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'{{ref improve|date=December 2013}} {{Rights |By claimant}} '''Student rights''' are those [[rights]], such as civil, constitutional, contractual and consumer rights, which regulate student rights and freedoms and allow [[student]]s to make use of their educational investment. These include such things as the right to free speech and association, to due process, equality, autonomy, safety and privacy, and accountability in contracts and advertising, which regulate the treatment of students by teachers and administrators. Students, here, include people attending [[school]]s, [[university|universities]], [[college]]s and other educational institutions. There is very little scholarship about Student Rights throughout the world. Some countries, like Romania, in the European Union, have comprehensive student bills of rights, which are both clear and accessible to students. Most countries, however, like the United States and Canada, have a number of legislative documents and court precedents but do not have a cohesive bill of rights which students can easily access. There has been some criticism that student rights in North America are progressing at a much slower rate than they are progressing in Europe due, in part, to a lack of accessible information and due, in part, to the student government movement which has replaced the student union movement. ==Canada== Canada, like the United States, has a number of laws and court precedents which regulate higher education and provide student rights. The Canadian Encyclopedia, which details issues of Canadian life and governance states that in Canada "Basically two sorts of rights apply to students: substantive rights - the actual rights that students should enjoy - and procedural rights - methods by which students claim their rights. This article is concerned with students in public institutions, although those in private schools can claim rights under the common law and provincial education Acts." <ref>The Canadian Encyclopedia http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/student-rights</ref> Canada does not yet have a national student Bill of Rights or comparable document. If and when one is put in place in Canada it is likely that this document will be called a Charter of Student Rights and Freedoms. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is equivalent to the National Bill of Rights in the United States. The Canadian national student union or government is the Canadian Federation of Students and it has not put forth any such bill. ==France== ===Primary and Secondary Schools=== ===Public Higher Education=== ====Laws and court precedent on student privacy rights==== * Right to privacy in higher education In the [[AlBaho Case]], a French criminal court found three senior academics at the ''[[École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris]]'' (ICPSE), guilty of email espionage on a graduate student. The ruling set an important precedent in [[e-mail privacy]] but it was also a landmark ruling in student rights since this was the first incident where academic staff were found guilty of a criminal act as a result of a complaint made by a student – and where those staff members had the full support of their institution. ==United States== The United States does not have a student bill of rights for students in the K-12 system or for students in institutions of higher education. While students technically are entitled to constitutional, civil, contract and consumer rights there is no document detailing how these rights apply in the educational setting or how and when students may exercise them. For this reason students in the United States must rely on court precedents to know what they may expect from their institutions of higher education. Because these precedents are not immediately accessible to students they must rely on institutions to voluntarily provide this information when student rights issues occur. Often,institutions will have documents outlining student and employee rights and responsibilities and increasingly, institutions (mainly institutions of higher education) are electing to pass a student bill of rights explaining students rights in different institutional settings, the classroom, dormitories, support resource centers etc. There is no legal requirement however, that institutions create such a bill or what they must include in it and many of them do not include all of the rights contained in this article. ===Primary and Secondary Schools=== * Right to constitutional rights In 1969, the [[United States]] federal courts, in ''[[Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District]]'', ruled that, "Students do not shed their constitutional rights... at the schoolhouse gate." * Right to free speech The ''[[Morse v. Frederick]]'' trial was a [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] student [[Freedom of speech|free speech]] case argued before the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] on March 19, 2007. The case involves Joseph Frederick, a then 18-year-old high school senior in [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], [[Alaska]], 24 at the time of the decision, who was suspended for 10 days after displaying a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner across the street from his high school during the Winter Olympics Torch Relay in 2002.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mears |first=Bill |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/03/19/free.speech/index.html |title=High court hears 'Bong hits 4 Jesus' case |publisher=[[CNN]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |date=2007-03-19 |accessdate=2008-09-02}}</ref> * State level rights In addition to the United States Constitution granting Freedom of Expression Rights to public school students, some state constitutions afford greater rights to public school students than those granted by the United States Constitution. For example, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, sec. 82 grants broader rights to public secondary school schools regarding Rights of Students to Freedom of Expression. In Massachusetts, for instance, k-12 students are entitled to freedom of expression through speech, symbols, writing, publishing and peaceful assembly on school grounds. The Public secondary school legislation entitled "right of students to freedom of expression; limitations; definitions"<ref>Chapter 71: Section 82</ref> says students have: "The right of students to freedom of expression in the public schools of the commonwealth shall not be abridged, provided that such right shall not cause any disruption or disorder within the school. Freedom of expression shall include without limitation, the rights and responsibilities of students, collectively and individually, (a) to express their views through speech and symbols, (b) to write, publish and disseminate their views, (c) to assemble peaceably on school property for the purpose of expressing their opinions. Any assembly planned by students during regularly scheduled school hours shall be held only at a time and place approved in advance by the school principal or his designee." The result is students in the public secondary schools in Massachusetts are only held to the “Tinker” standard regarding Freedom of Expression. ===Public Higher Education=== The United States does not have a national Student Bill of Rights, and while students have broad constitutional and civil rights including consumer and contract rights, neither students nor institutions know how they apply to the educational setting in institutions of higher education. Institutions are at liberty to ignore them if they do not know how to institute them and may interpret laws in the favor of the institution. When institutions provide rights they only tend to provide those mandated and proceduralized at the state or supreme court levels. Most schools will tend to have some rules protecting free speech, search and seizure, equality and due process for judicial affairs etc. because they have been proceduralized by the supreme court. While institutions can provide students with greater rights, there is little incentive to do so. By creating new rights, or attempting to implement policies on rights which have not been mandated or proceduralized, like gun rights, they take on liability for the unbiased application of these rights to all students.<ref name="navigatehighered.com">http://www.navigatehighered.com/</ref> Students may know that they are entitled to contract rights, for instance, but until a precedent is set, one school may interpret that to mean that students are entitled to a syllabus which does not change while another school may interpret it to mean theat syllabi may change if they include a disclaimer preserving their right to make unilateral changes. While most courts would rule that it is not a contract if you can make unilateral changes, institutions are at liberty to make these interpretations until precedents are set. For this reason, student organizations are working together to create a national college student bill of rights which tells institutions how to implement their rights in the educational setting. They are looking at court precedents from around the country to see what rights students have and using them as a basis for the development of this bill. Until such a document is passed, students will have to file lawsuits citing court precedents from other states. Courts do take precedents into consideration and often use them as the basis for their rulings. This process is, however, expensive and time consuming and is only available to those who have the resources to pursue litigation.<ref name="navigatehighered.com"/> Most institutions are not required to provide students with a student bill or rights which is centrally located and accessible to all. This means that students who attend schools which do not have a student bill of rights will not know what rights they are entitled to until they sort through the policy library. For this reason students across America are working through their student governments and unions to draft and pass these bills in their institutional academic senates. As the price of higher education increases students are looking more and more at the quality of education they are receiving for the price paid.<ref name="navigatehighered.com"/> Students have some rights in educational acts like the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Opportunity Act and also under acts regulating equality, affirmative action, Americans with disabilities, contracts and consumers etc. If these acts do not pertain specifically to students, students can, however, argue that they do. In some states courts have determined already that they apply to students and have created student rights precedents in their states. Students in other states can use these precedents and make the same arguments in their own states. Judges can and do take these into consideration.<ref>Kaplan and Lee (2011) the Law of Higher Education and Kaplan and Lee (2009) A legal guide for student affairs professionals</ref><ref>navigatehighered.com</ref><ref>Occupy Education http://www.facebook.com/occupycollege</ref> ====Laws and court precedent regarding institutional regulations==== * Right to protection from arbitrary or capricious decision making Decision making should not be arbitrary or capricious / random and, thus, interfere with fairness <ref name=bach>Bach, 2003</ref><ref name=anderson>Anderson v. Mass. Inst of Tech, 1995</ref><ref>Kaplan and Lee (2011) The Law of Higher Education and Kaplan and Lee (2009) A legal guide for student affairs professionals</ref><ref name="autogenerated2000">Sharick v. Southeastern University of the Health Sciences, 2000</ref><ref>Brody v. Finch University</ref> of Health Sciences /Chicago Med. School, 1988). While this case concerned a private school, Healy v. Larsson (1974), found that what applied to private intuitions applied also to public.<ref name=bowden>Bowden, 2007</ref> * Right to have institutions follow their own rules Institutions are required, contractually, to follow their own rules.<ref name=bach /><ref>Tedeschi v. Wagner College, 1978; 1980</ref><ref>Schaer v. Braneis U., 2000</ref><ref name=mawdsley>Mawdsley, 2004</ref><ref>Fellheimer v.Middlebury College, 1994</ref> Institutional documents may also be considered binding implied-n-fact contracts. Goodman v. President and Trustees of Bowdoin College (2001)<ref name="autogenerated2001">Goodman v. President and Trustees of Bowdoin College, 2001</ref> has ruled that institutional documents are still contractual regardless if they have a disclaimer. * Right to adherence to bulletins and circulars Students are protected from deviation from information advertised in bulletins or circulars.<ref name=rafferty14>Rafferty</ref><ref name=university>Ross v. Creighton University</ref> * Right to adherence to regulations Students are protected from deviation from information advertized in regulations.