Deborah
Charles Publications
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Deborah
Charles PublicationsNeville Harris, Professor of Law, Liverpool John Moores University, UK, "The Three 'R's' - Rights, Remedies and Regulation: The Legal Frontiers of Education in the 1990s", in "Education Law", Liverpool Law Review XX/1 (1998), 7-40: The right to education is a fundamental human right. In England and Wales, education rights have formed part of an increasingly complex legal framework surrounding educational provision. The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented degree of legislative reform governing education; and the system which emerged from R.A. Butler's Education Act 1944 has been transformed. The education system now operates in an environment of intense regulation, which has had serious implications for the professional autonomy of teachers and for the determination and consequences of education "success" and "failure". It has also been subjected to the forces of consumerism, in particular through a policy a promoting choice in education. Important rights and remedies have been introduced, but choice has proved an illusory concept. The Labour Government elected in 1997 has put a particularly strong emphasis on quality in schoolsat a time when opportunities for litigation in respect of defective provision are opening up. The combination of consumerist forces and individual expectations raised by the political focus on educational standards and the emergent concept of "stakeholderism" is likely to result in increasing resort to law by dissatisfied parents, students and others. e-mail: n.s.harris@livjm.ac.uk
Paul Meredith, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Southampton, UK, "The Changing Role of Local Education Authorities", in "Education Law", Liverpool Law Review XX/1 (1998), 41-62: This article discusses the changing role of local education authorities and their changing relationships with other partners in the provision of school education in England - in particular the Department for Education and Employment and individual school governing bodies - in the light of the new government's proposals for educational reform. The discussion focuses chiefly on the many proposals in the White Paper, Excellence in Schools, and the School Standards and Framework Bill for raising standards in education. Those proposals include many new functions for local education authorities, but also many powers of prescription, control and intervention for the Secretary of State. These new powers and functions will bring about significant shifts in the complex balance of power between the central department, local authorities and schools. The primary aim of the article is to analyse and evaluate the nature and scope of these new powers and functions and their implications for local authorities and their relationship with their other partners in the provision of education. e-mail: apkm@soton.ac.uk
Laura Lundy, School of Law, Queen's University Belfast, "From Act to Order: the metamorphosis of education legislation", in "Education Law", Liverpool Law Review XX/1 (1998), 63-93: Education law reform for Northern Ireland usually begins at the point where the legislative process for England and Wales ends. Once an Education Act is enacted at Westminster, the policy process appears to kick-start across the Irish sea with the Department of Education for Northern Ireland formulating similar proposals for Northern Ireland. However, in Northern Ireland there a number of forces at play which frequently result in the implementation of distinctively different legislative provisions. A good illustration of this is the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989, which was intended to mirror many of the changes introduced in England and Wales by the Education Act 1988. This article explains the differences between the two education systems; charts the progress of three specific policy initiatives contained in the Education Act 1988 (the national curriculum, grant-maintained schools and open enrolment) after they were proposed for Northern Ireland; and analyses the factors which contributed to the transformation of the relevant provisions from identical twins to close (or sometimes distant) cousins. The article indicates that a key factor in the process of transformation was the influence of the Northern Ireland churches within the education system and suggests that, when arguments are presented in the language of discrimination and minority rights, concessions can be wrought even from governments who are committed to a particular strategy of educational reform. e-mail: l.lundy@qub.ac.uk
Jonathan Robinson, Senior Lecturer in Law, Buckingham University, "Damages for a pupil's academic under-performance in school - thus far, but how much further?", in "Education Law", Liverpool Law Review XX/1 (1998), 95-114: This article begins by identifying as a fundamental issue the policy question of whether people should be given damages when a public welfare system, in this case education, has been found wanting. It examines the House of Lords' ruling in the Dorset, Hampshire and Bromley cases and the subsequent emphasis by Lord Hoffmann on Lord Browne-Wilkinson's reference to the influence of the relevant statutory framework within which negligence occurred. There is analysis of the Phelps decision. Looking to the future, the article will consider how questions of causation might be dealt with. There is also discussion of quantum of damages. The overall implications of common law negligence possibilities in relation to underformance by education professionals are considered in the author's conclusion. e-mail: jonathan.robinson@buck.ac.uk
Douglas J. Stewart, Senior Lecturer, School of Professional Studies, Queensland University of Technology, "Schools and the law in Australia: An overview", in "Education Law", Liverpool Law Review XX/1 (1998), 115-136: Although there is no single academic discipline called education or school law in Australia, the influence of the law on educational institutions has increasingly come to affect their policies and practices. This article examines the impact of statute and common law on Australian schools. The paper provides a brief overview of the development of the nation's political, legal and schooling systems from early colonial days. The consequences of major Australian court decisions and emergent legal issues of importance to school management and administration are addressed. Given the extent of the incursion of the law into all Australian educational institutions it is not possible in this article to explore issues associated with tertiary institutions nor to examine in any great detail potential areas of concern to educational authorities, school principals or classroom practitioners. Nevertheless, an analysis of the most pressing legal issues facing schools is undertaken including: the duty of care for the physical welfare of students in a range of school-related settings such as classrooms, school grounds, travelling to and from school, sport and excursions. Emergent areas of 'school law' likely to affect long established school policies and practices, such as educational malpractice, student rights, students with special needs and injuries incurred through improper or incorrect training/coaching techniques, are addressed. e-mail: d.j.stewart@qut.ed.au
Andy Khan, Professor of Law, Athabasca University, Canada, "Canadian Education: Legal Position of Religion", in "Education Law", Liverpool Law Review XX/1 (1998), 137-156: This article examines the legal position of education and religion, as impacted upon by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter provides for certain fundamental rights, including equality rights and freedom of religion and conscience, and imposes constitutional limitations on the Canadian parliament, provincial legislative assemblies and government. The Canadian Charter is having a considerable impact on educational practices and policies, particularly relating to religion. The developments have seen two major streams of litigation. In the first, the courts have been asked to rule whether the state can impose religious practices of the majority on a minority in schools, in other words does the Charter illegalize religious indoctrination in public schools? The second stream is the question of public funding of private religious schools. e-mail: andyk@athabscau.ca
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