Legal Literacy for Teachers: A Neglected Responsibility

Abstract

In this article, David Schimmel and Matthew Militello document the legal knowledge and training of teachers based on a survey of more than thirteen hundred K– 12 respondents in seventeen states. The findings from this study suggest that most educators (1) are uninformed or misinformed about student and teacher rights; (2) have taken no course in school law; (3) get much of their school law information from other teachers; (4) would change their behavior if they knew more about school law; and (5) want to learn more about these issues. This article outlines the consequences of neglecting educators' lack of legal knowledge. The authors conclude with a series of recommendations on how to promote legal literacy among teachers in both teacher certification and professional development programs.