Customer Rating:  
Summary: Excellent resource, but guidance was helpful
Comment: Teachers and the Law (6th Edition) was the primary text used for my National-Louis University (Wheeling, IL) School Law course. Although the text implies that only information regarding teachers will be discussed, Fischer actually covers legal issues that deal with many levels of educational law including student cases, administrator cases, and even cases that don't involve teachers at all, but loosely relate to educational law in general.
This was my first exposure to any formally-presented school law information and I must confess that I was quite overwhelmed at first. Fischer tends to present a major case very clearly and then fully explains its implications and outcomes. However, he then presents several other related cases that often have conflicting or opposing outcomes to the original point.
What I learned from this text is that there is very little "black and white" when it comes to interpreting school law. I was interested to learn that even the landmark decision cases are still constantly debated in the courts and sometimes ignored when decisions are made by judges or juries. It took our experienced professor to help us understand the subtext of some of the cases and discern the probable reasons why some cases were decided in seemingly arbitrary ways.
In general, Teachers and the Law greatly increased my understanding of school law, but without an experienced professor, I would not have gleaned as much practical information.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Teachers and the Law
Comment: I received the book in good shape. The cover looked next to new and there were very little marks or highlights in the text.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Teachers
Comment: Case law, unless done perhaps by the likes of John Grissam, is not page turning material. However, the authors have done an incredible job of putting very pressing and often complex areas into an accessible and engaging book. Written in an easy to use question and answer format, the updated book touches on education legal issues ranging from free speech, to students with disabilities, to internet issues. While of great use for educator (or educators to be), the book could also easily be adapted for classroom use, either as a debate or research starter. Worth every penny of its price.
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