BEd Bachelor of Education School Law, Ethics, and Professional Standards 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which landmark U.S. Supreme Court case established that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional?
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- Brown v. Board of Education (Correct answer)
- Tinker v. Des Moines
- Endrew F. v. Douglas County
Correct answer: Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned the 'separate but equal' doctrine and declared racially segregated public schools unconstitutional.
Question 2: Under FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), student education records may generally be released to third parties without consent EXCEPT in which situation?
- A legitimate educational interest by a school official
- A subpoena from a court
- A parent requesting their own minor child's records (Correct answer)
- A health or safety emergency
Correct answer: A parent requesting their own minor child's records
Parents of minor students have the right to access their child's records under FERPA, but this right transfers to the student at age 18 and does not require consent to third parties.
Question 3: A teacher suspects a student is being physically abused at home. Under most U.S. state laws, the teacher is:
- Encouraged but not required to report suspicions
- Required to report the suspicion to appropriate authorities (Correct answer)
- Only required to report if there is concrete proof
- Required to notify the school board before reporting
Correct answer: Required to report the suspicion to appropriate authorities
Teachers are mandated reporters in all 50 U.S. states, legally required to report reasonable suspicions of child abuse or neglect to authorities.
Question 4: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the:
- Most restrictive environment possible
- Least restrictive environment (LRE) (Correct answer)
- Specialized private school of the parent's choosing
- Separate classroom exclusively for students with disabilities
Correct answer: Least restrictive environment (LRE)
IDEA mandates that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment, alongside non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate.
Question 5: Which ethical principle requires teachers to act in the best educational interest of their students above personal interests?
- Non-maleficence
- Autonomy
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Justice
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence means actively doing good and acting in students' best interests, a core ethical obligation in the teaching profession.
Question 6: In Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), the Supreme Court ruled that students:
- Have no constitutional rights within school buildings
- Do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate (Correct answer)
- May be punished for any expression disruptive to administrators
- Lose First Amendment rights during school hours
Correct answer: Do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate
The Court ruled that students retain First Amendment rights in schools, famously stating they do not shed rights 'at the schoolhouse gate.'
BEd Bachelor of Education School Law, Ethics, and Professional Standards 1
Which landmark U.S.
Supreme Court case established that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional?