies. Most
states require a minimum property tax for local communities to
qualify for this grant.

Judicial Response
In some states, the Department of Education is in conflict with
state courts regarding the
outcome of inequities in the funding of school systems. One of
several landmark court cases
affecting school funding was Serrano v. Priest (1971), which
charged that the current system
for financing schooling in California was unconstitutional. The
plaintiffs argued that using
property taxes to finance schools violated the Fourteenth
Amendment, which provides “equal
protection” to all citizens. The Supreme Court of California
upheld the parents’ claim that the
wealth of the state—not the wealth of property owners from
local school districts—should
be the determining factor for financing schools because it was
clear that property taxes in
poorer communities could not compete with property taxes in
the wealthier communities.
The court instructed the California State Legislature to revise
the system to separate school
funding from local property taxes.
After this ruling, cases were filed in several other states,
including in Texas. In the San Antonio
Independent School District v. Rodriguez case, a federal circuit
court ruled the same as in the
Serrano case. However, in 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court
reversed that decision and ruled that
this funding practice was not unconstitutional because the right
to an education is not guar-
anteed by the U.S. Constitution. Nonetheless, the U.S. Supreme
Court (1973) did recognize
that there were inherent disparities in educational expenditures
because of a flawed system

of property tax funding. The court noted that these kinds of
issues should be addressed by
state legislatures or state courts, not by federal courts.
An example of funding inequities subsequently being addressed
at the state level took place
in 1989. The Texas State Supreme Court found that the system
of relying on property taxes for
Section 8.2School Choice
school revenue had led to inequities in pupil expenditures. In
response, the Texas State Legis-
lature passed “Robin Hood” legislation in 1993 to redistribute
funds from wealthier districts
to poorer districts (i.e., districts that had lower property
values). Since then, a number of
cases have been brought before state courts based on the
Supreme Court’s San Antonio deci-
sion. In early 2014, there were 10 such cases pending. In March
of that year, for example, the
Kansas Supreme Court declared that the state’s schools were
funded inequitably. A second
part of the suit, which argued that the state did not provide
adequate funding to be in com-
pliance with the state’s constitution, was sent back to the lower
courts (Heck, 2014). These
sister issues—equitable funding and adequate funding—are the
primary ones dealt with by
the various state courts, and the courts can be quite assertive in
their judgments. In 2014, for
example, the Washington State Legislature was taken to task by
the state’s Supreme Court
for repeatedly not providing adequate funding according to the

Washington constitution and
despite the Court’s orders. As of mid-2014, threats had been
made to the legislature by the
Court that included leveling fines, forcing property to be sold,
or removing other funding from
the legislature’s powers (Camden, 2014).
8.2 School Choice
Decreases in school funding and the pressure on schools and
districts to innovate and improve
student achievement have also led to the emergence of a greater
number of schooling options.
While there have always been calls for more school choice in
the United States, the voices have
grown louder as the impact of high-stakes testing has expanded
(Deming, Hastings, Kane, &
Staiger, 2011; Wolf, 2008). School personnel, parents,
community members, and lawmakers
are asking for more school options and for greater levels of
involvement and accountability.
States, districts, and a range of organizations have responded.
There is now a wider range
of schooling options from which parents can choose. So, what
exactly are these options, and
how do they differ from one another? This section will consider
several alternative schooling
models: charter schools, magnet schools, private schools,
innovation schools, schools within
schools, single-sex education, and homeschooling.
Charter Schools
In 1991, Minnesota became the first state to pass a law
permitting the creation of public
schools that could have more flexibility in their governance
while still accepting account-
ability requirements. Since the 1990s, all but eight states have

passed legislation permitting
this model, which is known as the charter school. The original
idea of the Minnesota model,
as designed by progressive education reformers, was that
“charter schools could be an effec-
tive mechanism for incubating reform and improvement in a
small number of experimental
schools,” eventually spreading to a wide number of public
schools (Fabricant & Fine, 2012, p.
18). It was surmised that “freeing a sector of schools from the
red tape and formulaic prac-
tices of bureaucratized education, new forms of practice would
be unleashed that, in turn,
would improve academic performance” (p. 19).
Charter schools are public schools, yet they differ from
traditional public schools in many
ways. From their beginnings in Minnesota, they have had
greater flexibility as to how they
operate and the programs they have in place. Charter schools
operate under a performance
contract, or a charter, which frees them from many of the rules
and regulations under which
traditional public schools operate. The charter is agreed upon
between a local school district,
county, state, or sponsoring agency and the organization,
agency, or private corporation that
plans to run the school. The contract details the school’s
mission, program goals, and the stu-
dents who will be served by the school. The length of time for
which the charter is granted is

also outlined in the contract. A charter must be renewed after a
specified period of time, gen-
erally 3 to 5 years. Many factors are used to determine if a
charter is renewed, including stu-
dent performance measures and the financial sustainability of
the school.
Charter schools can take any number
of forms, some innovative, others more
traditional. The first Minnesota pub-
lic charter school was a Montessori
school, a model that was already found
nationally, but typically private. Other
models have begun small and then,
once successful, become more wide-
spread. The KIPP Academy (Knowl-
edge Is Power Program) is an example
of this. KIPP is also an example of a
network of charter schools that are
run by a non-profit foundation. Other
charters, such as the Edison Schools,
Inc., are run as a business, using pub-
lic funds as a private profit-making
endeavor. Finally, there are charters
that have been described as “Mom and
Pop” schools. These are typically a sin-
gle school created by “experienced educators, frustrated with
the district bureaucracy and
trying to model a different kind of educational strategy for
disadvantaged kids” (Fabricant &
Fine, 2012, p. 22). The Folk Arts/Cultural Treasures school in
Philadelphia is an example. Per-
haps the most interesting creation of charter schools came about
in New Orleans after 2005’s
Hurricane Katrina demolished so much of the city. It is now the
country’s one city where the

