GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING
THE EVIDENCE PRODUCT
NC DPI EVIDENCE 5:
SCHOOL IMPLEMENTATION OF A
CANDIDATE-SELECTED SCHOOL LAW
EDNL 5860:
LEGAL ASPECTS OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
OLIVIA OXENDINE, ED.D.
INSTRUCTOR
NC DPI EVIDENCE 5: SCHOOL IMPLEMENTATION OF A
CANDIDATE-SELECTED EDUCATION LAW
Descriptors Addressed in the Evidence: 1b, 1b2, 5c, 5d, 5d1, 5d2, 6b, 6b1
Student: ________________________________Course Instructor: _____________________
Year of Completion: ______________________Course: ______________________________
University: _____________________________Program Director: ______________________
EVIDENCE OVERVIEW
Name of Evidence: The Impact of Education Law on Operations, Local Policy, Public Awareness and Communication, and Educators’ Compliance Responsibilities.
Evidence Description: After selecting a federal or state law, you will develop a comprehensive paper that contains sections co
esponding with the respective descriptors shown in the two-column table. Include the evidentiary sections in the column, Evidence Descriptors. The information included in the second column helps you know what to extract from the paper. The evidence will consist of four main parts and several sub-sections. Further in the document, an outline for composing the paper is provided. As part of evidence preparation, you must interview a central office administrator, as well as your principal. To assist their preparation, send the questions prior to each interview. The outline will suggest questions. Be sensitive to each interviewer’s available time. A
anging a 45-minute session is reasonable.
Pre-service Standards and Descriptors
Evidence of Descriptors
Standard 1: Strategic Leadership
1b: The school executive articulates a vision, and implementation strategies, for improvements and changes which result in improved achievement for all students.
1b2. Works with others to collect, analyze, and use data regarding the school’s progress toward attaining strategic goals and objectives.
Write a vision statement that conveys the importance of public laws in educating students, and related local policies
Also include a goal statement that speaks to your obligation to protect the rights of others in the implementation of laws, programs, and policies.
Standard 5: Managerial Leadership
5c: The school executive designs and utilizes formal and informal communication so that the focus of the school can be on student achievement.
5d: School Expectations for Students and Staff: The school executive develops and enforces expectations, structures, rules, and procedures for students and staff.
5d1: Works with others to communicate and enforce clear expectations, structures, rules, and procedures for students and staff.
5d2: Works with others to implement district rules and procedures.
Provide evidence of your plan for educating others about the impact of the selected law on operations, protection of rights, educators’ responsibilities, and local policy?
How will you ensure that others understand their responsibilities related to federal and/or state laws, funding?
With whom would you collaborate as you develop clear compliance/ implementation strategies. How did central office collaboration increase your knowledge of the selected law?
Standard 6: External Development Leadership
6b. Federal, State, and District Mandates. The school executive designs protocols and processes in order to comply with federal, state, and district mandates.
6b1. Works with others to ensure compliance with federal, state, and district mandates.
How will you ensure that teachers and staff are knowledgeable of their responsibilities regarding compliance and accountability? Describe a systematic process that will ensure effective implementation of your selected law.
Background
Educating of the nation’s children is of eminent concern to parents, lawmakers, policy makers, and educators. To that point, the body of federal and state law is expansive and nuanced with respect to maintaining an even hand on the constitutional rights of all parties involved in the processes of educating our children. As a starting point, it is important to know that North Carolina, through the State Constitution, provides for a uniform system of public schools. The following statute speaks to that goal:
§ 115C-1. General and uniform system of schools.
A general and uniform system of free public schools shall be provided throughout the State, wherein equal opportunities shall be provided for all students, in accordance with the provisions of Article IX of the Constitution of North Carolina. Tuition shall be free of charge to all children of the State, and to every person of the State less than 21 years old, who has not completed a standard high school course of study. There shall be operated in every local school administrative unit a uniform school term of nine months, without the levy of a State ad valorem tax therefor. (1955, c. 1372, art. 1, s. 1; 1963, c. 448, s. 24; 1971, c. 704, s. 1; c. 1231, s. 1; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1034, s. 21; 1985, c. 780, s. 1.)
State Board of Education
At the governance level, the Constitution (Article IX) describes the role of the North Carolina State Board of Education (NCSBE) has being responsible for "supervising and administering the free public- school system and the educational funds provided for its support."