<ref name=rafferty14 /><ref name=university /> * Right to adherence to course catalogues Students are protected from deviation from information advertized in course catalogues.<ref name=rafferty14 /><ref name=university /><ref name=university9>Andre v. Pace University, 1996</ref> * Right to adherence to student codes Students are protected from deviation from information advertized in student codes.<ref name="autogenerated1">Kaplan and Lee (2011) The Law of Higher Education</ref><ref name=harwood>Harwood v. Johns Hopkins, 2000</ref> * Right to adherence to handbooks Students are protected from deviation from information advertized in handbooks.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name=middleburry>Fellheimer v. Middleburry College, 1994</ref> * Right to fulfillment of promises made by advisors Healy v. Larsson (1974)<ref>Healy v. Larsson, 1974</ref> found that a student who completed degree requirements prescribed by an academic advisor was entitled to a degree on the basis that this was an implied contract. * Right to a continuous contract Mississippi Medical Center v. Hughes (2000)<ref>MississippiMedical Center v. Hughes, 2000</ref> determined that students have an implied right to a continuous contract during a period of continuous enrollment suggesting that students have the right to graduate so long as they fulfill the requirements as they were originally communicated.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Degree requirement changes are unacceptable.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name=optometry>Doherty v. Southern College of Optometry, 1988</ref> Bruner v. Petersen (1997)<ref name=petersen>Bruner v. Petersen, 1997</ref> found also that contractual protections do not apply in the event that a student, who has failed to meet requirements, is readmitted into a program.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> The student may be required to meet additional requirements which support their success. This may also help avoid issues of discrimination. * Right to notice of degree requirement changes Brody v. Finch University of Health Sciences Chicago Med. School (1998)<ref>Brody v. Finch University of Health Sciences Chicago Med. School</ref> determined that students have the right to notice of degree requirement changes.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> * Right to fulfillment of verbal promises Verbal contracts are also binding.<ref name=rafferty>Rafferty, 1993</ref><ref name=university3>Ross v. Creighton University, 1992</ref> The North Carolina Court of Appeals in Long v. University of North Carolina at Wilmington (1995),<ref>Long v. University of North Carolina at Wilmington,1995</ref> found, however, that verbal agreements must be made in an official capacity in order to be binding (Bowden, 2007). Dezick v. Umpqua Community College (1979)<ref name=community>Dezick v. Umpqua Community College, 1979</ref> found a student was compensated because classes offered orally by the dean were not provided. ====Laws and court precedent on student rights in academic advising==== * Right to fulfillment of promises and verbal promises by advisors Verbal contracts are binding.<ref name=rafferty /><ref name=university3 /><ref>Long v. University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 1995</ref> They must be made in an official capacity, however, to be binding.<ref name=bowden /> Dezick v. Umpqua Community College (1979)<ref name=community /> found a student was compensated because classes offered orally by the dean were not provided. Healy v. Larsson (1974) found that a student who completed degree requirements prescribed by an academic advisor was entitled to a degree on the basis that this was an implied contract. An advisor should, thus, be considered an official source of information. * Right to a continuous contract during a period of continuous enrollment Mississippi Medical Center v. Hughes (2000)<ref>Mississippi Medical Center v. Hughes, 2000</ref> determined that students have an implied right to a continuous contract during a period of continuous enrollment suggesting that students have the right to graduate so long as they fulfill the requirements as they were originally communicated.<ref name="autogenerated3">Kaplan and Lee (2011) the Law of Higher Education and Kaplan</ref> Degree requirement changes are unacceptable.<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated4">Kaplan and Lee (2011) The Law of Higher Education and Kaplan</ref> Bruner v. Petersen (1997)<ref name=petersen /> found also that contractual protections do not apply in the event that a student, who has failed to meet requirements, is readmitted into a program.<ref name="autogenerated3"/> The student may be required to meet additional requirements which support their success. This may also help avoid issues of discrimination. * Right to notice of degree requirement changes Brody v. Finch University of Health Sciences Chicago Med. School (1998) determined that students have the right to notice of degree requirement changes (Kaplan & Lee, 2011<ref name="autogenerated3"/>). If a student, for instance, is absent for a semester and is not continuously enrolled they need to know if degree requirements have changed. * Right to protection from arbitrary or capricious decision making Decision making should not be arbitrary or capricious / random and, thus, interfere with fairness.<ref name=bach /><ref name=anderson /><ref name="autogenerated2000"/><ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Brody v. Finch University of Health Sciences /Chicago Med. School, 1988</ref> This is a form of discrimination. While this case concerned a private school, Healy v. Larsson (1974), found that what applied to private intuitions applied also to public.<ref name=bowden /> ====Laws and court precedent on student rights in recruitment==== * Right to basic institutional facts and figures before admission The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act (HOEA, 2008)<ref name=hoea>HOEA, 2008</ref> requires that institutions disclose institutional statistics on the Department of Education (DOE) website to allow students to make more informed educational decisions. Information required on the DOE website includes: tuition, fees, net price of attendance, tuition plans, and statistics including sex, ability, ethnic and transfer student ratios as well as ACT/SAT scores, degrees offered, enrolled, and awarded. Institutions are also required to disclose transfer credit policies and articulation agreements. * Right to protection from ability discrimination in academic recruitment The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act prohibits ability discrimination in academic recruitment. This includes ability discrimination in recruitment. Individuals designated with a disability by a medical professional, legally recognized with a disability<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated5">Pushkin v. Regents of the University of Colorado</ref> and deemed otherwise qualified are entitled to equal treatment and reasonable accommodations.<ref name=autogenerated2>ADA, 1973</ref><ref name=rehabilitation>Section 504 Rehabilitation Act, 1990</ref> The Supreme Court defined Otherwise qualified as an individual who can perform the required tasks in spite of rather than except for their disability.<ref name=hendrickson>Hendrickson, 1986</ref><ref name=southeastern>Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 1979</ref> ====Laws and court precedent on student rights in admissions==== * Right to protection from sex discrimination in admissions Title IX of the 1972 Higher Education Act Amendments<ref>HEAA, 1972</ref> protect all sexes from pre-admission inquiries with regard to pregnancy, parental status, family or marital status. It can be seen that this act also protects against such inquiry regarding inter-sexed, transsexual, transgender or androgynous individuals. * Right to protection from ability discrimination in admissions The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)<ref name=autogenerated16>ADA, 1990</ref> and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.<ref name=rehabilitation11>Rehabilitation Act, 1973</ref> This includes ability discrimination in admissions. Individuals designated with a disability by a medical professional, legally recognized with a disability<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated5"/> and deemed otherwise qualified are entitled to equal treatment and reasonable accommodations in both educational and employment related activities.<ref name=autogenerated2 /><ref name=rehabilitation /> The Supreme Court defined Otherwise qualified as an individual who can perform the required tasks in spite of rather than except for their disability.<ref name=hendrickson /><ref name=southeastern /> * Right to protection from racial discrimination in admissions Individuals may not be discriminated against on the basis of their color in either undergraduate or graduate school admissions.<ref name=kaplan>Kaplan & Lee, 2011</ref><ref>Florida ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control, 1956</ref> * Right to testing in admissions accommodations Protection from discrimination in admissions <ref name=hendrickson /><ref>Southeastern Community College v. Davis</ref> entails that students receive accommodations required to prove they are otherwise qualified, protection from unfair testing practices, testing accommodations for speech, manual and hearing disabilities and access to alternative testing offered in accessible facilities. Alternative testing must also be offered as frequently as are standard tests.<ref name=rehabilitation17>Section 504 Rehabilitation Act, 1973</ref> Where no alternative testing exists, institutions, however, are not responsible for accommodations.<ref name=rehabilitation17 /><ref name=university19>Wynne v. Tufts University School of Medicine, 1991</ref> * Right to protection from sex discrimination in admissions testing Educational tests which are biased in favor of one gender, may not be relied upon as the sole source of information decision making.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Sharif by Salahuddin v. New York State Education Department, 1989</ref> * Right to protection from racially segregating testing policies Students Equality entails that individuals not be treated differently by individuals or systematically by an institution. Thus, testing policies which systematically discriminate, are unlawful according to the constitution. United States v. Fordice (1992),<ref name=fordice>US v. Fordice, 1992</ref> prohibited the use of ACT scores in Mississippi admissions, for instance, because the gap between ACT scores of white and black student was greater than the GPA gap which was not considered at all.<ref name="autogenerated4"/> * Right to race conscious affirmative action in admissions to correct for discrimination When a school has engaged in racial discrimination in the past they are required by law to take race conscious affirmative action to correct it.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated1978">Bakke v. Regents of the University of California, 1978</ref><ref>Hopwood v. Texas 1996</ref><ref>Podberesky v. Kirwan, 1994</ref> * Right to protection from reverse discrimination White students are protected from racial discrimination at historic minority institutions.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co., 1976</ref><ref>Doe v. Kamehameha Schools, 2005</ref> Racial equality calls for the equal treatment of all individuals; it does not permit, however, lower admissions test requirements<ref name=kaplan /><ref name="autogenerated1986">United States v. League of United Latin American Citizens, 1986</ref> or subjective judgments for racial minorities when there are objective standards in place for all applicants.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=institute>Woods v. The Wright Institute, 1998</ref> * Right to protection from subjective interviews There may be no segregation in the admissions process including subjective interviews<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name="autogenerated1978"/><ref>Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003; Gratz v. Bollinger, 2003</ref><ref name=mcdonald>McDonald v. Hogness, 1979</ref><ref name=hopwood>Hopwood v. Texas, 1996</ref> when there are objective standards in place for all applicants.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=institute /> * Right to protection from differential testing requirements Students are protected from the use of lower admissions test scores.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated1986"/> * Right to protection from admissions quotas based on demographics Students are protected from the use of quotas which set aside seats for certain demographics.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name="autogenerated1978"/><ref name=mcdonald /><ref name=hopwood /><ref name=bollinger21>Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003</ref><ref name=bollinger>Gratz v. Bollinger, 2003</ref> * Right to adherence to registration materials Students are protected from deviation from information advertized in registration materials.