For All Educators

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Responsibilities, Rights, and Ethics

Before discussing teachers’ critical legal and ethical responsibilities, complete the assessment below to check what you already know, what you need to unlearn, and what you might be interested in exploring further.

Teaching is both challenging and rewarding; it is rewarding because teachers can positively impact students’ lives, but it is also difficult because teachers have to navigate federal and state laws to be good at what they do. Unlike other professions, the work of teachers is regulated by laws, policies, and ethical codes, and while these types of guidance may exist to provide clarity, they oftentimes cause confusion instead. Being aware of and complying with these expectations can be especially overwhelming for new educators. This section broadly introduces aspiring teachers to key concepts, legal rights, and ethical responsibilities that are expected of all educators and are explored through the lens of special education. The next chapter of this module will focus specifically on the ethical and legal obligations of special education teachers.

Legal Responsibilities

Federal Education Laws[1]

Teachers are guided by federal and state laws to ensure they meet the goals set forth by public education to effectively serve the students enrolled. Federal and state laws related to education are important for all teachers to know, regardless of where they are teaching in the United States and what they are teaching. Laws in education tend to focus on privacy and student success, opportunity, and achievement. This section will explain federal laws related to education, including the Family Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal act that protects student educational records by preventing teachers from sharing information related to their students with others. While it is important for all educators to adhere to FERPA, it is especially important in special education, as students in special education tend to have additional educational records, like Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or progress reports.

The purpose of FERPA is to improve parents’ access to their child’s information within the school; therefore, as part of this law, schools need to have an established procedure in place so that parents can access their child’s records and provide corrections or request completeness when needed. Parents have the right to access their child’s school record until the child reaches the age of 18 or is enrolled in a postsecondary institution. Some records, however, are not included, such as personal teacher notes, letters of reference, grade books, or correspondence with a principal. Additionally, there may also be files or information kept separate from a student’s file to protect the privacy rights of other students in the school.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Replacing the No Child Left Behind Act in 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a federal act that requires each state to provide transparency to parents and communities by creating and publicly sharing a “State Report Card.” Information presented in the “State Report Card” includes student performance in reading, math, and science, as well as graduation rates, suspensions, absenteeism, and teacher qualifications. In addition to reporting the aforementioned things, states must also report their per pupil expenditures (how much they spend per student) and their lowest 5% performing schools, as this provides accountability to each state and its public education system. The lowest performing schools are provided support for improvement. This act is important for special educators, as it mandates that students in special education programs are provided with equitable learning opportunities.

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) is a federal amendment that protects students’ privacy by limiting the information that can be collected about them. This amendment protects students from being administered surveys, analyses, or evaluations related to one or more of the following protected areas:

  • Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent;
  • Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family;
  • Sex behavior or attitudes;
  • Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
  • Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
  • Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
  • Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or
  • Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).

Summary

Together, these federal laws ensure that the privacy of public school students is protected while also guaranteeing that students are provided equitable learning opportunities regardless of their demographics or identity. As a future educator, you will want to have a general understanding of these laws so that you can be in compliance and so that you can best protect and educate your students.

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Federal Laws

States’ Roles and Public Schools[2]

Federal laws provide the framework for states to effectively serve their students and communities, whereas state laws provide the details as to how educators can do this. While federal laws can sometimes seem ambiguous or overarching, state laws tend to be more specific to the context of the geographic and cultural needs of each state.

For instance, states are regulated to provide a minimum public education to each child in their respective jurisdiction. However, each state is left to interpret what a minimum public education looks like in that state’s given context. As a result, each state has a compulsory attendance statute that determines the ages at which students in that state will be expected to attend school. This statute includes three categories: (1) Age of required attendance, which lists the range of ages that students must attend school within that state; (2) Minimum age limit to which free education must be offered, which lists the age that students must begin school within that state; and (3) Maximum age limit for which free education must be offered, which lists the cutoff age for students to complete school within that state. As you can see in the comparative example below, the ages vary depending on the state.