Composed of 13 members (eight regional members, three at-large members, and two ex officio), the State Board of Education (SBE) adopts rules in furtherance of its constitutional mandate. The mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is to use its constitutional authority to guard and maintain the right of a sound, basic education for every child in North Carolina Public Schools.
Department of Public Instruction
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is charged with implementing the state's public-school laws for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public schools at the direction of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Department provides leadership and service to the 116 local public-school districts and 2,500 district public schools, 203 charter schools, and the three residential schools for students with hearing and visual impairments. The areas of support include cu
iculum and instruction, accountability, finance, teacher and administrator preparation and licensing, professional development and school business support and operations.
State Superintendent
The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction is the elected head of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and oversees the public-school systems of the state. The Superintendent is cu
ently an elected member of the North Carolina Council of State, chosen in a partisan election every four years.
The North Carolina General Assembly
Laws of North Carolina, known as statutes, are made by the General Assembly. The North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) is made of two bodies or houses; the Senate, which has 50 members; and the House of Representatives, which consists of 120 members. Each legislator represents either a Senatorial District or a House District. All education laws are codified in G.S. 115C.
The Constitution and Public Education
The US Constitution recognizes state and local authorities as the entities responsible for providing a free system of public education. This responsibility resides in the Tenth Amendment, and states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”
The US Department of Education (DOE) is a federal agency responsible for establishing policy and administering most federal assistance to education. Laws and regulations originate in Congress. Established as a cabinet within the Executive Branch, the mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Another important function of the DOE is disseminating to the states and te
itories the latest evidenced-base programs and innovations. Sizable grants are awarded to states and districts to encourage strategic experimentation in schools and classrooms.
EDUCATION LAW EXAMPLES
NOTE: For the evidence assignment, you may select one of the following examples, or research other laws, either federal or state (North Carolina).
Federal: Title VI: Indian, Native, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education Part A-Indian Education
NOTE: Check with your central office to determine if the school district receives Title VI-Indian Education Program dollars. If you select this federal law, a
ange an interview with the Director of Title VI.
It is the policy of the United States to fulfill the Federal Government’s unique and continuing trust relationship with and responsibility to the Indian people for the education of Indian children. The Federal Government will continue to work with local educational agencies, Indian tribes and organizations, postsecondary institutions, and other entities toward the goal of ensuring that programs that serve Indian children are of the highest quality and provide for not only the basic elementary and secondary educational needs. States must ensure that Indian children do not attend school in buildings that are dilapidated, or receive ratings, which may negatively affect the academic success of such children.
North Carolina: Compulsory Attendance Age (See G.S. § 115C-364)
Children between the ages of 7 and 16 years old; however, if a child is under 7 years old and is enrolled in Kindergarten, first or second grade, the compulsory attendance law applies to that child. Under NC law, children may enroll in school at 5 years old
North Carolina: Determining Which School District (See N.C. G.S. 115C‐366)
A student attends the school district where he or she is domiciled; however, domicile is not defined in the NC education laws, unlike the NC social services law. The NC Court of Appeals determined a domicile is someone’s permanent, established home, which is distinguishable from a temporary, although actual, place of residence (actual place of abode). Unemancipated minors may not establish a domicile different from their parents or legal guardian, and they cannot on their own select, acquire, or change their domicile.
North Carolina G.S. 115C XXXXXXXXXXCharacter Education.
Each local board of education shall develop and implement character education instruction with input from the local community. The instruction shall be incorporated into the standard cu
iculum and should address several traits. Refer to the full law for a in-depth description.
North Carolina: Cursive Writing and Multiplication Tables
G.S. 115C-81 is amended by adding new subsections to read:
Cursive Writing. - The standard course of study shall include the requirement that the public schools provide instruction in cursive writing so that students create readable documents through legible cursive handwriting by the end of fifth grade.
Multiplication Tables. - The standard course of study shall include the requirement that students enrolled in public schools memorize multiplication tables to demonstrate competency in efficiently multiplying numbers."
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the XXXXXXXXXXschool year. The bill became on the 3rd day of June, 2013.
Federal: Stewart B. McKinney-Vento Reauthorization of ESEA, effective XXXXXXXXXXHomeless Assistance Act of 1987, Title VII
The objective of the Homeless Education Program is to ensure that homeless children and youth have equal access to