Unit 5
Legal Rights of Students and Student Rights in Relation to Teachers

Overview

Teachers perform multifarious roles. They are involved with students at many levels—professional, parental, authoritative, and/or counselling levels. However, a teacher’s involvement with his or her students is circumscribed by many legal, social, and societal considerations, and therefore, the teacher must abide by the legal rules and boundaries that the society has established. Teachers must work within those boundaries, regardless of the situations that can easily arise as a result of the close relationships that develop between teachers and students.

One of the functions of teachers should be to teach students about their rights. As Sitch and McCoubrey (2002) write, “To teach rights adequately, educators must understand how children’s rights function in society. Effective rights education, therefore, requires that educators themselves be well informed about nature and extent of students’ rights” (p. 173). However, limitations are imposed on teachers’ conduct with their students by criminal law, by law of torts, by societal expectations, and by professional ethics. This unit explores the legal and moral boundaries within which teachers have to function, and describes the important rights of students and children.

Objectives

After completing this unit, you should be able to

1. explain the roles that teachers play, and the boundaries and limitations within which they must function.
2. discuss the teachers’ primary duty, which is to protect students and society from harm.
3. identify the interests that the boundaries between teachers and students are meant to protect.
4. describe the multiple and difficult roles and relationships that require teachers to follow sound judgement and discretion.
5. discuss the rules of zero tolerance concerning sexual or romantic relationships between teachers and students.
6. explain the considerations a teacher must take into account when faced with a conflicted situation.
7. explain the important provisions of the “Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
8. discuss the rights of students, particularly under the Canadian Charter and provincial human rights legislation.
9. analyze the right to an education.
10. debate the limits, and pros and cons of the right of privacy and confidentiality relating to students.
11. explain developments with respect to the teachers’ duty to report suspected child abuse, and the consequences of making negligent reports.
12. describe the legal principles relating to searches and seizure in schools.
13. assess the extent and limits of students’ freedom of speech.
14. discuss the relevance of freedom of religion with respect to students’ rights, including dress codes.