Law and Education Programs: An Overview

The intersection of law and education is a multifaceted field, encompassing a wide array of programs designed to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complex legal landscape of the education sector. This article provides an overview of various law and education programs, including Juris Doctor (JD) programs with a focus on education law, joint degree programs combining law with education-related disciplines, and specialized programs addressing specific legal issues in education.

The Foundational Juris Doctor (JD) Degree

The Juris Doctor (JD) is the primary professional degree required to practice law in the United States. Most JD programs are three years long for full-time students and four years long for those attending evening classes. The first year of a JD program typically introduces students to fundamental legal concepts and skills.

Core Curriculum

While the American Bar Association (ABA) does not mandate a specific curriculum for the first year of law school (1L), most ABA-approved law schools offer a set of core courses. These courses provide a broad overview of the study of law and typically include:

Civil Procedure: Covers the rules and processes governing litigation in civil cases.
Constitutional Law: Examines the fundamental principles and interpretation of the United States Constitution.
Contracts: Focuses on the formation, enforcement, and breach of agreements.
Criminal Law: Deals with offenses against society and their punishment.
Property: Covers the rights and interests associated with ownership and possession of real and personal property.
Torts: Addresses civil wrongs that cause harm to others, leading to legal liability.
Legal Analysis and Writing: Develops essential skills in legal research, analysis, and written communication.

After the first year, law students have the freedom to pursue different fields of legal study. Law schools offer a broad array of upper-division courses in areas of substantive law like administrative law, corporate law, international law, admiralty law, intellectual property law, and tax law, and in areas of procedural law not normally covered in the first year, like criminal procedure and remedies. Many law schools also offer upper-division practical training courses in client counseling, trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution. The ABA also requires that all students at ABA-approved schools take an ethics course in professional responsibility. Typically, this is an upper-level course; most students take it in the 2L year.

JD Programs with a Focus on Education Law

Some law schools offer JD programs with a specific focus on education law. These programs provide students with in-depth knowledge of the legal issues that shape the education sector, preparing them for careers in education law, policy, and advocacy.

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These programs may include specialized courses such as:

Education Law: Provides an introductory survey of public policy issues and laws governing preschool, elementary, secondary, and higher education.
Law and Education: Explores the relationships between law and literacy, bringing to the surface fundamental principles of law, justice, and democracy through children's literature and participatory methodology.
Higher Education Law: Examines the legal issues that shape higher education, including the distinctions between public and private colleges and universities, religion and higher education, accessibility to and financing of higher education, academic freedom, shared governance, admissions, free expression, privacy and freedom of association, campus safety with a particular focus on sexual assault, and issues of race, disability, gender and sexual orientation.

Joint Degree Programs

To deepen interdisciplinary training, many JD students pursue joint degrees, combining law with another field. Several joint degree programs are particularly relevant to the field of education.

J.D. / Higher Education, M.A.

This joint degree program combines legal training with a master's degree in higher education. It provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the legal, political, and social issues affecting colleges and universities. Coursework in the higher education component may include:

The American College Student: Explores the ways in which the higher education community has addressed three basic questions: Who goes to college? What sorts of experiences do students have in college? And, as a consequence of their experiences, who do they become by graduation?
History of Higher Education: An introduction to higher education in America, this course focuses on the complex relationships between colleges and universities, and the political and social systems of society.
International Higher Education: Higher education around the world today is increasingly affected by the forces of internationalization. Professionals working in postsecondary education in the United States and elsewhere must have a clear understanding of the range of opportunities and challenges presented by the evolution of this phenomenon.
Organization and Governance of Higher Education: Focuses on how the American university is organized and governed. Examines basic elements as well as structure and process of the American university.
Race, Class, and Gender in Higher Education: The purpose of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to examine the theoretical scholarship and empirical research on race, class, and gender in American higher education.
Student Affairs: Student affairs professionals in post-secondary institutions contribute to student learning and personal development through a variety of programs and services. This course focuses on the design of campus environments that promote student development and contribute to the academic mission of higher education.
Student Development Theory: An intensive introduction to student development, this course focuses on interdisciplinary theories of intellectual and psychosocial change among late adolescent and adult learners in post-secondary education.

J.D. / Educational Leadership & Policy, M.Ed.

This joint degree program combines legal training with a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Educational Leadership & Policy. It prepares graduates for leadership roles in education, with a strong understanding of the legal and policy context. Coursework in the educational leadership and policy component may include:

Leadership and Organizations: Rather than focusing on traits of the individual leader, this course focuses on the dimensions of organizations and teams that both facilitate and complicate leadership.
Data-Informed Inquiry: This course prepares leaders to manage initiatives around continuous improvement and data-informed inquiry. On one hand, students will develop basic research skills that will contribute to evidence-based school improvement, including action research.
Politics of Education: This course addresses the political and legal aspects of the role of education in our democratic society.

J.D. / Curriculum & Instruction, M.Ed.

This joint degree program combines legal training with a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum & Instruction. It is designed for individuals who want to shape educational practices and policies through a deep understanding of both law and pedagogy. Coursework in the curriculum and instruction component may include:

Instructional Models: This course provides an in-depth review of modern instructional models classified into selected families with regard to perception of knowledge, the learner, curriculum, instruction, and evaluation.
Philosophy of Education: This course asks teachers to analyze the philosophical underpinnings of educational practices and examine their own philosophies of education to construct meaning and practice from the interplay between their beliefs and alternative theories.

Specialized Programs and Courses

Beyond JD and joint degree programs, numerous specialized programs and courses address specific legal issues in education.

Church-State Law

Seminars focusing on church-state law analyze and evaluate the various theories proposed by Justices on both free exercise and establishment clause jurisprudence. These seminars deal with issues such as tensions between the free exercise and establishment clauses, public aid to religious institutions, religion and public education, accommodating religious minorities, and church institutional autonomy. They also examine tension between demands for religious accommodation and demands for gender and sexual equality, protection of public health, and other social norms.

Freedom of Expression on Campus

Courses on freedom of expression on campus consider the contours of free expression in higher education. They cover the distinctions between public and private colleges and universities, religion and free expression, and the relationship among free expression, academic freedom, shared governance, and freedom of association. They also address the way in which the boundaries of free expression are foundational to institutions of higher learning.

Negotiation and Dispute Resolution

Interactive workshops teach the practice and principles of joint problem-solving and improve students' negotiating skills. Simulations are designed to familiarize students with the negotiating process, to plan and prepare for negotiations, to identify and experiment with individual negotiating styles, and to raise ethical and practical questions.

Admission and Accreditation

Admission to Law School

Applicants to law school must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and apply to law school. Though undergraduate GPA and LSAT score are the most important factors considered by law school admissions committees, individual factors are also somewhat important. Personal factors are evaluated through essays, short-answer questions, letters of recommendation, and other application materials. The standards for grades and LSAT scores vary by school. Many law schools offer substantial scholarships and grants to many of their students, dramatically reducing the actual cost of attending law school compared to listed tuition prices.

Accreditation

To sit for the bar exam, the vast majority of state bar associations require accreditation of an applicant's law school by the American Bar Association. The ABA has promulgated detailed requirements covering every aspect of a law school, down to the precise contents of the law library and the minimum number of minutes of instruction required to receive a J.D. In addition, individual state legislatures or bar examiners may maintain a separate approval system, which is open to non-ABA accredited schools. If that is the case, graduates of these schools may generally sit for the bar exam only in the state in which their school is accredited.

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