1. TEACHER ETHICAL & LEGAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
LEARNING TEAM A
ADM 507
9/8/2013
DR. VICKI FRENCH

2. Teacher Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
Legal Responsibilities
 Responsibilities relating to
written law in federal and state
Ethical Responsibilities
 Responsibilities relating to moral
rights and wrongs in the
profession.

3. Legal Responsibilities of Teachers
 These responsibilities are based in federal & state
laws
 The standards are essentially the same across all 50
states.
 Examples of specific state laws and codes are
cited, but in essence, apply to all states.

4. Legal Responsibilities of Teachers
 Teachers Legal Responsibilities are Defined by Ohio
Revised Code (ORC)
 ORC is Supported by Ohio
Administrative Code (OAC)
 The State Agency Responsible for OAC with Regard to
Education is the Ohio Department of Education.

5. Ohio Revised Code
 Ohio Revised Code 3319.31 Refusal to
issue, suspension, revocation or
limitations of license.
 (B) the state board of education may
refuse to issue, may limit or may
revoke a license for any of the
following reasons
 “(1) Engaging in an immoral
act, incompetence, negligence, or conduct that is unbecoming
to the applicant’s or person’s position”

6. Ohio Administrative Code
3301-73-21
 (A) State board of education evaluates conduct
unbecoming under division (B)(1) of section 3319.31 of
the Ohio Revised Code (ORC)
 (1) Crimes or misconduct involving minors
 (2) Crimes or misconduct involving school children

7. Ethical Responsibilities for Teachers with
Regard to Students
1. Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio
Educators (& Principals)
 2nd principle is that teachers shall have a
professional relationship with students both in and
out of classroom

8. Professional Relationship with Students
 Conduct unbecoming includes:
 Committing any act of sexual abuse of a student
 Committing an act of cruelty to children
 Encouraging or engaging an inappropriate
relationship with a student
 Disparaging a student based on any of the students
attributes
 Using inappropriate language

9. Professional Relationship with Students
Cont.
 Conduct unbecoming includes cont.:
 Provoking an altercation with a student
 Failing to provide appropriate supervision within the
teachers’ capacity
 Contributing to or allowing bullying
 Using technology to communicate with students
inappropriately

10. Cases of Teachers Violating Ethical
Responsibilities with Students
 Stacy Schuler, Ohio gym teacher, sentenced for four
years in jail for having sex with five former students.
 Mary Kay Letourneau, Seattle school
teacher, imprisoned from 1997-2004 for having sexual
intercourse with a 13-year-old student.
 Debra Lafave, Florida reading teacher, arrested in 2004
for having intercourse with a 14-year-old boy.

11. A Teacher is to be Ethically
Responsible to Minors
 The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s
Code of Ethics (NAEYC, 2005)
 Daily decisions have moral and ethical implications
 Children achieve full potential in relationships built on trust
and respect
 NAEYC Statement of Commitment (NAEYC, 2005)
 Never harm children
 Advocate for children
 Maintain high standards of ethical conduct
 Recognize that personal characteristics, biases, and beliefs
have an impact on children

12. Ethical Responsibilities to Children
 Childhood is a vital stage in human life. Educator’s most
important responsibility is to educate in environments that
are safe, healthy, nurturing and responsive (NAEYC, 2005).
 Ideals
 Appreciate the vulnerability of children and their
dependence on adults
 Create and maintain safe and healthy environment
 Foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical
development
 Respect children’s dignity and contributions

13. Legal Rights of Children as it Relates to
Morals and Ethics
 Notify parents if curriculum materials might be objectionable
 Report suspected incidents of child abuse
 Know and follow due process when penalizing students
 Keep your meetings with students public
 Separate your personal and professional life
 Avoid offensive, sexual, and off-color comments
 Know and follow district policies regarding corporal punishment
 Avoid touching students (Sadker, 2005)