Comparison of compulsory attendance statute among four different states
Age of required attendance Minimum age limit to which free education must be offered Maximum age limit for which free education must be offered
Alabama 6-17 years of age 5 years of age 17 years of age
Hawaii 5-18 years of age 5 years of age 20 years of age
Minnesota 7-17 years of age 5 years of age 21 years of age
New York 6-16 years of age 5 years of age 21 years of age

State laws also provide guidelines for how schools are organized based on funding, and money is allocated to school districts throughout the state. From there, school districts decide how those funds are spent. Sometimes, state legislatures and courts must intervene to help reduce funding disparities between poorer and wealthier school districts to ensure all students have equal access to education.

Other ways that states provide schools with oversight include:

  • Identifying the minimum licensure requirements for educators
  • Dictating what educators must do within that state to maintain their teaching license
  • Creating a state board of education, set up school districts, and
  • Establishing school boards for each district

Mandated Reporting

In most states, teachers are mandated reporters who must report any suspicion of child maltreatment. Child maltreatment includes harm caused to a child by neglect, physical or sexual abuse, child endangerment, mental injury, or threats of injury. This is especially important for those working with students with disabilities to be aware of, as children with disabilities are three times more likely to experience abuse or neglect compared to children without disabilities (Jones et al., 2012). [3]

Because of mandated reporting, teachers are legally required to report any suspicions of maltreatment or if they witness maltreatment firsthand. The report must be filed by the person who is told of the maltreatment, as this responsibility cannot be transferred to another person. After learning of maltreatment, a report must be filed within 24 hours. Those who fail to file a report can be held accountable by law, which could include a misdemeanor charge, loss of accreditation or licensure, or a negative mark on a background check. If a child discloses that they have been abused within the last three years, it needs to be reported within 24 hours in the same manner as current maltreatment.

When teachers find themselves in this situation, they are protected in many ways: supervisors and administrators are not able to prevent or discourage reports from being filed, as it is mandated by law; reports of this nature are reported in good faith, which means that the person reporting the claim has reason to believe that maltreatment is truly occurring; and lastly, the family of the child will not be informed of who made the report. If teachers ever suspect that a child is in imminent danger, they need to call 9-1-1.

The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center has created a tool that allows users to review some of the mandates adopted by each state. While the list of mandates for each state is not exhaustive, it provides an understanding of the expectations set forth by each state.  If you want to know if your state has a mandated reporting law for educators, visit your state’s Education Department’s website.

The District as Your Employer

While public school teachers are technically considered state employees, they work for the school districts they serve, and as such, teachers must be aware of the guidelines and expectations set forth by the districts. As explained in the sections above, the federal government tends to provide the laws and guidance needed to serve students, and the state government provides oversight to ensure these laws are implemented within the individualized context of the given state. School districts dictate the curricula that are taught, create and enforce discipline policies for students to follow, and identify how to spend state-allocated funds.

Practice iconPractice

School Governance at the Federal, State, District, and School Level[4]

This visual representation was created to help understand the relationships that exist between the federal government, state government, school districts, and schools.

Ethical Responsibilities

Teachers have a responsibility to be ethical. Ethical codes have been established by educational organizations and states to help make it clear to teachers what it means to be ethical. An ethical code is a set of guidelines that clarifies how educators should behave in certain circumstances so that their actions are informed by ethical standards or expectations.

Ethical Codes

Because students in special education classrooms rely on their teachers and other educators in ways that other students might not, it is of utmost importance for special education teachers to operate in an ethical manner. In addition to complying with federal and state laws and following the expectations outlined by districts and schools, special education teachers must be aware of the codes of ethics that exist within the educational sphere, including the National Education Association Code of Ethics for Educators and the Association of American Educators Code of Ethics for Educators. These codes explicitly highlight the ways in which educators can be ethical and are explained in further detail in the sections below.

The National Education Association (NEA)

One organization that has helped define what it means to be ethical is the National Education Association (NEA). The NEA is an organization comprised of educators, including K-12 teachers, and those who support public education and are committed to helping all students learn in public educational settings. Guiding the work of teachers is the National Education Association Code of Ethics for Educators.