majority of students (78%) attend a charter school.
While charters have greater freedom than traditional public
schools, they are held to the
same level of accountability when it comes to the academic
achievement of their students
and the financial state of their schools. Thus, while charter
schools might have the freedom to
operate differently from other schools, their students typically
take the same tests as others
in the district and state.
Frequently, charters will focus on new teaching methods or
target a segment of students not
well served by the traditional school model. Whereas traditional
schools must enroll all stu-
dents based on where they live, charter schools are not
necessarily bound by a specific atten-
dance boundary and have the ability to enroll students from a
larger geographical area. If the
number of students who would like to attend the charter school
exceeds the spaces available,
a lottery system is often utilized to determine who will be
admitted.
Because the original impetus for the charter school movement
was to foster innovation,
increase school choice, and be more responsive to the needs of
students and parents, there
Associated Press/Julio Cortez
Tennis star Andre Agassi began a charter school in
Newark, NJ, in 2014. Charter schools have become
increasingly popular in recent years, as traditional
schools have struggled to demonstrate success.

has also been greater discretion and latitude given to charter
schools to determine what cur-
riculum they will use. Support for such innovations is a
hallmark of the Race to the Top (RTTT)
legislation discussed in earlier chapters.
While the laws of each state differ, charter schools generally
receive their funding from the
state or district in a manner similar to that of the local school
district. Charter schools, how-
ever, have to negotiate and often contract outside a district for
space to operate. Finding an
appropriate physical space to serve a school’s students that has
the proper zoning and is
affordable is often one of the biggest roadblocks for charter
schools to overcome.
Decisions about curriculum, staffing, and budgeting are made
by the charter school’s govern-
ing board, which is separate from a school district’s school
board. Because a charter school is
a public school, the teachers must adhere to the same licensing
requirements as their coun-
terparts in traditional schools. However, the hiring practices for
a charter school are often
different and are not always bound to follow the guidelines of
any union or bargaining agree-
ments that may exist with a district. This factor has placed
charter schools front and center
in the debate over what factors support or limit the impact of
public schools to be successful.

Since the charter school movement began in Minnesota, charter
schools have increased in
popularity throughout most of the United States. By 2012, there
were about 4,900 charter
schools with an average 400 new schools opening each year
(Butrymowicz, 2012). Although
charter schools have existed for more than 20 years, they can
still be considered a new effort
and approach to education, given their varying models, lack of a
single educational theoretical
basis, and mixed results from testing. One ongoing problem is
related to the work expecta-
tions of charter school teachers. KIPP teachers, for example,
have been found working about
65 hours per week, 25% longer than teachers in their areas’
regular public schools (Fabricant
& Fine, 2012). While charter teachers must hold proper
credentials, they tend to have less
experience than others. One major source of charter teachers
has been the Teach for America
program, which, while hiring outstanding university graduates,
provides little teacher train-
ing to prospective educators, who are generally without any
experience and who view teach-
ing as a transitional job rather than as a real career. Thus,
retention and expertise are prob-
lems that charter schools often must face. One early, as well as
continuing, expectation has
been that charter schools would make traditional public schools
sit up, take notice, and feel
the competitive urge to improve themselves. This, however,
does not seem to have been the
case. According to David Harris, a mayor’s assistant for charter
school development in India-
napolis, “The thought was that ‘a higher tide raises all boats,’”
but “[i]t’s been a disappoint-

ment both in Indianapolis and around the country” (as cited in
Butrymowicz, p. 29).
Despite continuing problems and controversies, charter schools
have many enthusiastic sup-
porters who are willing to participate in the next stages of
development. Ben Adams (2012), an
education reformer from West Virginia, one of a few states that
prohibit charter schools, points
to his own state’s struggles to move up from its rock-bottom
educational evaluations and sees
charter schools as an effective solution. School choice, he
argues, is key: “Public charter schools
are simply another way to give parents choices in education for
their children” (p. 25).
However, it is possible to create a unique model of public
education without relying on a
special charter. Magnets, as we know, attract only substances
containing iron, and magnet
schools are designed to attract students with a special interest or
from a specific population.
Magnet Schools
Magnet schools are public schools created in the early 1970s in
an effort to help desegregate
public schools. The goal was to entice students to attend schools
outside their neighborhood
and attendance boundary by offering a unique and different
school experience. When legisla-
tion was passed to create magnet schools, it was explicitly
stated that the focus was to have

schools that “offer a special curriculum capable of attracting
substantial numbers of students
of different racial backgrounds” (U.S. Department of Education,
2012, “Program Description,”
para. 2).
Magnet programs originally aimed to eliminate, reduce, or
prevent “minority group isolation
in elementary and secondary schools” while strengthening
“students’ knowledge of academic
subjects and their grasp of . . . marketable vocational skills”
(U.S. Department of Education,
2012, “Program Description,” para. 1). The special curriculum
of a magnet school attracts sub-
stantial numbers of students from different social, economic,
ethnic, and racial backgrounds
and provides greater opportunities for voluntary and court-
ordered desegregation efforts to
succeed. Some of the program choices offered by magnet
schools include math and science,
gifted and talented, language immersion, performing or visual
arts, vocational training, and
academic remediation programs (Corwin & Schneider, 2007).
Magnet schools have evolved over time, and balancing racial
diversity is no longer center stage.
In fact, in 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Parents
Involved in Community Schools v. Seat-
tle School District that students can no longer be assigned to
schools through a race-based lot-
tery unless the district is still under a court order to desegregate
its schools. Magnet schools,
however, have maintained their attraction for a diverse group of
students and parents.
Magnet schools are similar to charter schools in that they seek