14. Teachers are Models
 Regardless of formal or informal interaction with
students, teachers serve as a model for students.
What an educator does or says serves as an example
of ethical behavior to his or her students
(Sadker, 2005).
References
Sadker, . (2005). Teachers, Schools and Society (7th ed.). Retrieved
from http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/0072877723/student_view0/chapter11/
National Association for the Education of Young Children. Code of
Ethical Conduct

15. Example
 In a Westport, CT case, a high school teacher was
arrested for sexually assaulting a 4-year old boy
while babysitting. He was a friend of the family for
over 12 years. He was ordered to have no contact
with the child or the child’s family. He was also
ordered to have no contact with minors (children
under 18). However, this will be an issue for his
employment as a high school teacher, as most of
his students are minors. (Shephardson, 1998-
2013).

16. Unethical Behavior of Teachers
with Minors
 Teachers work with minors and have an ethical
responsibility for the well-being and care of such inside
and outside of the classroom. Unethical actions outside
of the classroom involving sexual misconduct with
minors will most likely affect the employment status of
teachers permanently.
 Reference:
 Shephardson, D. (1998-2013). Creating Safer Havens for Children and
Youth. Retrieved from http://creatingsaferhavens.com/child-sexual-
abuse-teachers-cases.html

17. •"
Amended Substitute House
Bill 79
 Amended Substitute House Bill 79 requires school
authorities to submit a report of educator misconduct
to the Ohio Department of Education if: an educator
has been convicted of a criminal offense listed in Ohio
Revised Code §3319.31 or Ohio Revised Code
§3319.39;
 termination/non-renewal proceedings have been
initiated due to an educator’s conduct unbecoming;
 an educator has resigned under threat of
termination/non-renewal; or an educator has resigned
in the course of investigation"
 (http://www.ohea.org/faqs-about-code-of-conduct-for-educators, retrieved 09/04/13)

18. State Board of Education
 The State Board of Education can revoke a teaching
license or not issue a license for certain issues. The
Ohio Revised Code states the following:
"Engaging in an immoral
act, incompetence, negligence, or conduct that is
unbecoming to the applicant's or person's position; (2)
A plea of guilty to, a finding of guilt by a jury or court
of, or a conviction of any of the following:
 (a) A felony other than a felony listed in division (C) of
this section;
 (b) An offense of violence other than an offense of
violence listed in division (C) of this section;

19. Ohio Revised Code (cont)
 (c) A theft offense, as defined in section 2913.01 of
the Revised Code, other than a theft offense listed in
division (C) of this section;
 (d) A drug abuse offense, as defined in section
2925.01 of the Revised Code, that is not a minor
misdemeanor, other than a drug abuse offense listed
in division (C) of this section;
 (e) A violation of an ordinance of a municipal
corporation that is substantively comparable to an
offense listed in divisions (B)(2)(a) to (d) of this
section.“

(http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3319.31, retrieved
09/04/13)

20. Evaluating Misconduct
 Under division (B)(1) of section 3319.31 of the ORC (the
(B)(1) is the wording in quotation above), the following
factors may be considered when evaluating misconduct:
1. Crimes or misconduct involving minors
2. Crimes or misconduct involving school children
3. Crimes or misconduct involving academic fraud
4. Making or causing to make, any false or misleading
statement or concealing pertaining to professional practice
or educational matters
5. Crimes or misconduct involving school community, funds
or property
6. A plea of guilty in a criminal activity
7. A violation of the terms and conditions of a consent
agreement
8. Any other crimes or misconduct that negatively reflect
upon the teaching profession
(http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/339.321, retrieved 9/5/13)
(http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/3301-73-21, retrieved 9/5/13)

21. Evaluating Misconduct
 There is also section 3319.321 of the ORC
that deals with confidentiality. No person
shall release or permit access to
information related to any student
attending a public school without written
consent from parents).

