Law in the International School - PTC 402

By definition, every school leader assumes weighty responsibilities for people and relationships, events, facilities, and a host other operational facets.  This course provides a comprehensive overview of the primary legal issues that confront principals and other school leaders in international schools of all types.  Emphasis is placed on developing skills to recognize the events that give rise to legal and policy issues.

The course is taught through the Socratic Method used in preeminent law schools and uses common law in the most developed countries as the primary lens.

Learning Goals

  • Explore the distribution of powers and responsibilities in international school settings, with emphasis on the role of the principal

  • Examine major areas of law and legal issues related to conducting an international school including tort, contracts, conflicts of law, negotiations, and agency (liability)

  • Examine and practice with school policies and their relationship to potential legal issues

  • Examine the emerging field of internet law – cyber-schools, cyber-misconduct and intellectual property use/misuse

  • Practice thinking, writing and negotiating using common law cases to illustrate how a legal system can impact an international school

  • Examine the role of ethical leadership as it relates to law

In order to access course materials, participants are required to bring a laptop computer with wireless internet capability and appropriate adapters to this course.