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=university13>Mangala v. Brown University</ref> This may be a binding implied-in-fact contract. Goodman v. President and Trustees of Bowdoin College (2001),<ref name="autogenerated2001"/> has ruled that institutional documents are still contractual regardless if they have a disclaimer. ====Laws and court precedent on student rights in readmissions==== * Right to equality in readmissions Institutions must be careful with readmissions after students have failed to complete necessary program requirements. Readmission raises questions as to why individuals were removed from the program in the first place and whether future applicants may be admitted under like conditions. Discrimination may be alleged regarding both the initial removal and also in the case that other students are not readmitted under like circumstances. Kaplan & Lee and Lee (2011),<ref name="autogenerated3"/> recommend that institutions, if they wish to avoid breach of contract and discrimination accusations, have an explicit readmission policy even if that policy denies readmission. If students take a voluntary leave of absence, institutions must have a valid reason to refuse readmission.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Carlin v. Trustees of Boston University, 2000</ref> ====Laws and court precedent on student classroom rights==== * Right to adherence to class syllabi Students are protected from deviation from information advertized in class syllabi.<ref name=parkes>Parkes and Harris, 2002</ref><ref name="autogenerated1992">Hill v. University of Kentucky, Wilson, and Schwartz, 1992</ref><ref name=penson>Keen v. Penson, 1992</ref> This may be a binding implied-n-fact contract. Goodman v. President and Trustees of Bowdoin College (2001)<ref name="autogenerated2001"/> has ruled that institutional documents are still contractual regardless if they have a disclaimer. * Right to the advertized course content Students are entitled to receive instruction on advertized course content.<ref>Bach,</ref><ref>Riggin v. Bd. of Trustees of Ball St. Univ., 1984, 1986</ref> Institutions have the right to require coverage of designated course material by teachers<ref name=poskanzer>Poskanzer, 2002</ref><ref>Clark v. Holmes</ref><ref>Bishop v. University of Alabama, 1991</ref><ref>Edwards v. California Univ. of Pa., 1998</ref> and faculty and students are generally protected if they adhere to syllabus guidelines.<ref name=parkes /><ref name="autogenerated1992"/> * Right to the advertized level of course instruction Students may expect teaching in conformity with the course level advertized.<ref name=mawdsley /><ref name=university9 /> Andre v. Pace University (1994)<ref>Andre v. Pace University, 1994</ref> awarded damages on the grounds of negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract.<ref name=bach /> * Right to attention to course objectives Teachers must give reasonable attention to all stated course subjects.<ref>Clark v. Holmes, 1972, 1973</ref> * Right to the advertized content covered in sufficient depth Students may have all advertised content covered in sufficient depth.<ref name=poskanzer /><ref name=holmes>Clark v. Holmes, 1972</ref> * Right to uniformity across class sections Scallet v. Rosenblum (1996)<ref>Scallet v. Rosenblum, 1996</ref> found that “tight control over the curriculum was necessary to ensure uniformity across class sections”.<ref>Poskanzer 2002</ref> * Right to fair grading in accordance with the course syllabus Students may be graded fairly and in accordance with criteria set forth by the course syllabuses and may be protected from the addition of new grading criteria.<ref name=parkes /><ref name=penson /> Institutions have the responsibility of preserving quality in grade representations and comparability between classes and prevent grade inflation.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=penson /> Teachers have the right, under the first amendment, to communicate their opinions regarding student grades,<ref name=poskanzer /><ref name=parate>Parate v. Isibor, 1989</ref> but institutions are required to meet students implied contract rights to fair grading practices. Departments may change grades issued by teachers which are not in line with grading policies or are unfair or unreasonable.<ref name=parate /><ref>Hills v. Stephen F. Austin State Univ., 1982</ref> * Right to learn Students have the right to learn.<ref name=poskanzer /><ref>Kapan, 2011</ref><ref>Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, 1995</ref><ref name=hampshire>Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 1957</ref><ref name=university20>Hillis v. Stephen F. Austin University, 1982</ref> Teachers do not have a free rein in the classroom. Actions must act within departmental requirements whichensure students right to learn and must be considered effective.<ref name=poskanzer /><ref>Clark v. Holmes 1972</ref> Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957)<ref name=hampshire /> found that teachers have the right to lecture. They do not have academic freedom under the law.<ref name=university20 /> Any academic freedom rules are put in place by the school. * Right to protection from the misuse of time Students may expect protection from the misuse of time;<ref>Bach, Riggin v. Bd. of Trustees of Ball St. Univ</ref> teachers may not waste student’s time or use the class as a captive audience for views or lessons not related to the course.<ref name=penson /><ref name="autogenerated6">Bach, Riggin v. Bd. of Trustees of Ball St. Univ.</ref> Riggin v. Bd. of Trustees of Ball St. Univ. found that instructors may not “wast[e] the time of the students who have come there and paid money for a different purpose.” * Right to effective teaching Students can expect effective teaching even if it requires departmental involvement in teaching and curriculum development.<ref>Poskanzer</ref><ref>Riggin v. Bd. Of Trustees of Ball St. Univ., 1986</ref> * Right to protection from written or verbal abuse Teachers have the right to regulated expression<ref name=poskanzer /><ref name=holmes /> but may not use their first amendment privileges punitively or discriminatorily<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Axson-Flynn v. Johnson, 2004</ref> or in a way which prevents students from learning by ridiculing, proselytizing, harassment or use of unfair grading practices.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Bonnell v. Lorenzo, 2001</ref> * Right to protection from ability discrimination in learning The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act<ref name=autogenerated16 /> and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act<ref name=rehabilitation11 /> prohibit disability based discrimination in the classroom. Act This includes ability discrimination in learning<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name="autogenerated5"/> and deemed otherwise qualified are entitled to equal treatment and reasonable accommodations in both educational and employment related activities.<ref name=autogenerated2 /><ref name=rehabilitation /> The Supreme Court defined 'Otherwise Qualified' as an individual who can perform the required tasks in spite of rather than except for their disability.<ref name=hendrickson /><ref name=southeastern /> * Right to ability accommodation in classroom facilities Disabled students are entitled to equal access to classrooms facilities required to achieve a degree.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=autogenerated16 /><ref name=rehabilitation17 /><ref>Faulkner v. Jones 1995</ref><ref>University of Texas v. Camenisch, 1981</ref> * Right to protection from testing policies which racially segregate Students Equality entails that individuals not be treated differently by individuals or systematically by an institution. Thus, testing policies which systematically discriminate, are unlawful according to the constitution. United States v. Fordice (1992),<ref name=fordice /> prohibited the use of ACT scores in Mississippi admissions, for instance, because the gap between ACT scores of white and black student was greater than the GPA gap which was not considered at all.<ref name=kaplan /> ====Laws and court precedent on student group rights==== * Right to equality in the provision of student activities Institutions have an obligation to provide equal opportunities in athletics, bands and clubs. This includes equal accommodation of interests and abilities for both sexes, provision of equipment and facility scheduling for such activities as games and practices, travel allowance and dorm room facilities. It includes also equal quality facilities including locker rooms, medical services, tutoring services, coaching and publicity.<ref name=autogenerated10>CRA, 1964</ref> To ensure that sufficient opportunities are made available for women, institutions are responsible for complying with Title IX in one of three ways. They must provide athletic opportunities proportionate to enrollment, prove that they are continually expanding opportunities for the underrepresented sex or accommodate the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex.<ref name=title>HEAA Title IX, 1972</ref> * Right to the disclosure of athletics plans and expenditures The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act<ref name=hoea /> also requires the disclosure of athletics information including male and female undergraduate enrollment, number of teams and team statistics including the number of players, team operating expenses, recruitment, coach salaries, aid to teams and athletes and team revenue (HEOA, 2008). This information is required to ensure equality standards are met. ====Laws and court precedent on student residence or dorm rights==== * Right to have visitors in dorm rooms Good v. Associated Students Univ. of Washington (1975) found students have the right to have visitors and solicitors in their dorm rooms. * Right to sex equality in housing standards Students are entitled to housing of equal quality and cost and to equal housing policies.<ref name=autogenerated10 /> * Right to protection from gender segregation in residence Until the nineteen nineties gender segregation was permissible so long as institutional rational for doing so was narrowly defined and justifiable.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Hogan v. Mississippi State School for Women, 1982</ref> This precedent was officially reversed, however, after the Supreme Court in United States v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1992), found that a woman mistakenly admitted to a men’s military college was entitled to remain enrolled.<ref name=kaplan /><ref>Faulkner v. Jones, 1995</ref> * Right to disability accommodation in residence facilities Students with disabilities are also entitled to equal quality dormitories with living accommodations (Section 504 Rehabilitation Act, 1973; Kaplan & Lee, 2011.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Fleming v. New York University, 1989</ref> All accommodations are currently free to the student even if the student has the financial means to pay for them.<ref name=kaplan /><ref>University of Texas v. Camenisch</ref> * Right to protection from age discrimination in residence Students are entitled to equal treatment in housing regardless of age unless there is a narrowly defined goal which requires unequal treatment and policy is neutrally applied.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hileah 1993</ref><ref>Prostrollo v. University of South Dakota 1974</ref><ref>Cooper v. Nix 1974</ref> Prostrollo v. University of South Dakota (1974), for instance, found that the institution may require all single freshmen and sophomores to live on campus.<ref name="autogenerated4"/> They did not discriminate between age groups.<ref name=kaplan /><ref>Prostrollo v. University of South Dakota, 1974</ref> * Right to protection from dorm search and seizure Piazzola v. Watkins (1971), established that students are not required to waive search and seizure rights as a condition of dormitory residence.<ref name=henderickson8>Henderickson, 1986</ref> Random door sweeps are impermissible.<ref>Kaplan & Lee</ref><ref>Devers v. Southern University, 1998</ref> * Right to clearly defined terms of dorm search and seizure Institutions may enter rooms in times of emergency, if they have proof of illegal activity or a threat to the educational environment.<ref name=christman>Christman, 2002</ref><ref name="autogenerated1968">Moore v. Student Affairs Committee of Troy State University, 1968</ref> Both these terms must be clearly stipulated in advance. Otherwise institutions must as for permission to enter.<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name=chapman>Chapman v. United States, 1961</ref><ref name=morale>Morale v. Grigel, 1976</ref> When dorms rooms are legally searched for narrowly defined reasons or officials are legally permitted to enter student rooms, students are not protected from property damage incurred in the search process<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=baughman>Baughman v. State, 2003</ref> or action taken when evidence is in plain sight.