to offer unique learning expe-
riences that traditional public schools do not offer. However,
they still operate under the
school district and school board and are bound to follow the
same rules as their traditional
public school counterparts, whereas charter schools have much
more flexibility in hiring and
operational management. Magnet school teachers also must
follow the same credentialing
and licensing guidelines as all other public school teachers.
Magnet schools, like charter schools, have a reputation for
being more innovative than tradi-
tional schools. The argument is often made that because parents
and students choose these
schools, students will be more motivated to learn and parents
will be more invested in help-
ing their schools succeed. Although magnet schools generally
earn high praise, it has been
said that they do at times “develop bizarre programs, such as
one devoted to the care and
feeding of animals or another focused on athletic skills”
(Corwin & Schneider, 2007, p. 146).
By 2007, more than 1 million students were attending more than
3,000 magnet schools, with
80% of them in urban areas. Well over half of these had been
placed in high-minority neigh-
borhoods with the purpose of interesting white families in
attending, thus continuing the
tradition of enhancing integration (Corwin & Schneider, 2007;
Greene, 2005).
Private Schools
Historically, parents who could afford it have always had the
option of sending their children

to private schools, which are financially supported by parents or
other organizations, rather
than with public funds. There are, of course, advantages and
disadvantages to private school-
ing. One advantage is that because of their small enrollments,
private schools can offer a
close-knit family atmosphere. Because of their smaller size,
private schools can also provide
more opportunities for teacher and student involvement. It is
easier for students to establish
personal relationships with teachers. On the other hand,
although private schools are typi-
cally supported by tuition and possibly by added grant money,
funds for salaries are still lim-
ited. Teachers can almost always expect to be paid less than
their public school counterparts.
A disadvantage for students is that private schools, unlike
public schools, are free to accept
and retain only those students who comply with their mission.
Thus, disruptive students can
be expelled more easily when their behavior creates a problem
for school officials.
Some parents choose private religious
schools for the education of their chil-
dren. Generally, there are two types
of religious schools: (1) parochial
schools, which are generally owned
and operated by a church or religious
sect, and (2) independent private reli-
gious schools that have no legal ties to

a church. An elected board of trustees
operates the latter. As court rulings over
the past decades have confirmed a secu-
lar public school curriculum, many par-
ents opt for private religious schooling
for their children. (There is more about
these schools later in this section.)
In addition to private schools with a
religious orientation, there are many
that are founded for any number of other reasons, and these are
known collectively as inde-
pendent schools. Because they typically receive no federal
funding or church backing, they are
free to engage in the philosophical approach to education of
their choosing. This advantage,
however, is offset by federal requirements when a school’s
students receive funding for ser-
vices such as special education or English language learning. In
such a case, the school must
adhere to federal requirements such as those attached to civil
rights: prohibition of discrimi-
nation based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or
age. Often, independent schools
choose not to accept federal funding in order to remain truly
independent.
Clearly, one of the biggest disadvantages for parents who
choose private schooling is the cost
factor. Parents pay tuition while simultaneously paying taxes
for public school education.
However, the advent of school vouchers has permitted some
low-income families to send their
children to private schools. Case in Point: Using Vouchers to
Level the Playing Field describes

one such situation. Historically speaking, vouchers were the
forerunners of charter schools,
being “the preferred trigger for school reform. By providing
cash value for each child’s edu-
cation, vouchers expected to promote transactions of choice
and, in turn, best fit between
student and school” (Fabricant & Fine, 2012, p. 17). Voucher
programs essentially provide
a free market choice, allowing consumers (parents and their
children) to opt for the school
they consider the best. Vouchers have been viewed as especially
helpful to Catholic schools,
keeping their registrations strong when they might otherwise
lose their student populations
to increasingly popular charter schools (Ladner, 2012).
Image Source/Getty Images
Private schools offer certain advantages over public
schools. The cost, however, can be prohibitive.
From their beginning, however, political issues have influenced
the success of voucher pro-
grams, or lack thereof. For example, the state of Florida created
a voucher program that
would permit students to attend private schools with financial
support. However, legal chal-
lenges ensured that eventually the Florida program would die
after the Florida Supreme
Court declared the program unconstitutional in 2010 (Hess,
2012). Other complaints about
voucher programs have come over time from teacher unions,
community groups, and poli-

cymakers because of redistribution of public tax dollars to
private schools (Fabricant &
Fine, 2012).
In general, the results of research over the past decade have
been mixed, achievement scores
showing gains in some places and not in others. Further, there is
concern that the advantages
that come from being in a class with “motivated and well-
behaved classmates and actively
engaged parents—will quickly fade away once programs are
expanded and voucher schools
come to resemble high-poverty public schools” (Kahlenberg,
2003, p. 4). Thus, voucher pro-
grams are still new and controversial enough that definitive
evaluations of them cannot yet
be made.
Case in Point: Using Vouchers to Level the Playing Field
Danielle’s 8-year-old son Markus attends a neighborhood
school. Although she felt safe send-
ing him there for kindergarten and first grade, recent
playground bullying incidents have made
Markus fearful of going to school each day. Aside from that,
there are scant resources available
for computer equipment and training. Because Danielle cannot
afford a computer in her home,
she is afraid Markus lacks computer skills. Realizing she
qualifies for a voucher, she begins shop-
ping around for a school that better serves her child’s needs.
After making a selection, she applies
for and receives a voucher, which she gives to the new school.
The school turns the voucher
over to the local or state government for reimbursement. The
voucher has helped to level the
financial playing field. Danielle’s concerns about her child’s

education have been addressed.
Questions to Consider
3. How do you feel about public tax money being used for this
purpose? What are your
reasons?
4. If this were your child, would you take the opportunity to use
a voucher? Why or
why not?
Church-Affiliated Schools
Undoubtedly, one of the most pervasive and controversial
themes in American history has
been the proper role of religion in education. In colonial
America, religion and instruc-
tion were inseparable. In the Puritan colonies, schooling was
church dominated. Two cases
in the 20th century determined the destiny of religion in today’s
public schools. In 1962,
in Engel v. Vitale, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited prayer in
public schools. The follow-
ing year, in Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
reading from the Bible in public schools violated the
Constitution’s “separation of church
and state.” The Bible could be read as prose in a literature class,
but not as part of school
instruction.
Conservative organizations accused the U.S. Supreme Court of