National Education Association Code of Ethics for Educators[5]:

The Association of American Educators (AAE)

Another organization that has helped define what it means for teachers to be ethical is the Association of American Educators (AAE). The AAE is a non-union, non-partisan professional educators organization focused on student achievement. Like the National Education Association, the AAE has developed a code of ethics to guide the behaviors of educators. This code of ethics aims to ensure educators can provide a nurturing learning environment that allows all students to reach their potential.

The Association of American Educators Code of Ethics for Educators[6]:

Individual States

In addition to the codes of ethics created by the National Education Association and the Association of American Educators, many states have ethical expectations of teachers that are clearly articulated in their policies. For instance, states such as Virginia, Michigan, and California have clearly stated ethical expectations of their teachers. If you want to know if your state has created a code of ethics for its teachers, visit your state’s Education Department website and search the phrase “code of ethics.”

Other Ethical Considerations

In addition to the ethical codes outlined by the American Association of Educators, the National Education Association, and the states, teachers will want to be aware of the implications that can be drawn due to how they present themselves. Daily, teachers must make judgment calls related to how they communicate, how they dress, or how they present themselves in public settings, and while this can be overwhelming, it is possible to navigate.

To help frame these judgment calls, teachers can draw on the formal resources mentioned above and consider how their choices will impact their relationships with students and staff. For instance, if using slang in conversations prevents colleagues from understanding what you are trying to say, then you might want to speak using clearly understood language that is free from terms with which your colleagues may not be familiar, or if wearing stiletto-heeled shoes will prevent you from playing with your students, and that is something you enjoy doing as a teacher, you may want to choose different shoes to wear. It is important to remain true to yourself while also demonstrating professional and ethical awareness.

Implicit Bias

Everyone has implicit biases, or unintentional judgments, that automatically occur. Educators need to be aware of their own implicit biases so they can refrain from having bias show up. Without awareness of implicit bias, it can potentially negatively impact students’ opportunities in the classroom. Bias is not something that is created suddenly but instead is something that develops from a young age through adulthood; people are socialized to form biases as they stem from their environments and communities. People may not always be aware of bias, and because of that, it is important to find ways to become aware.

One way to become aware of implicit bias is to notice when it arises. For example, do you automatically use “he” when referring to someone whose gender is unknown? Do you assume students celebrate the holidays that are celebrated in your culture? Do you speculate about people’s abilities due to their race, gender, ability status, etc.? Once you are able to recognize how implicit bias shows up, you can work to prevent it from impacting your behavior. Using the examples listed in the sentences above, you might ask yourself the following questions to avoid exhibiting personal bias: Was there a time when the default “he” did not capture the gender identity of the referenced person? Have you seen someone of varied abilities excel at something you didn’t expect? By challenging your assumptions, you will be able to reduce your implicit bias while gaining a deeper understanding of those around you.

Communication

Teachers communicate information to principals, aides, students, parents, teachers, and support staff regularly as a component of their work. When drafting written communications or engaging in spoken communications, teachers may want to consider how they are presenting themselves so that they are perceived in an ethical manner that is in alignment with the goals of the school. Relationships can also be impacted by communication, so teachers will want to consider how their messages might be interpreted by others. As a general rule: If you find that you wouldn’t repeat a message to your supervisor, then it probably isn’t a message you want to be communicating.

The goal of communication is to convey an idea to another person clearly. To be a clear communicator, consider your rhetorical situation:

  1. Who is your audience, or to whom are you communicating?
  2. What is the purpose of your communication, or what are you hoping to accomplish through your communication?
  3. What is the context of the situation, or what information do you need to provide your audience for them to have all the details they need to act?
  4. What is the medium, or how do you intend to communicate the message (email, text message, telephone call, etc.)?

Teachers must be mindful of their rhetorical situation, especially when speaking to caregivers of students. When teachers need to communicate information to a caregiver that could be perceived as negative, they should use the sandwich method. What this looks like in action is beginning with a positive statement, sharing any concerns, and ending with a positive statement.