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=washington>State of Washington v. Chrisman, 1982</ref> * Right to protection from illegal police search and seizure Evidence found in student dorm rooms by institutional employees cannot be used in a court of law and institutions cannot allow police to conduct a search and seizure with out warrant.<ref>Christman; 2002</ref><ref name=commonwealth>Durate v. Commonwealth, 1991</ref><ref name=piazzola>Piazzola v. Watkins</ref> Students may not be punished for refusing a warrantless search from institutional authorities or police officers.<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name=municipal>Camara v. Municipal Court, 1967</ref> When students freely allow institutional officials to enter institutions can hold students accountable for evidence in plain sight.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=washington /> ====Laws and court precedent on student privacy rights==== * Right to privacy in higher education Griswald v. Connecticut (1965) found that the third fourth and fifteen amendments together constitute an inalienable right to privacy. Students are extended the same privacy rights extended to the community at large.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=washington /><ref>Speakes v. Grantham, 1970</ref> * Right to privacy of student records The 1971 Family Rights and Privacy Act<ref name=ferpa>FERPA, 1971</ref> and the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act<ref name=heoa>HEOA, 2008</ref> protect student information. Students have the right to access their records, dispute record keeping and limited control over the release of documents to third parties. * Right to approve release of student information FRPA and the HOEA require students sign a release before their student records will be provided to third parties (e.g.: to parents and employers tec.). This legislation does allow schools, however, to release information without student approval for the purpose of institutional audit, evaluation, or study, student aid consideration, institutional accreditation, compliance with legal subpoenas or juvenile justice system officers<ref name=ferpa /> or in order to comply with laws requiring identification of sex offenders on campus.<ref name=hoea /> Institutions may also disclose information to student guardians if the student is declared a dependant for tax purposes (FERPA). * Right to notice of information disclosures Under FERPA, schools may publish directory information, including the students name, address, phone number, date of birth, place of birth, awards, attendance dates or student ID number, unless students ask the school not to disclose it. The institution must inform students they are entitled to these rights. * Right to use pseudonyms on public internet forums Individuals may use pseudonyms online and are not required to identify themselves (Kaplan & Lee, 2011).<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref>American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia v. Miller 1997</ref> * Drug testing Random National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) urine testing is legal to protect athlete health, fair competition and opportunities to educate about drug abuse in sports.<ref>O'Halloran v. University of Washington, 1988</ref> Officials are allowed to watch athletes urinate.<ref>Hill v. NCAA, 1994</ref> This overturned an earlier ruling which prohibited urination watching. ====Laws and court precedent on student information rights==== * Right to basic institutional facts and figures before admission The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act<ref name=hoea /> requires that institutions disclose institutional statistics on the Department of Education (DOE) website to allow students to make more informed educational decisions. Information required on the DOE website includes: tuition, fees, net price of attendance, tuition plans, and statistics including sex, ability, ethnic and transfer student ratios as well as ACT/SAT scores, degrees offered, enrolled, and awarded. Institutions are also required to disclose transfer credit policies and articulation agreements. * Right to financial aid information disclosures The 2008 HOEA<ref name=hoea /> also requires institutions of higher education provide financial aid information disclosures, which essentially advertize the financial aid program, pre eligibility disclosures pertaining to the individual student, information differentiating federally insured or subsidized and private loans, preferred lender agreements, institutional rational for the establishment of preferred lender agreements and notice that schools are required to process any loan chosen by students. * Right to information about the full cost of attendance According to the 2008 HOEA, financial aid information disclosures must include the average financial aid awarded per person, cost of tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies and transport.<ref name=hoea /> * Right to information about the full cost of loan repayment According to the 2008 HOEA, financial aid information disclosures must include the amount of aid not requiring repayment, eligible loans, loan terms, net required repayment.<ref name=hoea /> * Right to detailed federal student loan information Pre-eligibility disclosures must include notice of repayment, lender details, the principle amount, fees, interest rate, interest details, limits of borrowing, cumulative balance, estimated payment, frequency, repayment start date, minimum and maximum payments and details regarding deferment, forgiveness, consolidation and penalties.<ref name=hoea /> * Right to standards terminology in financial aid forms Institutions are also required to utilize standard financial terminology and standard dissemination of financial aid information, forms, procedures, data security and searchable financial aid databases to ensure that students can easily understand their contractual rights and obligations. Forms must be clear, succinct, easily readable and disability accessible. * Right to detailed third party federal student loan information The HOEA (2008) requires third party student loan lenders to disclose information concerning alternative federal loans, fixed and variable rates, limit adjustments, co-borrower requirements, maximum loans, rate, principle amount, interest accrual, total estimated repayment requirement, maximum monthly payment and deferral options. * Right to financial aid awareness campaigns for underrepresented students in high education The HOEA (2008) requires institutions of higher education to engage in financial aid eligibility awareness campaigning to make students aware of student aid and the realities of accepting it. * Right to information on use of student fees Van Stry v. State (1984) found institutions my not use student fees to support organizations outside the university.<ref name=henderickson8 /> Teachers, likewise, have the right to refuse to pay union fees when they are allocated to objectionable political purposes.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref>Aboode v. Detroit Board of Education, 1977</ref> This implies that students have a right to know what activities they are being allocated towards. * Right to the disclosure of athletics plans and expenditures The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act requires the disclosure of athletics information including male and female undergraduate enrollment, number of teams and team statistics including the number of players, team operating expenses, recruitment, coach salaries, aid to teams and athletes and team revenue (HEOA, 2008). This information is required to ensure equality standards are met. This ensures that institutions are abiding by Title IX of the 1972 Higher Education Act Amendments which limits sexual discrimination and requires institutions to offer equal sport, club and opportunities. * There are many other implied information rights. If legislations states that students are entitled to certain information in pre-elegibility loan disclosures, this implies that they are also entitled to have a pre-elegibility loan disclosure. * Right to information on the justification of policies Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (1995) found student fees must be allocated in a viewpoint neutral way. They cannot be based on religious, political or personal views (Henderickson; Good v. Associated Students University of Washington) and they cannot be levied as a punishment.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref>Stanley v. McGrath, 1983</ref> This suggests that students have a right to policy justification so that they know they are viewpoint neutral. * Right to information regarding course objectives and content Students may expect protection from the misuse of time;<ref name="autogenerated6"/> teachers may not waste student’s time or use the class as a captive audience for views or lessons not related to the course.<ref name=penson /><ref name="autogenerated6"/> Riggin v. Bd. of Trustees of Ball St. Univ. found that instructors may not “wast[e] the time of the students who have come there and paid money for a different purpose.” This assumes that students are entitled to know course objectives and content. * Right to a course syllabus Students may be graded fairly and in accordance with criteria set forth by the course syllabuses and may be protected from the addition of new grading criteria.<ref name=parkes /><ref name=penson /> Institutions have the responsibility of preserving quality in grade representations and comparability between classes and prevent grade inflation.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=penson /> This assumes that students have the right to a syllabus to ensure fair grading. ====Laws and court precedent on student rights in discipline and dismissal==== * Right to protection from ability discrimination in discipline and dismissal The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act<ref>ADA, 1991</ref> and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act protect students against discrimination based on ability.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=southeastern /><ref name=rehabilitation11 /><ref name=university19 /><ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name="autogenerated1981">Pushkin v. Regents of the University of Colorado, 1981</ref> This includes ability discrimination in discipline and dismissal. Individuals shall be designated with a disability by amedical professional, legally recognized with a disability.<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated5"/> * Right to due process in disciplinary action Matthews v. Elderidge (1976)<ref>Matthews v. Elderidge, 1976</ref> found when there is the possibility that one’s interests will be deprived through procedural error, the value of additional safe guards and governmental interests, including monetary expenses, should be weighed.<ref name=bach /> Foster v. Board of Trustees of Butler County Community College (1991)<ref>Foster v. Board and Trustees of Butler Country Community college, 1991</ref> found that students are not entitled to due process rights when appealing rejected admissions applications.<ref name="autogenerated4"/> They are not yet students. * Right to due process in disciplinary with the potential to lead to a monetary loss Due process is required when actions have the potential to resulting a property or monetary loss or loss of income or future income etc. This includes degree revocation <ref name=bach /><ref name=crook>Crook v. Baker</ref> or dismissal. Students have a property interest in remaining at the institution and have protection form undue removal.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Mangala v. Brown University, 1998</ref> * Right to due process in disciplinary with the potential for a loss of liberty Students also have a liberty right to protect themselves from defamation of character or a threat to their reputation. Federal district courts have, therefore, found that due process is required in cases involving charges of plagiarism, cheating<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name=tully>Tully v. Orr, 1985</ref> and falsification of research data.<ref name=bach /><ref name=crook /> * Right to a clear notice of charges in the disciplinary process In disciplinary measures students are entitled to the provision of a definite charge.<ref name=mawdsley /><ref name=henderickson8 /><ref>Esteban v. Central Missouri State College, 1967</ref><ref>Woodis v. Westark Community College, 1998</ref> * Right to a prompt notice of charges in the disciplinary process Students are entitled to a prompt notice of charges e.g.: 10 days before the hearing.