“undermining the moral and
spiritual forces of public schools” (Spring, 1997, p. 386). In
response, there has been a con-
siderable increase in the number of children attending parochial,
or private religious, schools
(estimated to be 1 million). Minority Roman Catholic families
are among those who choose
parochial schools for their children. In some sites, particularly
urban, these students produce
test scores well above those of the public schools in the same
neighborhoods (Stern, 2003).
Although Christian schools have the largest student
enrollments, there are religious schools
representing many faiths, including Islamic and Jewish.
In recent years, the private sector has started getting involved in
public school restructuring
by establishing schools. Called private enterprise schools or
for-profit schools, their success
has been mixed at best. The most well-known enterprise,
mentioned earlier in the chapter, is
Edison Learning Inc. It has created a network of private schools
currently found in about 20
states, and run in collaboration with public school districts.
Among its current approaches to
education are dropout prevention programs, blended on-site and
virtual schools, and a full
online curriculum. Its curriculum, according to Edison, is
aligned with appropriate national
and state standards. Nevertheless, Edison schools have been the
subject of criticism, even con-
demnation; still, they have continued to expand since their
founding in 1991 (Bracey, 2003).
Because the schools are envisioned as profit-making endeavors,
costs are often cut with profit
in mind. Class sizes, for example, might be enlarged. Another

approach was to use students for
some administrative duties to save the cost of administrators.
Yet another was to terminate
the original plan to outfit every student with a laptop computer
(Saltman, 2005). While Edison
Learning and other for-profit schools do still enjoy some
popularity, they are finding it difficult
to achieve the self-proclaimed ambitious goal of increasing test
scores while decreasing costs.
Innovation Schools
The school models described previously are the most common
school options found in most
communities. There are, however, other unique school settings
that are gaining prominence.
An innovation school is one example. These are public schools
that are similar to charter
schools in that they have a governing board that makes and
oversees all decisions regarding
curriculum, staffing, and budget matters. They also share a goal
of creating programs that
meet the specific needs of the students they serve. Both charter
and innovation schools have
greater latitude than traditional public schools in terms of major
issues such as budget, school
schedules, curriculum, planning, professional development time,
and the hiring of staff.
Innovation schools differ from charter schools in several ways.
They receive no special fund-
ing but work within their district’s financial guidelines and
expectations. Decision-making
and oversight are negotiated with the district superintendent,
the school-based governing
board, and the local teachers union. An innovation school can
be created from the ground up,

its initial negotiations taking place with this same team. It is
also possible to alter a regular
public school to become an innovation school, a move that
requires a faculty vote. In the Den-
ver public schools, for example, any school community wishing
to create an innovation school
is required to have support from a majority of the school’s
faculty in addition to that of the
community.
Because innovation school governance and negotiations are
more similar to those of the regu-
lar public schools than those belonging to charters are, and
because they tend to keep stu-
dents from leaving their districts for charter schools elsewhere
(taking their funding with
them), innovation schools can be more
popular with government than char-
ters. Colorado, for instance, passed the
Colorado Innovation Schools Act in
2008. This legislation encourages
schools and districts to design and
implement innovative practices in a
wide variety of areas and provides a
process whereby schools can be
granted innovation school status. In
Massachusetts, districts were encour-
aged to create innovation schools with
$15,000 grants from the state’s Race to
the Top funds (Vaznis, 2011).

Innovation schools are designed to
live up to their names. Examples of
such schools in Massachusetts have
included programs for the emotional
and social well-being of students living in poverty, a K–8
school taught almost entirely in
cyberspace, an extended day program designed to offer
afternoon tutoring along with art
experiences, a multiage program that allows students to advance
at their own rate, an arts-
focused K–8 program, and a bilingual school (Vaznis, 2011).
Innovation school legislation is seen as a way to provide
flexibility to schools and communi-
ties and to improve the academic achievement of their students.
Because this type of school
status has the power to alter the way school funds are
traditionally used, change the way staff
are hired and placed at a school site, and modify other
important aspects of school gover-
nance, there is a requirement that all stakeholders in a school
community agree to the change.
In addition, the schools are accountable for student results just
as any other school is.
To a great extent, innovation and magnet schools share much in
common, although innova-
tion schools possess more flexibility in their governance. In
addition, the origin of magnet
schools, with their focus on diversity, means that they are more
likely to be found in neighbor-
hoods with diverse populations of students.
Schools Within Schools
Alternatives to traditional methods are sometimes created as a
subset of a larger school. These

may last but a few years if they are eventually regarded as fads
or as no longer applicable to
current interests and needs. They might even fall victim to
parent groups that protest the
redirection of scarce resources, thus affecting their own
children who remain in the school’s
larger traditional program. The following two examples appear
to be standing the test of time,
expanding in their utility and popularity with each year.
International Baccalaureate
Instituted in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland, the International
Baccalaureate (IB) was
designed for high school students whose parents were working
in the city’s many international
Blend Images/Hill Street Studios/Getty Images
Many innovation schools focus their curriculum on
STEM courses (science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics) and adopting locally customized
school policies.
agencies, organizations, and businesses. The goal was to
provide an education that combined
“academic rigor and internationalism” with the ability to
“promote and administer an inter-
national examination giving access to higher education in all
countries” (Walker, 2004, p. 8).
The idea grew, spreading to other countries and continents. It
began with students from nine
countries, and by this century there were IB programs in 1,380
schools in 117 countries, with

