DEFINITION

• Education Law is the legal discipline covering all issues pertaining to schools, from kindergarten through the higher learning of graduate schools.

• Historically, the law of education has focused on providing access to high-quality education for all children, no matter what their race, disability status, income or gender.

• Education Law also strives to make higher education more accessible to a student who wishes to attend a college or university. Many of the changes in Education Law since the first schools were built have been brought about by court interpretations of the federal Constitution and by congressional enactment of federal statutes based on constitutional principles.

• As public schools change and evolve under the law, so do private institutions. Private schools and parents also inspire changes in Education Law by lobbying legislatures, bringing lawsuits and helping to change public opinion about education and schools.

FIND AN EDUCATION LAWYER IN YOUR AREA.

More information on EDUCATION AND THE LAW.

RELATED PRACTICE AREAS

Employment Law -- Employer
State, Local, and Municipal Law
Administrative Law
Civil Rights Law

BUZZWORDS

Fair Labor Standards Act - A federal act that set a minimum standard wage and a maximum work week of 40 hours in industries engaged in interstate commerce. This Act also regulates the hours and type of work that can be performed by teenagers. (29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 201)

Freedom of Religion - The right to believe in any form of religion and to practice or exercise one's religious beliefs free from unreasonable governmental interference, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Private School - A school maintained by private individuals, a religious organization, or a corporation, not at public expense. Open only to pupils selected and admitted by the proprietors or to pupils of a certain religion or possessing certain qualifications. Generally supported by tuition fees.

Public School - A school established under the laws of the state and regulated by local authorities in various districts, counties or towns, maintained at the public expense by taxation, and open to residents' children.

School Board - A state or local board organized for government and management of schools in a state or municipality.

School Committee - A board of municipal officers charged with the administration of the affairs of public schools.

School District - A public and quasi-municipal corporation, organized by legislative authority comprising a defined territory, for the erection, maintenance, government and support of the public schools within its territory.

PRACTICE AREA NOTES

• An attorney who practices Education Law may represent a city or town as solicitor, covering issues for the school board, may represent individuals with grievances from the school district or may represent organizations, such as teacher's unions, involved in employment issues.
• The state and federal departments of education also employ many attorneys who practice Education Law.
• Hot issues in Education Law include increased regulation and prevention of violence in schools (balanced with students' rights of privacy and free speech), the Internet (from teleclasses to parental controls) and civil rights.