Begin by reading the case study “The Case of the Powdered Aspirin” in Chapter 5. This case helps school leadership candidates understand the conflict between the need for a drug-free school culture and the equally compelling ethical requirement that all students be treated fairly. The case study also sets the stage for discussions about procedural and substantive due process and the idea of a well-ordered school.

Respond to the following questions providing a rationale for each response using this week’s assigned reading.

1. Can Lasiandra’s parents request a hearing before the local board of education? Why or why not?
2. Does Lasiandra have a property of liberty interest that qualifies her for due process protection?
3. Have the procedural guidelines for student suspension been met?
4. What characteristics of a well-ordered school are missing in this scenario? (Hint: See the three defining characteristics as well as the “Do and Do Not” section in the “Idea of a Well-Ordered School” section of the text.)

Case Study The Case of the Powdered Aspirin

As principal of Medford Elementary School, Charlene Daniels was quite concerned about the rumors that several students had been bringing powdered aspirin to school and “huffing” the powder in the restroom after lunch and after recess. At the last faculty meeting, Charlene had discussed her concerns with the faculty and asked them to be more vigilant than usual as students left the cafeteria and returned from recess. It was this vigilance that led sixth-grade teacher Ralph Smith to her office. “Ms. Daniels, I just saw sixth-grader Lasiandra Davis go into the girls’ restroom next to the cafeteria. I just caught a glimpse, but I am sure I saw a brown paper bag in her hand. I could not follow her into the restroom, but I sent Mrs. Hale to go check.”

Mrs. Hale came out of the restroom just as Charlene and Ralph arrived holding a brown paper bag covered with a white powdery substance. “I found this in the trash can under some papers. When I arrived Lasiandra Davis was the only one in the restroom. She saw me searching the trash can and left the restroom before I could stop her.”

Charlene immediately placed the brown bag with the white substance in a plastic container, called the police, and started her own investigation. The investigation lasted all afternoon, interrupted several classes, and caused several students to miss significant time in the classroom. All five of the sixth-grade teachers spent considerable time talking to their students trying to get more information. By the end of the day, Charlene was fairly convinced that Lasiandra had indeed been in possession of the paper bag. She based her conclusions on a couple of students’ testimony that they had seen Lasiandra with a paper bag right before lunch, Lasiandra’s teacher’s observation that Lasiandra had seem “agitated” after lunch the past several days, and Mr. Smith’s belief that he had seen Lasiandra take a brown paper bag into the restroom.

Charlene called Lasiandra to the office and confronted her with the allegations. Lasiandra denied that she had brought powdered aspirin to school. She said that she was not in possession of a paper bag after lunch as Mr. Smith had said, and that she knew nothing about the bag found in the trash. Charlene informed Lasiandra that she was suspending her for 5 days for “disturbing instruction.” She based this finding on the fact that all sixth-grade classes had been disrupted, that all five of the sixth-grade teachers had participated in the investigation rather than teach their classes, and that she as principal spent all afternoon investigating the incident.

Lasiandra’s mother and father were not happy with Charlene’s decision. Both parents had called Superintendent Johanson. Charlene’s parents and the superintendent had agreed to meet the next day to appeal the suspension.

The Idea of a Well-Ordered School

A school that exists as a fair system of cooperation under a public conception of justice meets ISLLC Standards 2A, 3A, 3C, 4B, 4C, 4D, 5B, 5C, 5D, and 5E. A school existing in this manner—a 

well-ordered school

—has three defining characteristics:

ISLLC Standards 2A, 3A, 3C, 4B, 4C, 4D, 5B, 5C, 5D, and 5E

1. Everyone in the school accepts, and knows that everyone else accepts, the same concepts of justice. Moreover, this knowledge is mutually recognized as though these principles were a matter of public record. In other words, school leaders, teachers, and students acknowledge and accept that certain basic principles will be honored by everyone.

2. All personal interactions, policies, and applications of policy are designed to facilitate a system of cooperation.

3. Students, teachers, and school leaders have a rational sense of justice that allows them to understand and for the most part act accordingly as their positions in the school dictate.

These three concepts provide a mutually recognizable point of view for the development of a school culture that promotes order, safety, and security. A mutual understanding of the roles and responsibilities of administrators, teachers, and students is important. The concept of a well-ordered school characterized by a fair system of social cooperation established by public justification may seem overly theoretical. However, it is embedded in a real problem—the development of a safe, secure, and substance-free school environment that promotes student learning. For example, in a national study of crime and violence in middle schools, 

Cantor et al. (2001)

 found that in low-disorder schools, a shared sense of responsibility is present among teachers and administrators. In these schools, principals and teachers for the most part support one another and function well as a team. In contrast, this sense of shared responsibility among teachers and administrators was weak in high-disorder schools. Teachers tended to point fingers at one another, at administrators, and at school security officers for the lack of good order in the school. A school culture based on a public conception of justice provides the framework for a shared sense of responsibility by all concerned in promoting good order and discipline. Well-ordered schools characterized by a fair system of social cooperation established by public justification are most likely to have a school environment that promotes collaboration, trust, and learning (ISLLC Standard 2A); the welfare and safety of students and staff (ISLLC Standard 3C); and social justice and student achievement (ISLLC Standard 5E).

ISLLC Standard 2A

ISLLC Standard 3C

ISLLC Standard 5E

Linking to Practice

Do:

· Develop a system of mutually acceptable and publicly justified policies designed to maintain order and promote safety.

· Involve a wide range of interested stakeholders in the formulation of school rules.

· Model and insist that teachers and other adults in the school honor basic fairness and student rights. Conversely, insist that parents and students honor basic teacher rights.

· Use the concept of a well-ordered school to reinforce feelings of emotional safety for students, teachers, and parents.

· Use data to publicly justify certain restrictions on student freedom. These data can be used to support school safety interventions or conversely demonstrate that certain interventions may not be needed at this point in time.

Do Not:

· Overreact to an isolated incident or criticism and resort to more punitive policies. Defensible school discipline plans should be based on facts, not on opinions, isolated incidents, or whoever can complain the most about student disorder.

· Share identifiable student data in group settings or with individuals without a legitimate educational interest in the data. Sharing identifiable student data is a violation of FERPA and can destroy trust and erode feelings of emotional safety.

Reference: Stader, D. L. (2013). 

Law and ethics in educational leadership 

(2nd ed.). Retrieved from https://www.vitalsource.com