Example of the sandwich method:

Mohammad is excellent at reading aloud! However, I have noticed that he struggles to read words that are longer than seven letters in length; we are going to work together this year so that he is comfortable reading longer words. I am confident Mohammad will succeed because he is an excellent reader with strong comprehension.

Ultimately, teachers need to remember that the caregivers of students are the experts; therefore, it is necessary for teachers to listen to them. It may be helpful for teachers to clarify to the caregivers that everyone has a mutual goal, and that is for the student to succeed. In these moments, it is important for teachers to stay positive while also being honest about their concerns related to the needs of their students. Sharing the successes of students with their caregivers can also help offset some of the discomfort that may come with this type of communication.

Professional Attire and Presentation

Like communication, the way teachers present themselves professionally can impact how others perceive them. Teachers are not given uniforms and, therefore, must select an outfit to wear every single day. This means that every day teachers are given an opportunity to choose how to present themselves to their students and their colleagues. Some schools have dress codes for staff and teachers, but they are intentionally vague and open to interpretation. For professional attire, teachers should consider the school’s dress code and their own preferences for comfort and style.

Deeper Dive IconDeeper Dive:

Other Ethical Considerations

Implicit Bias

Communications

Professional Attire 

Teachers Matter (A Lot)

Teachers are pivotal because they help students acquire the foundational skills needed to succeed in later years. Special education teachers unequivocally serve a valuable purpose in education: they provide individualized instruction to students based on their learning needs, communicate the progress of students to their families and their support teams, and coordinate with Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams to ensure students’ educational needs are being met.

While there are many things for all teachers to consider, like federal, state, and district policies, their work is essential to society. Through ethical guidance provided by organizations like the National Education Association, the Association of American Educators, and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium ([InTASC), teachers are provided the structure to know how to act to help support them in their critical roles. With laws and guidance in mind, teachers can effectively support their students and school districts.

In a word, teachers are magical. 

Knowledge Check iconKnowledge Check

Responsibilities, Rights, and Ethics

 

References

Adapted from Wells, M. & Clayton, C. (2021). Foundations of American Education: A Critical Lens (Chapter 5: “Ethical & Legal Issues in Education”). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Adapted from Hooser, A. & McClain, J. (2022). EESE 2010 Introduction to Education (Chapter 4: “School Governance and Finance”). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License; Image adapted from Powell, S.D. (2018). Your introduction to education: Explorations in teaching (4th ed.). Pearson

Association of American Educators. (n.d.). Code of ethics for educators. AAE. https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/about-us/aae-code-of-ethics

Jones, L., Bellis, M. A., Wood, S., Hughes, K., McCoy, E., Eckley, L., Bates, G., Mikton, C., Shakespeare, T., & Officer, A. (2012). Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Lancet, 380, 899–907.

National Education Association. (2020, September 14). Code of ethics for educators. NEA. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/code-ethics-educators

  1. Adapted from Wells, M. & Clayton, C. (2021). Foundations of American Education: A Critical Lens (Chapter 5: "Ethical & Legal Issues in Education"). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License  ↵
  2. Adapted from Wells, M. & Clayton, C. (2021). Foundations of American Education: A Critical Lens (Chapter 5: "Ethical & Legal Issues in Education"). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License ↵
  3. Jones, L., Bellis, M. A., Wood, S., Hughes, K., McCoy, E., Eckley, L., Bates, G., Mikton, C., Shakespeare, T., & Officer, A. (2012). Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Lancet, 380, 899–907. ↵
  4. Adapted from Hooser, A. & McClain, J. (2022).  EESE 2010 Introduction to Education (Chapter 4: "School Governance and Finance"). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License; Image adapted from Powell, S.D. (2018). Your introduction to education: Explorations in teaching (4th ed.). Pearson ↵
  5. National Education Association. (2020, September 14). Code of ethics for educators. NEA. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/code-ethics-educators ↵
  6. Association of American Educators. (n.d.). Code of ethics for educators. AAE. https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/about-us/aae-code-of-ethics ↵
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