|
|
|
Is Law Undermining Public Education? A Summary of Common Good Poll Results, 2004 July 1, 2004 Legalized Culture in Public Schools
- 82% of teachers and 77% of principals say schools practice "defensive teaching"--meaning decisions are motivated by a desire to avoid legal challenges.
- 77% of principals and 61% of teachers say their colleagues avoid decisions they think are right because they might be challenged legally.
- 63% of principals said fear of legal challenges affects their willingness and ability to fire bad teachers.
- 62% of principals believe concerns about legal challenges have made teachers' relationships with students less personal.
Legalized Culture Affects Learning in Public Schools
- 77% of teachers and 81% of principals believe increased rules and legal mandates hurt their ability to do their jobs.
- 85% of teachers and 80% of principals believe having fewer rules and legal mandates would improve the quality of education in their schools.
- 63% of teachers and 64% of principals feel increased potential for legal challenges by students and parents hurts their ability to do their jobs.
Discipline in a Legalized Culture
- 78% of teachers say students are quick to remind them that they have rights or that their parents can sue.
- 76% of teachers say special education students are often treated too lightly, even when their misbehavior is not related to their disability.
- 55% of teachers and 48% of parents say districts backing down from assertive parents causes school discipline problems.
- 49% of teachers report they have been accused of unfairly disciplining a student.
- 52% of teachers say behavior problems often stem from teachers soft on discipline "because they can't count on parents or schools to support them."
De-legalize Public Schools: Opinions on Solutions
- 85% of teachers and principals think reducing the availability of legal challenges for day-to-day management and disciplinary decisions would help improve education quality.
- 83% of teachers and 65% of principals think replacing detailed rules with oversight by a school-based committee would help improve education quality.
- 82% of teachers and 78% of parents support limiting lawsuits to serious situations like expulsion.
- 82% of teachers and 70% of parents favor removing the possibility of monetary awards for parents who sue over discipline issues.
- 88% of teachers and 77% of principals say replacing legal hearings and lawsuits with oversight by a school-based committee including parents and teachers would help improve education quality.
- 84% of teachers and 70% of parents favor giving principals more authority to handle discipline issues and reducing interference from parents or central administration.
- 71% of teachers and 75% of principals say empowering principals to hire and fire teachers and other staff with oversight by a school-based committee would help improve education quality.
- 94% of teachers say treating special education students like other students, unless their misbehavior is related to their disability, would be an effective solution.
Sources:
Teaching Interrupted: Do Discipline Policies in Today's Public Schools Foster the Common Good, Public Agenda, May 2004;
Evaluating Attitudes Toward the Threat of Legal Challenges in Public Schools, Harris Interactive, March 2004.
| |