22. Ethical & Legal
Responsibilities
 Dismissal for immoral conduct is most likely when
the teacher has committed a felony, in cases of
inappropriate sexual advances toward students, or in
cases of child abuse. In this last case, teachers may
also have a duty to report suspected misconduct by
others.
 The kinds of misconduct dealt with by the law are
usually acts that are (or can be viewed as) unethical
in any context. Teachers, like others, are expected
to not steal, kill, commit assault, abuse children, or
engage in sexual harassment.
 Ethics - SCHOOL TEACHING, HIGHER EDUCATION -
Ethical, Academic, Research, and Students - StateUniversity.com
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1962/Ethics.html#ixzz2eJ4
TvrwJ

23. State Laws
States also forbid particular forms of
misconduct, such as child abuse, sexual
harassment, and drug abuse, and their violation
may be grounds for dismissal.
Ethics - SCHOOL TEACHING, HIGHER EDUCATION - Ethical,
Academic, Research, and Students - StateUniversity.com
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1962/Ethics.html
#ixzz2eJ46vJ6E

24. Legal Responsibilities of Teachers with
Minors
Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect
The following definitions may be found under the
Department of Children and Families Regulations
(110 CMR, section 2.00).

25. Abuse
The non-accidental commission of any act
by a caretaker upon a child under age 18
which causes, or creates a substantial risk
of, physical or emotional injury; or
constitutes a sexual offense under the laws
of the Commonwealth; or any sexual contact
between a caretaker and a child under the
care of that individual. This definition is not
dependent upon location (i.e., abuse can
occur while the child is in an out-of-home or
in-home setting.

26. Physical Injury
Death; or fracture of a bone, subdural
hematoma, burns, impairment of any
organ, and any other such nontrivial injury;
or soft tissue swelling or skin
bruising, depending upon such factors as the
child's age, circumstances under which the
injury occurred and the number and location
of bruises; or addiction to a drug or drugs at
birth; or failure to thrive.

27. Shaken Baby Syndrome
Infants, babies or small children who suffer
injuries or death from severe
shaking, jerking, pushing or puling may have
been victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome. The
act of shaking a baby is considered physical
abuse, as spinal, head and neck injuries
often result from violently shaking young
children.

28. Neglect
Failure by a caretaker, either deliberately or
through negligence or inability to take those
actions necessary to provide a child with
minimally adequate
food, clothing, shelter, medical
care, supervision, emotional stability and
growth, or other essential care;
provided, however, that such inability is not due
solely to inadequate economic resources or
solely to the existence of a handicapping
condition. This definition is not dependent upon
location (i.e., neglect can occur while the child
is in an out-of-home setting).

29. Emotional Injury
An impairment to or disorder of the
intellectual or psychological capacity of a
child as evidenced by observable and
substantial reduction in the child's ability to
function within a normal range of
performance and behavior.

30. Institutional Abuse or
Neglect
 Abuse or neglect which occurs in any
facility for children, including, but not
limited to, group homes, residential or
public or private
schools, hospitals, detention and
treatment facilities, family foster care
homes, group day care centers and family
day care homes.
 http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/consumer/family-
services/child-abuse-neglect/definitions.html

31. Criminal Law
 In the USA, criminal law involves prosecution
by the government of a person for an act that
has been classified as a crime.
 Crimes include both felonies (more serious
offenses -- like murder or rape) and
misdemeanors (less serious offenses -- like
petty theft or jaywalking).
 http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_la
w

32. Sexual Harassment
It is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or
employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment
can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome
sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and
other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual
nature.
Harassment does not have to be of a sexual
nature, however, and can include offensive remarks
about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to
harass a woman by making offensive comments about
women in general.
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm

33. Relationships of Teachers
with Minors and Students
Although the definition of immoral conduct in the law has
not become coextensive with violations of criminal
law, there is little in the meaning of immoral conduct that
is distinctive to teachers or teaching.
Ethics - SCHOOL TEACHING, HIGHER EDUCATION -
Ethical, Academic, Research, and Students - StateUniversity.com
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1962/Ethics.html#ixzz2eJ4TvrwJ

34. Comparison of Legal & Ethical
Responsibilities.
 Teaching is an important and influential
profession. Teachers are models for their
students as well as members of the
community.
 Therefore, the standard of conduct must
be understood and upheld by members of
the teaching profession.