the largest number in the United States (Walker, 2004). To
achieve an IB diploma, students
must take courses that reflect an international view, including
foreign language. In addition,
there is a core program with a “theory of knowledge” course,
service requirements, and an
extensive final essay. Although an entire school might be
devoted to an IB program in some
countries, in the United States it is more commonly a school
within a school, and typically a
public one. In the 1990s, middle and primary grade programs
were developed, although these
are not as commonly found as the high school programs.
Forest Kindergartens
In the United States, a forest kindergarten can most often be
found as a school within a Wal-
dorf school. This model of early education originated in
Denmark in the 1950s and 1960s and
then spread across Europe and into the United States
(deQuetteville, 2008). It can be adapted
to almost any curriculum, including those that have
governmental guidelines to follow. At its
most basic, a forest kindergarten is designed to take place
outdoors in a natural setting and
in any but the more dangerous weather conditions. Natural
materials, rather than their com-
mercial counterparts, are used for learning, play, and art
projects.
Most challenging in many urban cases is to find a site that can
actually be described as a for-
est, even from a small child’s perspective. But with some
creativity, such hurdles are over-
come, with results showing children developing greater social
and academic capability, better

coordination, and more imaginative play (Borradaile, 2006).
Single-Sex Education
While private schools have a long history of single-sex
education, the same has not been true
of public schooling. Problems have arisen over the decades with
complex legal battles ensu-
ing. Generally speaking, it is Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 that was largely
responsible for shutting down many such public institutions
(Gurian, Stevens, & Daniels,
2009; Salomone, 2003). For a law that has had such wide
influence, Title IX is quite short:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be
excluded from participation in,
be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any education program or
activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” The
responsibility of enforcing Title IX is held
by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the Department of
Education. Title IX was instrumen-
tal in opening up educational opportunities for girls and women
that previously had been
closed to them, perhaps most famously at Virginia Military
Institute and The Citadel in South
Carolina. Yet, when research began to point toward positive
outcomes attached to single-sex
schooling, Title IX became the authority cited by those who
opposed such institutions. In
2006, however, the OCR changed the regulations so that “public
schools are now allowed to
include single-sex classes as a part of their educational
program, if they believe those classes
will improve student learning and achievement” (Gurian et al.,
2009, p. 5).

While single-sex education is certainly not for every student,
many advantages have been
suggested by those who are closely involved in it (Gurian et al.,
2009):
• It allows for nontraditional teaching techniques and
structures that take into
account the different learning styles of boys and girls.
• It eliminates distractions that come from boys and girls
being together (flirting,
gender-based competition).
• It encourages girls to openly discuss personal issues, thus
making it possible to deal
with them more quickly, perhaps.
• It helps boys learn self-management by helping each other
in classes where others
easily understand them.
• Boys can be helped with literacy by the inclusion of more
boy-friendly materials.
• Girls are encouraged to have interest in math, science, and
technology.
• Teachers have opportunities to create a curriculum that is
gender specific.
Some of the arguments for single-sex education, as represented
in this list, are based on the
brain research of recent years. For example, it is now known
that the language processing

areas are different between the two sexes. For males, they tend
to be in the left hemisphere
and for females in both hemispheres with multiple processing
areas. For this reason, girls are
usually more developmentally ready for writing and reading
when they enter kindergarten
or first grade, while boys may find expectations frustratingly
difficult. As a second example,
the spatial processing areas favor the boys, with their greater
possession of testosterone pro-
viding more and denser neural connections. The result is that, in
general, boys tend to need
more space to learn in and more opportunities to move;
furthermore, they are often better
at spatial learning than girls (Gurian et al., 2009). These two
examples of our modern under-
standing of the brain’s workings are part of a longer list that has
been used to help us rethink
the advantages and disadvantages of both co-educational and
single-sex classrooms.
Homeschooling
Perhaps the type of schooling that
grants parents the most control over
their children’s education is home-
schooling. Whether one refers to
Native Americans or to Pilgrims and
other early immigrants, homeschool-
ing has existed in America from the
beginning of human settlement. By
1918, however, every state had a com-
pulsory school law: “Most of these
were written around the turn of the
century with the aim of getting chil-
dren, especially immigrant children,
off the streets, out of the factories and

mines, and into schools where they
could be taught the English language
and American values” (Gaither, 2008,
p. 179). Homeschooling in succeeding
decades remained rare until the 1970s,
when two groups in particular brought
the concept into public and legal consciousness: religiously
oriented parents with concerns
about the increasing secularization and unruliness of the public
schools, and parents who
Associated Press/Sue Ogracki
While homeschooling is technically one of the oldest
educational traditions in the United States, it was
rare until the 1970s. Since then, it has grown in
popularity and is legally recognized in all 50 states.
were part of the so-called “hippie movement,” who wanted more
freeform education for their
children than the public schools allowed (Gaither, 2008). The
laws of the early 20th century
had, for the most part, been taken for granted and ignored by
legislatures and the public until
the 1970s, when homeschooling parents sought legal validation
of their educational prefer-
ence. By 1993, all 50 states had recognized the legality of
homeschooling (Berlatsky, 2010).
In short, parents who homeschool their children set the structure
for learning, choose or
design the curriculum, and primarily provide the teaching.
Nevertheless, as with the other

models discussed, there is a range of homeschooling options. To
begin with, virtual schooling,
as discussed in Chapter 7, continues to gain new fans.
Homeschooling models also include
“un-schooling,” whereby the student determines an interest in a
certain subject or topic and
the parents provide opportunities and materials for the child to
learn about the specific topic.
In another model, the family joins a local school district’s
homeschooling program, in which
the district provides the parents with the curriculum to use with
their child. Parents can also
purchase the curriculum of their choosing, such as that
produced by Calvert (see Chapter
7). Because there is such a wide variety of homeschooling
options, parents often join other
homeschool families to coordinate outings and field trips. A
school district might even spon-
sor a weekly, or biweekly, meeting for homeschooled children
and permit them to participate
in athletics, drama, and other special activities.
Although about half of homeschooled children today come from
families devoted to giving
them a religious education, the remaining students come from
families with a wide variety
of homeschooling goals (Gaither, 2008). Although the public
has largely come to accept the
homeschool concept, it remains controversial. For example, one
view is that teacher-parents
should be certified by their state’s laws, or at least rated as well
qualified. There is even con-
cern that lack of regulation may be responsible for some cases
of child abuse (Downes, 2010).
Homeschooling’s Invisible Children (HIC), an organization of
former homeschoolers, has taken