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name=missouri>Esteban v. Central Missouri State College</ref><ref name="autogenerated7">Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz, 1978</ref> * Right to a hearing before an expert judge In cases involving expulsion or dismissal students are entitled to right to “expert” judgment with a judge who is empowered to expel.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name=missouri /><ref name="autogenerated7"/> * Right to inspect all documents in disciplinary hearings Students may inspect documents considered by institutional officials in disciplinary hearings.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name=missouri /><ref name="autogenerated7"/> * Right to be a witness in disciplinary hearings Students may stand as a witness and tell their story during disciplinary hearings.<ref name=missouri /><ref name="autogenerated7"/><ref name=henderickson>Henderickson</ref> * Right to record disciplinary hearings Students may record disciplinary hearings to ensure they are conducted in a legal fashion.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name=missouri /><ref name="autogenerated7"/> * Right to unbiased ruling in disciplinary hearings Students can expect rulings in disciplinary hearings to be based solely on evidence presented at the hearing.<ref name=missouri /><ref name="autogenerated7"/><ref>Henderickson,1986</ref> Students are also entitled to a hearing before a person or committee not involved in the dispute.<ref name=mawdsley /> * Right to a written statement of findings in disciplinary hearings Students may expect to receive a written account of findings from disciplinary hearings showing how decisions are in line with evidence.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name=missouri /><ref name="autogenerated7"/> * Right to fairness in disciplinary hearings Board of Curators of the University of Missouri et al. v. Horowitz (1978) found that fairness means that decisions, a) may not be arbitrary or capricious, b) must provide equal treatment with regard to sex, religion or personal appearance etc. and c) must be determined in a careful and deliberate manner. * Right to hearing before discipline Hearings must be conducted before suspension or discipline unless there is a proven threat to danger, damage of property or academic disruption.<ref>Gross v. Lopez, 1975</ref> * Right to action in line with inquiry findings Texas Lightsey v. King (1983)<ref>Texas Lightsey v. King, 1983</ref> determined that due process requires that the outcomes of investigation be taken seriously. A student cannot, for instance, be dismissed for cheating after a hearing has found him not guilty.<ref name=bach /> * Right to investigation and consideration of circumstance The American Bar Association (ABA) found that the need for a fair and just hearing also precludes the use of zero tolerance policies which ignore the circumstances surrounding an action.<ref name=bach /> An individual who commits a crime because they believe they are in danger may not be held accountable in the same way as an individual who conducts the same crime for self-interest. * Right to greater due process in criminal matters Students accused of criminal acts including drug possession,<ref name=bach /><ref>Smyth v. Lubber, 1975</ref> plagiarism, cheating<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name=tully /> and falsification of research data or fraud, may have greater due process rights. * Right to cross examine in criminal matters Students accused of criminal acts may cross-examine witnesses,<ref name=bach /><ref name=crook4>Crook v. Baker, 1987</ref> counsel.<ref name=bach /><ref name=gabrilowitz>Gabrilowitz v. Newman, 1978</ref> * Right to an open trial in criminal matters Students accused of criminal acts may have an open trial to ensure that it is conducted fairly,<ref name=bach /><ref name=crook4 /> counsel.<ref name=bach /><ref name=gabrilowitz /> * Right to a fair evidentiary standard of proof in criminal matters In non-criminal hearings in the educational setting, schools may use a lesser standard evidence but where criminal matters are concerned they must have clear and convincing evidence.<ref name=bach /><ref name=crook4 /> * Right to counsel in criminal matters Students accused of criminal acts may have counsel present. This does not mean that the institution must pay for it but that they may be present.<ref name=bach /><ref name=gabrilowitz /> * Right to a higher appeals process in criminal matters Students accused of criminal acts should have access to a higher appeals process.<ref>Clayton v. Princeton, 1985</ref> * Right to legal representation during any formal university disciplinary procedure The [[Student & Administration Equality Act]] is proposed legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly (House Bill 843) would allow any student or student organization that is charged with a violation of conduct at a North Carolina state university the right to be represented by an attorney at any stage of the disciplinary process regarding the charge of misconduct. ====Laws and court precedent on student rights and campus police==== * Right to protection from unwarranted search and seizure Students are protected from unwarranted search and seizure.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=municipal /> The fourth and fourteenth amendments protect from search and seizure without a warrant. They enshrine the individuals right to be “secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects.” Warrants must include person, place and specific items eligible for search and or seizure. Search and seizure rights do not apply to automobiles. * Right to arrest by official police officers Individuals are protected from arrest by undeputized campus police<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref>State of North Carolina v. Pendleton, 1994</ref> and illegal search and seizure if arrest is made. * Right to protection from entrapment Students are protected from entrapment by campus police as individuals are protected outside the educational environment.<ref name=kaplan /><ref>Wright v. Schreffler, 1992</ref> * Right to protection from dorm search and seizure Piazzola v. Watkins (1971),<ref>Piazzola v. Watkins, 1971</ref> established that students are not required to waive search and seizure rights as a condition of dormitory residence.<ref name=henderickson8 /> Random dorm sweeps are impermissible.<ref>Kaplan & Lee; Devers v. Southern University, 1998</ref> * Right to clearly defined terms of dorm search and seizure Institutions may enter rooms in times of emergency, if they have proof of illegal activity or a threat to the educational environment.<ref name=christman /><ref name="autogenerated1968"/> Both these terms must be clearly stipulated in advance. Otherwise institutions must as for permission to enter.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=chapman /><ref name=morale /> When dorms rooms are legally searched for narrowly defined reasons or officials are legally permitted to enter student rooms, students are not protected from property damage incurred in the search process<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=baughman /> or action taken when evidence is in plain sight.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=washington /> * Right to protection from illegal police search and seizure Evidence found in student dorm rooms by institutional employees cannot be used in a court of law and institutions cannot allow police to conduct a search and seizure with out warrant.<ref name=christman /><ref name=commonwealth /><ref name=piazzola /> Students may not be punished for refusing a warrantless search from institutional authorities or police officers.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=municipal /> When students freely allow institutional officials to enter institutions can hold students accountable for evidence in plain sight.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=washington /> ====Laws and court precedent on student safety rights==== * Right to protection from injury on campus A number of state courts have also found that institutions have a responsibility to prevent or make efforts to limit injury on campus from dangerous property and criminal conditions<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=schneider>Vangeli v. Schneider, 1993</ref><ref name=white>White, 2007</ref><ref name=miller>Miller v. State, 1984</ref> so long as injury is both foreseeable and preventable. * Right to protection from injury in facilities under campus jurisdiction Knoll v. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (1999)<ref name="autogenerated1999">Knoll v. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, 1999</ref> found that institutions are responsible for ensuring the safety of facilities which are either under institutional jurisdiction or oversight. Institutions are, thus, responsible for institutionally owned dormitories and fraternities whether on campus or off campus and also for fraternities which may not be owned by the institution but are regulated by the institution. By taking on a regulatory role the institution also takes on this liability. Another state court found, that when students are not lawfully permitted to be on institutional property or in institutional buildings after hours, for instance, the institution is not responsible.<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name=laura>Laura O. v. State, 1994</ref> Where institutions willfully take responsibility for something like a fraternity or require students to abide by their rules they also take on the liability. * Right to protection from foreseeable crime on campus Students should be safe from for seeable crime especially in light of past reports of crime, if loitering or dangerous conditions have been made etc.<ref name=white /><ref name=miller /> Institutions are required to take safety precautions including the monitoring of unauthorized personnel in dormitories, taking action against unauthorized personnel when they pose a threat to safety and ensuring adequate security measures are in place. * Right to protection from injury caused by other students Students deserve protection from other students over whom the institution has oversight including voluntarily assumed jurisdiction e.g.: clubs, sororities, fraternities, teams.<ref name=white /><ref name=university5>Furek v. University of Delaware, 1991</ref> This, for instance, includes protection from foreseeable or preventable fraternity hazing even if fraternities are not located on institutional property. The institution also has a responsibility to inform itself of safety risks existent in institutionally regulated programs (White, 2007). State courts have found that institutions are not responsible, however, for screening ex-convicts before admission,<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Eiseman v. State of New York</ref> 1987). ====Laws and court precedent on student constitutional rights==== Students have the right to constitutional freedoms and protections in higher education. Prior to the 1960s institutions of higher education did not have to respect students constitutional rights but could act as a parent in the interest of the student (Nancy Thomas, 1991). In 1960 Shelton v. Turner found “the vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools” and in 1961 Dixon v. Alabama, found that students were not required to give up, as a condition of admission, their constitutional rights and protections.<ref name=bach /><ref>Thompson, 1991</ref> =====Free Speech & Association Rights===== * Right to free speech and association rights Students retain their first amendment rights in institutions of higher education.<ref>ASHE & Henderickson, 1986</ref> Papish v. Board of Curators of the Univ. of Missouri (1973) and Joyner v. Whiting (1973) find students may engage in speech that do not interfere with the rights of others or of the operation of the school.<ref>ASHE & Henderickson</ref> Because schools are places of education they may regulate speech by time, manner and place as long as they provide free speech zones for students<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref>Perry Ed. Assoc. v. Perry Local Ed. Assoc., 1983</ref> as long as they are not used to limit expression.<ref name=henderickson8 /><ref>Bayless v. Maritime, 1970</ref> * Right to free religious and unaccepted speech The first amendment protects religious, indecent speech and profane hand gestures including the middle finger.<ref name=bach /><ref name=henderickson8 /><ref>Orin v. Barclay, 2001</ref><ref>Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri</ref><ref>Joyner v. Widmar v. Vincent, 1981</ref><ref>Chess v. Widmar, 1980</ref><ref>Whiting</ref><ref>Klein v. Smith, 1986</ref> Texas v. Johnson (1989)<ref>Texas v. Johnson, 1989</ref> found that “[i]f there is a bedrock principle underlying the first amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable. The first amendment does not recognize exceptions for bigotry, racism, and religious intolerance or ideas or matters some may deem trivial, vulgar or profane.” * Right to expression through clothing Clothing, armbands, newspaper editorials and demonstrations have all been found legal forms of free speech.