Overview

The first step in selecting a topic is for you to evaluate school strategies, policies, programs, and practices regarding their ethical and/or legal implications. The purpose of the analysis is for you to select a meaningful and relevant topic in a particular school. The topic is to be a legal and/or ethical issue that—left unaddressed—could escalate into a legal entanglement.

Instructions

The purpose of the analysis is for you to select a meaningful and relevant topic in a particular school.  If you are currently a school employee, you will use your school policy for the analysis. If you are not currently working in a school, you will want to reach out to a school where you might have connections (e.g., as a parent, where you have friends who work in a school, etc.). If you do not have connections, you will need to analyze a policy that is available online. The topic is to be a legal, moral, or ethical issue that—left unaddressed—could escalate into a legal entanglement (i.e., litigation).

Using the provided Legal Entanglement Project: Part 1 – Topic Selection and Ethical Analysis Template, complete the following:

1. Topic Selection and Evaluation: The first step in selecting a topic is for candidates to analyze school policy regarding moral and legal implications. Evaluate the policies in regard to the potential they have to be problematic morally and/or legally.
   1. Stating the existing policy you have selected exactly as it is currently worded. If you are proposing a new policy because there is no current policy, enter an explanation to that effect.
   1. Next, in at least 250 words, provide a narrative that describes the process you used in selecting the topic and in evaluating the ethical and/or legal dimensions of the issue.
2. Ethical Analysis: The second step in selecting a topic is critiquing the school policy selected. You will analyze the policy through the lens of the Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE). Click on the Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE) link provided with this assignment and read through the principles that comprise the MCEE.
   1. With your topic in mind, select three of the most relevant MCEE principles as a framework to analyze your selected topic. Identify each MCEE principle by number (e.g., Principle II.B.3, Principle IV.E.1, Principle V.C.3, etc).
   1. Type the exact wording of the three MCEE principles in the areas noted in the template. Example: Principle I.A.6: Avoiding the use of one’s position for personal gain and avoiding the appearance of impropriety.
   1. For each MCEE principle, write a brief paragraph analyzing your selected topic using the MCEE principle as an ethical framework. Consider the degree to which the topic complies or does not comply with the MCEE principle.

When completed, your assignment template should be 1–2 pages, not including the required title page and reference page.

Note: As each part of this project builds from one section to the next, it is important to make corrections as you continue working on the subsequent part. Implement the feedback you receive from your instructor on this assignment as you work to complete the next assignment in the project series.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.