on the responsibility of tracking child abuse by parents who use
it as a cover for their criminal
behavior. Between 2000 and mid-2014, close to 100 American
children had died at the hands
of such parents. Thus, this concern is not an idle one, and HIC’s
hope is that “data analysis and
research on past cases of abuse and neglect in homeschool
settings will help us identify poli-
cies that will better safeguard the wellbeing of homeschooled
children” (HIC, 2014, para. 1).
Critics of homeschooling also argue that these children miss out
on learning that takes place
through peer interaction. As a Mississippi school superintendent
has asked, “Can home-
schooled children cope with social pressures, people skills?
More is learned in a classroom
and school setting than A-B-Cs” (as cited in Shortt, 2010, p.
89). In response, a professor of
educational research, Greg Cizek, says, “It is basically a
nonissue. . . . If anything, research
shows that because parents are so sensitive to the charge, they
expose them [their children] to
so many activities” (as cited in Shortt, 2010, p. 89). Recent
research focusing on 7,000 home-
schooled adults discovered higher levels of civic involvement,
more post-secondary educa-
tion, and better life satisfaction than among adults who had
attended school (Shortt, 2010).
Testing is another topic of contention. Over time, as
homeschooling has become increasingly
accepted, state laws have become increasingly lenient, including
those related to testing. Cur-
rently, 25 states require standardized tests at some level for
homeschooled children. In some

states, parents are permitted to choose any nationally respected
test; in others, alternate
forms of reporting such as portfolios are accepted. Testing
results typically find that home-
schooled children score as high, or higher than, school-educated
students. As an example, a
Section 8.3Teachers’ Responsibilities and Rights
2006 study showed that homeschooled students scored an
average 22.4 on the ACT for col-
lege admissions, while the national average was 21.1 (Stossel,
2010).
Finally, advocates of homeschooling claim that homeschooled
children do not waste valuable
instructional time changing classes or sitting in study halls, and
they argue that the family
unit is strengthened by the parent’s daily involvement with the
children.
Assess Yourself
1. Would you want to teach at one of the alternative schools
discussed in this chapter?
Why or why not? If the idea appeals to you, would it be worth a
pay cut? Explain your
reasoning.
2. How do you feel about homeschooling? Do you think parents
can be qualified if they
haven’t taken any courses about teaching? Explain your answer.
3. What personal characteristics should parents who want to

homeschool their child
possess? Explain your answer.
8.3 Teachers’ Responsibilities and Rights
No matter what model of schooling you eventually work in, it is
important to be aware of your
legal responsibilities as well as your rights. This section
provides important information for
you to consider.
Teacher Responsibilities Toward Students
Of course, most teachers will never be sued, but it is good to
know when and why it might
happen and what to do if it does. Teachers have certain legal
responsibilities and can be sued
if they are negligent in those duties. To be found negligent, the
plaintiff must prove that:
1. the teacher (the defendant) had a duty to protect the student
from harm,
2. the duty was breached, and
3. the student was injured mentally or physically (or both)
4. as a result of the breach. Note that the client (plaintiff ) must
prove all four conditions
to succeed in a negligence suit against an educator.
Basically, a judge tries to determine whether the defendant’s
behavior departed significantly
from actions taken by any other “reasonable person” in that
position in similar circumstances.
If the judge concludes that a teacher did fail to provide a certain
“standard of care,” the teacher
may have to pay compensatory damages to the client.
Compensatory damages are usually
awarded in civil (tort) suits; a tort is defined as a legal injury or

wrong against a person or
property. It is important to realize that criminal, as well as
civil, charges can be brought against
teachers. Penalties imposed on teachers found guilty of criminal
acts include fines and impris-
onment (or both) depending on the seriousness of the offense. A
teacher’s license or
certification status could be suspended
or revoked depending on the final out-
come. It is possible, however, that
there can also be protection for school
personnel. In a 2002 case against the
Pasco County, Florida schools, the par-
ents of a high school student, Ted
Niziol, who accidentally and fatally
shot himself with a gun in his school
parking lot, argued that the teachers,
principal, and school security person-
nel did not fulfill their obligation to
carry out requirements for a gun-free
campus. The case was dropped by the
court, in part because school person-
nel were seen as entitled to limited
immunity from prosecution.
Because of the gravity of this topic, the
following is a list of some behaviors that could put teachers at
legal risk. This list is far from
encompassing, so be sure to think of other behaviors that might
indicate legal trouble for
teachers.

Protect Students From Harm
Teachers and school personnel assume the place (role) of
parents and guardians while stu-
dents are under their care; this is called “in loco parentis,” or
“in the place of parents.” The
National Education Association (NEA) Code of Ethics states
that teachers “shall make reason-
able effort to protect the students from conditions harmful to
learning or health and safety”
(2010, para. 13). The American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Bill of Rights and Responsibili-
ties states, “All students and staff have a right to schools that
are safe, orderly, and drug free”
(1996, para. 3). Thus, teachers are duty bound to ensure a safe
environment for students
while students are on school property or participating in school-
sponsored events such as
field trips, athletic contests, or other activities. Responsible
teachers take necessary precau-
tions to lessen the risk of students’ injuries. Think about this
example: A teacher is late for
hall duty one morning; in her absence, a fight erupts and a
student bystander is hurt. Is the
teacher liable? (Most likely yes.) On the other hand, if the
teacher had been on duty and was
paying attention and the fight still occurred, is the teacher liable
now? (More than likely no!)
Let’s look at a related question: What is a teacher’s duty to
protect students from impending
danger? Obviously, teachers are not fortune-tellers. They cannot
accurately predict danger-
ous situations. It is unrealistic to think a teacher could prevent
mishaps or tragedies from
occurring. Nevertheless, in the case above, if the teacher had