<ref>Tinker vs. Des Moines independent Community School District 1969</ref><ref>Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education, 1961</ref> * Right to free speech on public forums The first amendment covers internet communications.<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name="autogenerated1980">Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission, 1980</ref><ref name=rosenberger>Rosenberger v. Rector of Virginia University, 1995</ref><ref>Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 1997</ref> On forums designated by the institution as public forums or commonly used as public forums, students may express themselves without content regulation or removal.<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name=rosenberger /> Online Policy Group v. Diebold, Inc., 2004 Regulation may take place to prevent illegal activities.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name="autogenerated1980"/> =====Equality Rights===== * Right to protection from sex discrimination in higher education Students are protected from discrimination based on sex in any program or activity receiving federal funding except military, fraternity, sorority organizations.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=title /><ref name=autogenerated18>HEA, 2008</ref><ref name=oklahoma>Gossett v. State of Oklahoma, 2001</ref> * Right to the protection from sexual harassment in education Sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination under Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=cooper7>Cooper et al., 2002</ref><ref>Harris v. Forklift Systems Inc., 1993</ref><ref>Cf. Meritor Savings Bank FSB v. Vinson 1986</ref> and applies to all federal programs and activities. Sexual harassment has been prohibited in educational settings<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated1998">Morse v. Regents of the University of Colorado, 1998</ref><ref name="autogenerated8">Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 1999</ref> and applies also to both opposite and same sex harassment by students.<ref>Cooper, 2002; Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 1999</ref><ref name=university6>Nogueras v. University of Puerto Rico, 1995</ref> * Right to sex equality in the provision of student activities Institutions have an obligation to provide equal opportunities in athletics, bands and clubs. This includes equal accommodation of interests and abilities for both sexes, provision of equipment and facility scheduling for such activities as games and practices, travel allowance and dorm room facilities. It includes also equal quality facilities including locker rooms, medical services, tutoring services, coaching and publicity.<ref name=autogenerated10 /> To ensure that sufficient opportunities are made available for women, institutions are responsible for complying with Title IX in one of three ways. They must provide athletic opportunities proportionate to enrollment, prove that they are continually expanding opportunities for the underrepresented sex or accommodate the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex.<ref name=title /> * Right to the disclosure of athletics plans and expenditures The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act also requires the disclosure of athletics information including male and female undergraduate enrollment, number of teams and team statistics including the number of players, team operating expenses, recruitment, coach salaries, aid to teams and athletes and team revenue.<ref name=heoa /> This information is required to ensure equality standards are met. * Right to protection from ability discrimination in facilities The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act<ref name=autogenerated16 /> and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act<ref name=rehabilitation11 /> prohibits ability discrimination in higher education.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=southeastern /><ref name=university19 /><ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name="autogenerated1981"/> This includes ability discrimination in facility use. Individuals designated with a disability by a medical professional, legally recognized with a disability<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated5"/> and deemed otherwise qualified are entitled to equal treatment and reasonable accommodations in both educational and employment related activities.<ref name=autogenerated2 /><ref name=rehabilitation /> The Supreme Court defined Otherwise qualified as an individual who can perform the required tasks in spite of rather than except for their disability.<ref name=hendrickson /><ref name=southeastern /> * Right to protection from race discrimination The 1972 Equal Educational Opportunity Act protects students equal rights to educational opportunity regardless of race and the 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson Executive Order 11246 and the 1964 Civil Rights Act require equal access to employment opportunities regardless of race.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=oklahoma /><ref>Anderson v. University of Wisconsin, 1988</ref><ref>Garcia v. S.U.N.Y. Health Sciences Center of Brooklyn, 2001</ref> * Right to protection from racial segregation Students are protected from racial segregation which compromises access to quality education.<ref name="autogenerated3"/><ref name=kaplan /><ref>Kaye, Bickela & Birtwistle, 2006</ref><ref>Brown v. Board of Education, 1954</ref><ref>United States v. Fordice, 1992</ref> * Right to affirmative action All federal employers or federal contractors are required to take affirmative action<ref name=autogenerated12>EO 11246, 1965</ref> to help counteract the effects of historical discrimination. They must create goals, timetables, action plans, budgets and reporting systems to ensure that marginalized populations are given equal employment opportunities. Regulations must also be posted in conspicuous places easily available to all staff and potential employees.<ref name=autogenerated15>EO 11246</ref> * Right to freedom from discrimination in affirmative action Diversity is defined in much broader terms than race. Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)<ref name=bollinger21 /> found a “broad range of qualities and experiences that may be considered valuable contributions” and “a wide variety of characteristics besides race and ethnicity.” Members of the majority are also protected from reverse discrimination.<ref name="autogenerated1978"/><ref name=bollinger21 /><ref name=bollinger /><ref name=odegaard>DeFunis v. Odegaard, 1974</ref> Race neutral affirmative action policies must make exceptions on an individual basis and may not discriminate based on race or color.<ref name="autogenerated1978"/><ref name=bollinger21 /><ref name=bollinger /><ref name=odegaard /> * Right to protection from discrimination based on national origin in education Individuals have the right to equal treatment regardless of national origin in institutions of higher education (HEA, 1965) so long as they are citizens or resident aliens of the United States.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=nyquist>Nyquist v. Jean-Marie Mauclet, 1977</ref> The 1986 Immigration and Reform Control Act also prohibits discrimination based on citizenship. Institutions have the right to discriminate based on national origin so long as objectives are both narrowly defined and neutrally applied.<ref name=kaplan /><ref>Ahmed v. University of Toledo, 1987</ref> It is, thus, permissible to require non-resident aliens who are legally present in the United States to have health insurance for instance. * Right to protection from age discrimination Age discrimination in federally funded programs is prohibited by the 1975 Age Discrimination Act.<ref name=discrimination>Age Discrimination Act, 1975</ref> This act builds on the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act.<ref name=adea>ADEA, 1967</ref><ref>See also Kaplan & Lee, 2011</ref><ref name=cooper>Cooper v. Nix, 1974</ref><ref>Bynes v. Toll, 1975</ref> It provides protection from unequal treatment between people of different ages from any explicit or implied distinctions which effect the benefits of participation. * Right to equal treatment of student groups Gay Activists Alliance v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma (1981) found student groups are entitled to equal and unbiased recognition. Recognition includes the unbiased allocation of facility and equipment resources except when there is proof that a student group does not maintain reasonable housekeeping or poses a threat of danger, disruption or criminal action.<ref name=henderickson /><ref>Gay Students Organization of the University of New Hampshire v. Bonner</ref> =====Autonomy Rights to Free Choice (26th amendment)===== * Right to personal autonomy Healey v. James (1972)<ref name=healey>Healey v. James, 1972</ref> found students have the right to self-determination. “Students—who, by reason of the 26th Amendment, become eligible to vote when 18 years of age—are adults who are members of the college or university community. Their interests and concerns are often quite different from those of the faculty. They often have values, views, and ideologies that are at war with the ones which the college has traditionally espoused or indoctrinated.<ref name=healey /> Bradshaw v. Rawlings (1979),<ref name=bradshaw>Bradshaw v. Rawlings, 1979</ref> found that “adult students now demand and receive expanded rights of privacy in their college life”.<ref>Thomas, 1991</ref> ====Laws and court precedent on students contract rights==== * Right to contract rights Carr v. St. Johns University (1962)<ref>Carr v. St. Johns University, 1962</ref> and Healey v. Larsson (1971, 1974)<ref>Healey v. Larsson, 1971</ref> established that students and institutions of higher education formed a contractual relationship. Institutions of higher education are responsible to ensure that contracts, including those implied and verbal, are fair,<ref name=bach /><ref name=anderson /> in good faith<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref>Beukas v. Fairleigh, 1991, 1992</ref> and not unconscionable.<ref name=kaplan /><ref>Albert Merrill School v. Godoy, 1974</ref> * Right to adherence to institutional documents Students are protected from deviation from information advertized in the following documents: registration materials, manuals,<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=university13 /> course catalogues,<ref name=university9 /><ref>Rafferty; Ross v. Creighton University</ref> bulletins, circulars, regulations,<ref name=rafferty /> Ross v. Creighton University class syllabi,<ref name=parkes /><ref name="autogenerated1992"/><ref name=penson /> student codes,<ref name=harwood /><ref name=kaplan /> and handbooks.<ref name=middleburry /><ref name=kaplan /> These documents may be binding implied-n-fact contracts. Goodman v. President and Trustees of Bowdoin College (2001), has ruled that institutional documents are still contractual regardless if they have a disclaimer. This decision found that “even though the college had reserved the right to change the student handbook unilaterally and without notice, this reservation of rights did not defeat the contractual nature of the student handbook.” * Right to fulfillment of verbal promises Ross v. Creighton University found that verbal contracts are binding.<ref name=university3 /><ref>Rafferty 1993</ref> The North Carolina Court of Appeals in Long v. University of North Carolina at Wilmington (1995), found, however, that verbal agreements must be made in an official capacity in order to be binding.<ref name=bowden /> Dezick v. Umpqua Community College (1979) found a student was compensated because classes offered orally by the dean were not provided. Healy v. Larsson (1974) found that a student who completed degree requirements prescribed by an academic advisor was entitled to a degree on the basis that this was an implied contract. An advisor should, thus, be considered an official source of information. ====Laws and court precedent on students consumer rights==== JFK Consumer Bill of Rights John F. Kennedy’s 1962 Consumer Bill of Rights, which is not a legal document, asserts that consumers have the right to consumer safety, information preventing fraud, deceit and informed choice, to choose from multiple alternative options and the right to complaint, to be heard and addressed. A number of these principles are enshrined in the law of higher education. * Right to limited fiduciary care (institutional care in the student’s best interest) Johnson v. Schmitz (2000),<ref>Johnson v. Schmitz, 2000</ref> found in a federal district court, that a PhD committee established for the sole purpose of advising the student had an obligation to advise the student in his best interest.