Students’ Rights and Responsibilities

FOcUs What areas of caution did the preceding material suggest to you as a teacher? What topics might require further study to make sure you do not violate the law but can also defend your rights as a teacher? recording must be erased. Video recording may occur only when a faculty member requests it in advance; thus, it may not be done on a regular basis in anticipation of faculty requests.

computer software Computer software is subject to the same fair use restrictions as other copyrighted materials. For example, teachers may not copy a protected computer program and distribute it for use on school computers. Downloading computer files from another source may require permission and/or fees. For example, after it was found that a Los Angeles school allegedly possessed pirated copies of hundreds of software programs, district officials agreed to pay $300,000 to rectify this infringement and to develop a multimillion-dollar plan to pay for violations at other schools.

Copyright issues involving the Internet have become an important concern for teachers, students, and administrators. Copyright holders have taken action to prohibit unauthorized use of text or images, to correct or restrict posting of incomplete or erroneous materials, or otherwise to reduce or eliminate potentially illegal publication of their materials on the Internet and other platforms. Business and commercial groups led by the entertainment and software industries worked with federal legislators to develop the No Electronic Theft Act of 1997; the Digital Millennium Act of 1998; the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002; and the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008; all of these provide hefty penalties for possessing or distributing illegal electronic copies. These laws include provisions that allow copyright owners to prevent downloading of their material without permission and/or to require recipients to pay a fee. They also protect the copyrights of teachers whose material is posted online.25

9-3 StudentS’ rightS and reSponSibiLitieS

in loco parentis The idea that schools should act “in place of the parent.” During the 1960s, students increasingly began to challenge the authority of school officials to control student behavior. Before these challenges, students’ rights were considered limited by their status as minors and by the concept of in loco parentis, according to which school authorities assumed the powers of the child’s parents during the hours the child was under the school’s supervision. Use of this concept has declined, however, and the courts have become more active in identifying and upholding students’ constitutional rights. Student responsibilities have been increasingly recognized as well—that is, understanding that students’ educational rights are tied in with responsibilities on the part of both students and educators to ensure effective operation of the school.

The following sections and Overview 9.2 summarize some of the most important court decisions involving students’ rights and responsibilities. These apply primarily to public schools. As with teachers, students in nonpublic schools may not enjoy all the constitutional guarantees discussed in this chapter. Unless a substantial relationship between the school and the government can be demonstrated, privateschool activity is not considered action by the state and therefore does not trigger state constitutional obligations. However, the movement toward voucher plans

25Linda Howe-Stiger and Brian C. Donohue, “Technology Is Changing What’s Fair Use in Teaching—Again,” Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2002 posting available at http://epaa .asu.edu; Edwin C. Darden, “Copyright Rules for Schools,” American School Board Journal (April 2011), available at www.asbj.com; and Kyle Wiens, “The End of Ownership,” Wired (January 17, 2014), available at www.wired.com.