been on duty as assigned, the
injury might not have happened. If a teacher is given advance
warning of imminent danger
and fails to act on this information, is the teacher liable? (In
this case, probably yes.) If, for
example, a student reveals to a teacher that she intends to hurt
another student, the teacher
should notify the building principal at once. A student’s threat
against others or against self
(a suicidal threat) must be taken seriously; teachers are
obligated to report such threats to
Tomloel/Thinkstock
Teachers are duty bound to ensure a safe
environment for students. Negligence of any kind
can result in lawsuits and career consequences.
the proper authorities. Most schools today have comprehensive
crisis management plans in
place, which can be very helpful to a new teacher who may not
know what to do in the event
of an emergency.
At first glance, many recent court decisions relating to school
safety appear to infringe on
students’ civil rights; however, on further analysis, it appears
that is not necessarily the case.
Most courts have upheld the right of school officials to conduct
a random search and seizure
on school property. Judges grant administrators latitude to
conduct searches (even individual
and property) when there is a “reasonable suspicion” to believe

a student is concealing weap-
ons, drugs, or other illegal items. Metal detectors have also
been upheld by the courts as con-
stitutional (Alexander & Alexander, 2005). These rulings
support strong measures taken in
schools today as a way to protect the common good. In other
words, the end (safety) justifies
the means (metal detectors).
In recent years, the horror of school shootings has led to
questions about how best to protect
students from such previously unthinkable experiences. While
bullying issues have generally
been assumed to be the most common motivations for these
events, careful analysis of them
has led to an understanding that it is more likely student-teacher
conflict. Thus, teachers
have an important responsibility when it comes to positive
interactions with their students,
especially those who may be psychologically disturbed. While
individual schools and districts
have created protective devices and plans, there is no
widespread agreement on what will
be most effective and acceptable. Nationally, much discussion
on the topic emerged after the
2012 fatal shootings of 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Connecti-
cut. For example, Arkansas created plans to arm every teacher,
an idea that was eventually
rejected by the state’s attorney general. In Ohio, the attorney
general reviewed his state’s
school plans and determined that they were mostly out of date,
ineffective, and yet extremely
difficult to improve upon. A year after Sandy Hook, attempts at
improvement in school safety
seemed to be going nowhere with several apparent causes:

bureaucratic mishandling, expen-
sive and difficult-to-pay- for safety equipment, and
disagreements about what is appropriate
for school personnel to handle, especially weapons (Brenneman,
2013). The difficult con-
versations about how best to protect children in crisis situations
are ongoing, particularly as
“school safety strategy requires teamwork among all
levels of the district―students, teachers,
parents, administrators, and community members―and
building consensus requires a lot of
persistence” (Brenneman, 2013, para. 8).
Safeguard Students’ Privacy
In 1974, the United States Congress passed the Buckley
Amendment (Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act, P.L. 93-380), referred to as FERPA,
which protects students’ privacy
rights. In essence, FERPA prohibits the release of students’ test
scores and other records to
anyone other than courts and school personnel (who have “a
right to know”) without written
permission from the parents or guardians. Persons designated as
having “a right to know” are
those who have a “legitimate educational interest” in the
student, such as classroom teach-
ers. Obviously, teachers should have access to academic files,
because the information therein
can be extremely useful for individualizing instruction for
students. Once students are 18 or
older, or at an earlier age if they attend a post-secondary
institution, school personnel are not
at liberty to discuss or release students’ academic records unless
the students grant explicit
approval. Otherwise, parents represent their minor children and
can have access.

Although a teacher cannot be held liable for failing to comply
with FERPA, the school district
can be, which translates to losing federal funding. To prevent
school personnel from inad-
vertently violating the Buckley Amendment, school districts
have developed strict guidelines
and procedures for accessing files, releasing information, and
storing files. Beginning teach-
ers should be informed at the outset of these procedures and
must be willing to comply with
FERPA’s regulations. For example, a teacher who allows a
student to distribute or call out
grades is violating privacy rights under the Buckley
Amendment.
Adhere to Copyright Laws
Educators must abide by copyright regulations. However,
because teachers need quick access
to printed materials for the delivery of instruction, those legal
guidelines are less binding. To
clarify teachers’ rights to photocopy published works, the U.S.
Congress in 1976 revised the
original Copyright Act of 1909 to include a fair use provision.
This clause provides specific
guidelines for teachers to adhere to when copying printed
materials. A teacher, for example,
can make a single copy of a published piece for instruction or
research without prior permis-
sion from the author if the piece is fewer than 250 words (e.g., a
poem). Lengthier pieces of
more than 1,000 words or 10% of the printed material

(whichever comes first) cannot be
copied without the copyholder’s permission. Nevertheless, if a
teacher needs something right
away for a particular class (making it impossible to obtain the
author’s permission in time),
the teacher can make the copy—as long as it is from a single
work and is used only once per
semester in a given course.
In 1980, Congress amended the Copyright Act to include a “fair
use” provision relative to
computer software programs. In most situations, teachers can
now make one backup copy
of a software program. Keep in mind that as a rule it is illegal
to copy software packages, as
well as material off the Internet, unless otherwise stated. The
following year, Congress passed
legislation regarding the taping of live
television broadcasts. Teachers can
legally tape a television show as long
as the video is (1) shown only once to
any class within the first 10 days of
taping, and (2) erased after 45 days.
As you can see, teachers cannot collect
tapes and create an educational library
for future reference.
Even though copyright laws are less
stringent on teachers, they must still
exercise due care. Teachers need to pay
close attention to the guidelines, not
only because it is the legal thing to do,
but also because they are demonstrat-
ing to their students how important it
is to respect someone else’s work.