<ref name="autogenerated4"/> This is a limited fiduciary right. * Right to care regarding the safety of students Bradshaw v. Rawlings (1979)<ref name=bradshaw /> reiterated that where a special relationship is established, courts may impose a duty upon an institution or individual to ensure the care of others. Duty is defined here “as an obligation to which the law will give recognition in order to require one person to conform to a particular standard of conduct with respect to another person.” Institutions have a duty of care to ensure the safety of students while respecting their personal autonomy. Mullins v. Pine Manor found that "[t]he fact that a college need not police the morals of its resident students ...does not entitle it to abandon any effort to ensure their physical safety”.<ref>White, 2007, p. 330</ref> * Right to a grievance filing process Dixon v. Alabama (1961)<ref>Dixon v. Alabama, 1961</ref> determined that when student’s constitutional rights are not upheld, students are eligible to sue for damages in a court of law for monetary or material damages.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=kaplan /><ref name=rehabilitation17 /><ref name=cooper /><ref>Salvador v. Bennett, 1986</ref><ref>Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hileah, 1993</ref> Individuals may also file complaints regarding discrimination with the federal Office of Civil Rights (OCR).<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=discrimination /><ref>Civil Rights Office Tanberg v. Weld County Sheriff, 1992</ref> * Right to protection from injury on campus A number of state courts have also found that institutions have a responsibility to prevent or make efforts to limit injury on campus from dangerous property and criminal conditions<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=schneider /><ref name=white /><ref name=miller /> so long as injury is both foreseeable and preventable. * Right to protection from injury in facilities under campus jurisdiction Knoll v. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (1999)<ref name="autogenerated1999"/> found that institutions are responsible for ensuring the safety of facilities which are either under institutional jurisdiction or oversight. Institutions are, thus, responsible for institutionally owned dormitories and fraternities whether on campus or off campus and also for fraternities which may not be owned by the institution but are regulated by the institution. By taking on a regulatory role the institution also takes on this liability. Another state court found, that when students are not lawfully permitted to be on institutional property or in institutional buildings after hours, for instance, the institution is not responsible.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=laura /> * Right to protection from foreseeable crime on campus Students should be safety from for seeable crime especially in light on past reports of crime, loitering or dangerous conditions have been made.<ref name=white /><ref name=miller /> Institutions are required to take safety precautions including the monitoring of unauthorized personnel in dormitories, taking action against unauthorized personnel when they pose a threat to safety and ensuring adequate security measures are in place. * Right to protection from injury caused by other students Students deserve protection from other students over whom the institution has oversight including voluntarily assumed jurisdiction e.g.: clubs, sororities, fraternities, teams.<ref name=white /><ref name=university5 /> This, for instance, includes protection from foreseeable or preventable fraternity hazing even if fraternities are not located on institutional property. The institution also has a responsibility to inform itself of safety risks existent in institutionally regulated programs.<ref name=white /> State courts have found that institutions are not responsible, however, for screening exconvicts before admission.<ref name=kaplan /><ref>Eiseman v. State of New York, 1987</ref> ====Laws and court precedent on student employment rights==== * Right to protection from sex discrimination in the workplace Students are protected from discrimination based on sex in any program or activity receiving federal funding except military, fraternity, sorority organizations. There are protections for both public and private employment.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=kaplan /><ref name=title /><ref name=autogenerated18 /><ref name=oklahoma /> All employment opportunities must be merit based.<ref name=autogenerated10 /><ref name=autogenerated>EO 11375, 1967</ref> * Right to equal pay for sexes in the workplace All sexes have the right to equal pay for equal work performed in the workplace in institutions of higher education. This would include student employment.<ref name=autogenerated10 /><ref name=autogenerated /> This may suggest that transgendered individuals are also entitled to equal pay in the workplace. * Right to protection from forced pregnancy leave Women do not have to go on mandatory pregnancy leave before birth, and the right to doctor prescribed leave during pregnancy.<ref>PDA, 1978</ref> * Right to the protection from sexual harassment in the workplace Sexual harassment is prohibited in both educational and workplace settings<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated1998"/><ref name="autogenerated8"/> and applies also to both opposite and same sex harassment by employees.<ref name="autogenerated8"/><ref name=university6 /><ref>Cooper, 2002</ref> * Right to active protection from sexual harassment in the workplace The 1997 Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights Sexual Harassment Guidelines find also that institutions are liable for incidences wherein the institution was aware or “should have been aware” of sexual harassment and took no immediate action.<ref>see also Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 1998</ref><ref>Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education</ref> The majority of federal court cases involving educational institutions prohibit the maintenance of conditions which allow harassment by other students to continue.<ref name=kaplan /><ref name=cooper7 /><ref>Williams v. Saxbe, 1976</ref><ref>Franklin v. Gwinnett, 1992</ref> * Right to protection from ability discrimination in the workplace Ability discrimination in federally funded and private programs and activities is prohibited under the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.<ref name=southeastern /><ref name=kaplan /><ref name=university19 /><ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name="autogenerated1981"/> Individuals designated with a disability by a medical professional, legally recognized with a disability<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated5"/><ref name=kaplan /> and deemed otherwise qualified are entitled to equal treatment and reasonable accommodations.<ref name=autogenerated2 /><ref name=rehabilitation /> The Supreme Court defined Otherwise qualified as an individual who can perform the required tasks in spite of rather than except for their disability.<ref name=hendrickson /><ref name=southeastern /> * Right to protection from ability discrimination in employment recruitment The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act<ref name=autogenerated16 /> and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.<ref name=rehabilitation11 /> This includes ability discrimination in recruitment. Individuals designated with a disability by a medical professional, legally recognized with a disability.<ref name=optometry /><ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name="autogenerated5"/> * Right to protection from ability discrimination in workplace discipline and dismissal The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act<ref name=autogenerated16 /> and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act<ref name=rehabilitation11 /> in discipline and dismissal.<ref name=southeastern /><ref name=kaplan /><ref name=university19 /><ref name=henderickson8 /><ref name="autogenerated1981"/> * Right to protection from age discrimination Age discrimination in federally funded programs is prohibited by the 1975 Age Discrimination Act.<ref name=discrimination /> This act builds on the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act.<ref name=adea /><ref>See also Kaplan & Lee, 2011; Cooper v. Nix, 1974; Bynes v. Toll, 1975</ref> It provides protection from unequal treatment between people of different ages from any explicit or implied distinctions which effect the benefits of participation. * Right to protection from race discrimination in employment Executive Order 11246<ref name=autogenerated15 /> expanded upon the 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Order 10479,<ref>EO 10479</ref> which established an anti-discrimination committee to oversee governmental contracting. The 1967 Lyndon B. Johnson Executive Order 11375<ref>EO 11375</ref> also requires all facets of federal employment or federally contracted employment be regulated based on merit – this includes institutions of higher education. * Right to protection from discrimination based on national origin in employment Individuals have the right to equal treatment regardless of national origin in employment settings<ref name=autogenerated12 /><ref>IRCA, 1986</ref> so long as they are citizens or resident aliens of the United States.<ref name="autogenerated4"/><ref name=nyquist /> The 1986 Immigration and Reform Control Act also prohibits discrimination based on citizenship. ==European Union== {{Empty section|date=June 2013}} ==Romania== Romania is the country which has the greatest student rights legislation currently in place. In 2011 the National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania, which is also part of the European Student Union, worked with the Romanian National Government to bring into law the Romanian National Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities. This document provides Romanian students with roughly a hundred theoretical and procedural rights necessary to ensure theoretical rights are fulfilled.[6] This document includes the following rights:<ref>European Student Union (2011) "Romanian education has a brand new student statute" http://www.esu-online.org/news/article/romaniaanosr/Romanian-Education-has-a-brand-new-Student-Statute/</ref> ===Educational Package Rights=== * Right to a quality education * Right to a student centered educational environment * Right to opportunities to develop personally * Right to opportunities to develop socially * Right to opportunities to acquire skills required to find and retain employment * Right to an educational contract * Right to equal treatment among equal students * Right to equity where some students are at an educational disadvantage * Right to information information transparency and accessibility * Right to educational quality standards which are assessed and accountable * Right to student involvement in institutional decision-making * Right to at least one free copy of the student record including diplomas, certificates and transcripts * Right to information on all student rights and responsibilities * Right to grievance reporting, hearing and appeals processes * Right to be provided educational materials while attending institutions of higher education * Right to housing accommodations, unless a student studies in their place of residence * Right to transportation while attending institutions of higher education * Right to meals while attending institutions of higher education * Right to medical coverage while attending institutions of higher education * Right to postpone and resume studies * Right to transfer from one university to another * Right to the protection of student information * Right to an eight hour school day ===Contract Rights=== * Right to a continuous contract during a period of enrollment, without a change in degree requirements * Right to retain property and copyright for results of research, artistic creation and innovation unless contracts exist * Right to participate in programs and services in accordance with advertized program objectives * Right to be evaluated in accordance with advertized curriculum evaluation criteria * Right to be evaluated with criteria in line with advertized course objectives ===Equitability Rights=== * Right to equitable recruitment, admissions, readmissions, testing, education, instruction and assessment * Right to access social mobility programs and resources * Right to subsidized tuition for students from historically marginalized and low socio-economic backgrounds * Right to free educational and professional guidance, counseling, tutoring and monitoring for subsidized students * Right to the availability of academic, professional psychological and social counseling with educational objectives * Right to study in one’s native language or a language of international communication if offered * Right to exam accommodations for certified temporary and permanent medical conditions * Right to have registration periods of at least on working week after the posting of scholarships or programs * Right to flexible learning paths and a minimum