School Law in Practice K-12

Instructor: Pamela B. Anderson

The emphasis in the course will be on practical applications of legal principles to the real life situations confronted by educators. The course will provide an introduction to sources of law and basic legal research and analysis. Course topics will include the right to education; school finance and governance; school curriculum; student rights; educator rights and liabilities; classification, discrimination, and civil rights; special education; religion in schools; and No Child Left Behind.

There will be a focus on class engagement and participation, with teaching methods that include expert guest lecturers, online preparation and activities, and interactive exercises. Completion of this course satisfies Maine certification requirements for certificates requiring Maine School Law.

Pamela B. Anderson has directed the coalition for Maine Law & Civics Education at the University of Maine School of Law since 1996. She teaches workshops and institutes for educators and consults with schools in the areas of conflict resolution, mediation, bullying prevention and law-related education. She has developed and edited curricular materials entitled Bill of Rights: Cases and Controversies and Understanding our Basic Freedoms: The Bill of Rights in Action. She has taught Summer Institutes for the Professional Development Center on School Law for Teachers, Managing School Conflict, and Teaching Tolerance of Diversity.

In lieu of the $550 registration fee, all non-York educators must remit a payment of $100 to the York School Department. The School Law in Practice course is offered for GRADUATE CREDIT ONLY at the University of Maine tuition rate. USM course registration will take place on-site on June 24th. Tuition reimbursement, according to contractual agreement, may be used.

GRADUATE CREDIT ONLY 

COST: $100 for out-of-district participants