Marting Diebel/Getty Images
Most teachers feel a need to use copyrighted
materials in their daily teaching. The guidelines
for this practice are strict, however.
Teach Responsibly
An educational malpractice suit is a claim made by a student
that a certain teacher or school
district failed to adequately prepare him or her to function
effectively in a competitive soci-
ety. As you can imagine, this type of malpractice suit is very
difficult for students to win,
primarily because it is virtually impossible to prove that a
student’s academic deficiencies
were caused by a teacher’s breach of duty (or negligence).
There are too many “nonschool”
factors― ranging from lack of sufficient nutrition to
home conditions that interfere with get-
ting homework done―that may have interfered with
that student’s progress in school. It is
unrealistic to think that any teacher could promise that every
student in class will meet cer-
tain levels of proficiency (Hartmeister, 1995). The few
educational malpractice suits that have
succeeded have been claims made by special-education students
who had been inaccurately
labeled or diagnosed (Hartmeister, 1995). To date, courts steer
clear of educational account-
ability cases. This may not continue to be the case, however,
especially with the increased use
of high-stakes tests that determine whether a student passes or

graduates. Considering the
rise in the number of claims made against other professionals
such as doctors and lawyers, it
is important to be aware of educational malpractice. (Laws can
change, as can public opinion,
so stay alert.)
Defend Students’ Freedom of Expression
Freedom of expression is a fundamental right protected by the
First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community
School District (1969) was a land-
mark case establishing students’ rights to free expression. In
response to a group of students
wearing black armbands to protest U.S. involvement in
Vietnam, the Des Moines School Board
instituted a policy forbidding the wearing of armbands. Students
who refused to comply were
suspended. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that as long as the
students’ behavior (i.e., wear-
ing armbands) did not disrupt the educational process, the
students had the right to do so.
This decision ultimately struck down the school’s rule as an
abridgement of students’ rights
to free expression.
Acknowledge Students’ Right to an Education
The U.S. Supreme Court in the Tinker decision also established
students’ rights to free educa-
tion; hence, schools cannot arbitrarily remove a student from
school without due process.
The right of due process is protected under the Fourteenth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitu-
tion. To be deprived of an education curtails a student’s
“property” rights; to be suspended or
expelled compromises a student’s “liberty” rights.

In Goss v. Lopez (1975), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
students suspended fewer than
10 days are entitled to oral or written notice of the charges to
give them time to respond to
the charges. School expulsions and suspensions of more than 10
days require schools to fol-
low even more rigorous due process procedures. School districts
must inform students in
advance of specific behaviors that warrant being removed from
school. And when a student
faces disciplinary actions, the school must adhere to proper
procedures (i.e., due process) for
a fair dismissal. (There may be exceptions when imminent
danger is an issue.)
Report Suspected Cases of Student Abuse or Neglect
Most state laws designate teachers as mandated reporters, which
means they are legally
required to report suspected child abuse. If a teacher has
reasonable cause to suspect child
abuse and fails to report it, he or she could be held liable.
Beginning teachers are often afraid
to make reports; they fear the report could come back
“unfounded” or “unsubstantiated.” You
should know that teachers are not liable if that happens;
legislators cannot mandate a per-
son to do something and then fail to protect the person for
compliance. Mandated reporters
are typically immune from prosecution because it is assumed
they reported in good faith
and without malice based on the information at hand. On the

other hand, if a teacher fails to
report a suspected abuse case and later the child is seriously
hurt, the teacher could be held
liable. Penalties for failing to report abuse include fines and jail
sentences (or both). It is bet-
ter to report than not to report if you have reasonable cause to
suspect abuse.
It is important to follow through on any report made, because
sometimes cases get lost in the
bureaucratic system. The reality is that most state agencies
operate on shoestring budgets;
consequently, investigators are overworked, underpaid,
overstressed, and underappreciated.
It is wise to keep in touch with the school counselor because
most state agencies are legally
required to report back to the counselor on the status of abuse
cases. In the meantime, you
can offer support and kindness to a student in an abusive
situation, because abused children
need and deserve all the help they can get. Think about how you
might respond in Case in
Point: “Will You Keep a Secret?”
Case in Point: “Will You Keep a Secret?”
Ms. Gould has been teaching home economics in middle school
for many years. Ms. Gould
encourages her students to turn to her for support and guidance;
her students see her as a
mother figure. Late one afternoon, one of her students, Josie,
lingers after school, ostensibly
to help her clean up. Ms. Gould notices that Josie appears
unusually nervous and distracted,
so she asks what is wrong. Josie asks, “Will you keep a secret?”
Ms. Gould nods her head affir-
matively. Josie then reveals that her mom’s behavior has been

unpredictable and aggressive
lately. The previous night, her mom slapped her several times
across the face for failing to do
the dishes on time. (Ms. Gould does not notice any apparent
signs of swelling or bruising on
Josie’s face.) Josie discloses that she is afraid of what her mom
will do next. Ms. Gould looks at
the clock and realizes that by now the school counselor and the
principal have left for the day.
Questions to Consider
1. If you were Ms. Gould, what would you do?
2. Do you think there could be circumstances in which a teacher
who suspects abuse
decides not to report?
3. Would the age or academic performance of the student make
a difference?
For an interactive version of this case study, visit your e-book.
Refrain From Engaging in Any Form of Child Abuse
In their book Teachers at Risk: Crisis in the Classroom,
Villaume and Foley (1993) warned that
abuse of students by teachers is equivalent to child abuse and
teachers can be held liable for
it. Prospective teachers need to have a clear understanding of
the different forms of student
abuse as their best line of defense against being charged.
Teachers must be very careful that

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