Schools and the Law

The legal environment in which schools operate and teachers work is increasingly intrusive. There are more statutes, more cases, more regulations, more departmental policies. The law is more complex and compliance is more difficult. Breaches are more serious, more heavily penalised and noisily publicised. In this book, Professor Des Butler and Dr Ben Mathews analyse the major legal issues confronting schools across Australia, and provide clear, accessible statements of the current legal principles involved. They enable readers to understand what the law is and how it is likely to apply in particular situations. The six chapters cover Children's Rights; Duties of Care and Vicarious Liability; Statutory Requirements for Child Safety; Student Misconduct and Discipline; Equal Opportunity; and Information and Privacy. Each chapter covers both legislation directly regulating schools - for example, the obligation on school staff to report suspected child abuse and neglect - and general statutes that apply in educational contexts such as discrimination laws. They also analyse the growing body of case law relating to incidents at schools or involving schools. The book uses an accessible, reader-friendly style making it suitable for teachers, policy-makers and the wider school community as well as legal practitioners.