| academic freedom | The opportunity for teachers and students to learn, teach, study, research, and question without censorship, coercion, or external political and other restrictive influences.
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| Buckley Amendment | The 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act granting parents of students under 18, and students 18 or over the right to examine their school records.
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| character education | A model composed of various strategies that promote a defined set of core values to students.
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| child abuse | Physical, sexual, or emotional violation of a child's health and well-being.
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| comprehensive values education | An approach to moral education that integrates traditional and progressive strategies for teaching values.
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| Copyright Act | A federal law that protects intellectual property, including copyrighted material. Teachers can use such material in classrooms only with permission or under specific guidelines.
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| corporal punishment | The physical disciplining of a student by a school employee.
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| due process | The procedural requirements that must be followed in such areas as student and teacher discipline and placement in special education programs. Due process exists to safeguard individuals from arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable policies, practices, or actions. The essential elements of due process are (1) a notice of the charge or actions to be taken, (2) the opportunity to be heard, (3) and the right to a defense that reflects the particular circumstances and nature of the case.
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| educational malpractice | A new experimental line of litigation similar to the concept of medical malpractice. Educational malpractice is concerned with assessing liability for students who graduate from school without fundamental skills. However, many courts have rejected the notion that schools or educators be held liable for this problem.
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| establishment clause | A section of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. This clause prohibits nonparochial schools from teaching religion.
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| fair use | A legal principle allowing limited use of copyrighted materials. Teachers must observe three criteria: brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect.
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| First Amendment | The constitutional Amendment that protects freedom of religion and speech. An important part of this Amendment is the establishment clause, which prohibits schools and the government from promoting or inhibiting religion in schools.
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| in loco parentis | Latin term meaning "in place of the parents"; that is, a teacher or school administrator assumes the duties and responsibilities of the parents during the hours the child attends school.
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| malfeasance | Deliberately acting improperly and causing harm to someone.
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| misfeasance | Failure to act in a proper manner to prevent harm.
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| moral stages of development | A model of moral development promoted by Lawrence Kohlberg in which individuals progress from simple moral concerns, such as avoiding punishment, to more sophisticated ethical beliefs and actions.
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| nonfeasance | Failure to exercise appropriate responsibility that results in someone's being harmed.
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| sexual harassment | Unwanted, repeated, and unreturned sexual words, behaviors, or gestures prohibited by federal and some state laws.
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| Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964) | Section that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
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| Title IX of the Education Amendments (1972) | A provision of the 1972 Educational Amendments that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program receiving federal financial assistance.
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| traditional inculcation | An approach to moral education that transmits a common set of values to students.
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| values clarification | A model, comprising various strategies, that encourages students to express and clarify their values on different topics.
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| zero-tolerance policy | Rigorous rules that offer schools little or no flexibility in responding to student infractions related to alcohol, drugs, tobacco, violence, and weapons. These policies have been developed by both local school districts and a number of state legislatures, and in most cases, students who violate such policies must be expelled.
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