number of optional courses * Right to be provided free medical assistance * Right to a 50% + discount on public transportation * Right to a 75% discount for access to events organized by public institutions * Right to subsidies for housing accommodations for low income or historically marginalized backgrounds ===Accountability & Quality Assurance Rights=== * Right to a quality education (with quality standards in place) * Right to quality standards for teachers and course resources for use in quality assurance and evaluation * Right to quality standards for support resources for use in quality assurance and evaluation * Right to the availability of information related to stated educational objectives * Right to participate in evaluation of teachers, courses, seminars, programs, practicums, internships, residencies * Right to access teacher, course, seminar, program, practicum, internship, residency evaluations as public info * Right to have evaluations used for assessment of quality and objective achievement * Right to know how tuition, fees and other charges are determined or justified * Right to be informed about the number, type and amount of each fee charged * Right to institutional consultation with student organizations on issues in higher education * Right to representative participation in university executive and deliberative bodies * Right to 25%+ representative participation in the university senate and faculty council * Right to representative participation in faculty counsels and university senates or governance structures * Right to representative participation in management of social services, accommodations and scholarships * Right to representatives participation in government departments involving students * Right to representative participation in choosing and appointing an institutional president or head * Right to student representative elections free of interference from instructors and administrators * Right to serve as a student representative for up to four years regardless of academic performance or attendance * Right to be informed and consulted by student representatives on matters in institutional governance * Right for student organizations to develop an annual report on institutional compliance with this code * Right to an annual response to the compliance report including proposed improvements and a timeline ===Due Process Rights=== * Right to submit grievances and expect recourse for identity theft * Right to submit grievances and expect recourse for abuse of power * Right to submit grievances and expect recourse for arbitrary and capricious decision making * Right to appeal grades before a committee. The instructor who issued the grade may not sit on this committee. * Right to request a review of complaints by specialized bodies * Right to be present during appeal hearings * Right to protection from retribution when making a complaint (whistle blower protections) * Right to have all written or online requests registered * Right to have all written and online requests answered ===Information Accessibility Rights=== * Right to freely access all educational materials available in university libraries or institutional websites * Right to receive, upon admissions, a Student Guide containing information on: ** student rights and responsibilities ** materials and services provided by the university ** evaluation methods ** justification and methods used to establish fees ** university and faculty facilities ** details about student organizations ** ways of accessing scholarships and other financial facilities * Right to receive a five page syllabus within the first two weeks of the semester containing: ** course objectives ** general competences or outcomes students will achieve ** curriculum ** course timeline of readings and assignments ** evaluation and examination methods * Right to adherence to the syllabus unless the teacher has the students agreement * Right to receive the syllabus in either an electronic format or a physical copy * Right to information on the scale used for evaluation of skills * Right to institutional policies which inform students of their rights * Right to access regulations, decisions, meeting minutes and any other legal documents at the institution * Right to receive a copy of their diploma, thesis, score and details about the score * Right to information on criteria and methods used to identify and evaluate processional practice * Right to information on criteria used to evaluate the quality of academic classes and programs <ref>http://www.navigatehighered.com/uploads/1/2/7/5/12753485/student_code_-_still_editing2.pdf</ref> ==The student rights movement== Students in both Europe and North America began calling for the expansion of civil rights and student rights during the Vietnam War era. They established legal rights by forming student unions and lobbying for institutional policies (thus, changing the cultural treatment of students), lobbying for legislative change on state and national levels and circulating petitions for the creation of national student rights bills. In America, for instance, students won the right to retain their civil rights in institutions of higher education.<ref>Dixon v. Alabama 1961</ref> In Europe, this movement has been explosive. Students have banded together and formed unions in individual institutions, at the state and national levels and eventually at the continental level as the European Student Union.<ref name="esu-online1">[http://www.esu-online.org/news/article/6064/97/ 2008 Students' Rights Charter]</ref> They have been instrumental in lobbying for rights in individual countries and in the EU in general. In 2011, for instance, Romania put forth an extensive national student bill of rights providing Romanian students with a hundred rights assembled in a clear and easy to access document.<ref name="esu-online1"/> Europe has also set forth legislation stipulating the rights of EU students studying in other EU countries. European students have used the tactics established during the global labour movement of the eighteen and nineteen hundreds to gain labour or work place standards. They have unionized, stated their demands both verbally and in writing (sometimes in the form of a proposed student bill of rights), publicized their message and gone on strike.<ref>Beverly Silver: Forces of Labor. Worker's Movements and Globalization since 1870, Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-521-52077-5</ref> During the labor movement, workers in the United States, for example, won the right to a 40 hour work week, to a minimum wage, to equal pay for equal work, to be paid on time, to contract rights, for safety standards, a complaint filing process etc.<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/table_labor Labor and Employment laws &#124; LII / Legal Information Institute]</ref> Students have, likewise, demanded that these regulations as well as civil, constitutional, contract and consumer rights, which regulate other industries, be applied to higher education. The European student movement and the United States movement differ in a number of ways. These differences may be a factor in determining why European Students have been more successful in obtaining legally recognized student rights, from the right to access free education to the right to move and study freely from one EU country to the next, to the right to exercise their national legal rights in institutions of higher education. Differences between European and United States student movements * National student organization mandates: Different levels of student representation The European Student Union ESU mandate requires the ESU to determine the demands of students and to convey them to legislators. The United States Student Association USSA also has a mandate to amplify the student voice in legal decision making but it does not stipulate how it will determine the student voice or ensure that it is representative of the students themselves. The ESU focuses on gathering input from students across the nation, creates a student bill of rights enabling students to critique it, proposes legislation to achieve these rights at both the state and continental level and then creates information resources so students know their rights.<ref name="esu-online2">[http://www.esu-online.org/about/aboutus/ About Us]</ref> The USSA, determines its objectives through the USSA membership. USSA does not seem to conduct research across the nation or to state student objectives on their website so students can express a desire to add or delete from this list. If the USSA does conduct research they do not show this on their website, do not have a search function on the website and do not publish this information for students. ** Currently, the ESU mandate is to "promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students", to "represent, defend and strengthen students’ educational, democratic and political and social rights and "represent and promote the[m] ... at the European [continental] level towards all relevant bodies and in particular the European Union, Bologna Follow Up Group, Council of Europe and UNESCO."<ref name="esu-online2"/> The ESU will accomplish this by "conducting research", "campaigns", "conferences", "trainings", "partnership projects", "providing information", and creating "publications" for "students, policy-makers and higher education professionals." ** The ASSU's mandate is to "develop[] current and future leaders and amplif[y] the student voice at the local, state, and national levels by mobilizing grassroots power to win concrete victories on student issues. The United States Student Association Foundation ensures the pipeline of effective student leadership by facilitating education, training and other development opportunities at national, state, and local levels in advocating for issues that affect students." The mission statement does not say how they intend to do these things but it seems from the website that they hold grass roots lobbying, student conferences and electoral training, and propose bills to the US Senate. * National student organization mandates: Publicity for student demands The ESU clearly states student demands through the nation and through the EU. They have compiled these demands into a student bill of rights, referred to as the 2008 Student Rights Charter. This document is not legally binding but it is a clear representation of all student demands. It helps students, institutions and governments understand what students are demanding<ref name="esu-online1"/> and also helps student unions, in individual institutions, lobby for rights which help change the culture and treatment of students on a local level. The ESU has democratically created a proposed student bill of rights they want accepted in legislation at a national and continental level. These demands include: access to higher education, to student involvement in institutional governance, extracurricular support and curricular quality standards. Each right has been broken down into more detailed demands required to achieve these rights. While student associations in America are pushing for this, there has been no centralized effort through the national student association.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_Bill_of_Rights</ref> USSA Legislative initiatives have included student debt forgiveness, enabling illegal students to attend college, allocating more governmental money toward institutions and students but again these objectives seem to be created by USSA members without national research on the student voice. There is no way to search their website to determine if they conduct research to gather input form students across the nation. * Institutional student bodies: A student union focus vs. a student government focus. The European student movement and the United States movement also differ on a local institutional level. In Europe most institutional student organizations are referred to as student unions which suggests that they are engaged in lobbying for student rights. In America these are referred to as Student Governments or Student Associations and the focus is more on learning the democratic process. The problem is, however, that most student governments only have about 20-25% representation in the Academic Senate or institutional decision making body and far less experience in democratic processes than other institutional representatives. Student governments focus on teaching students how to be leaders and participate in democracy where as unions focus more on determining the student voice and achieving student rights through lobbying. ==See also== * [[Student Bill of Rights]] * [[European Students' Union]] <ref name="esu-online1"/> * [[Youth rights]] * [[Student voice]] * [[Student Press Law Center]] * [[National Youth Rights Association]] * [[Leonard Law]] * [[Student activism]] * [[Students' union]] * [[The Freechild Project]] ==External links== * [http://www.navigatehighered.com navigatehighered.com: Student rights info., advocacy and student union resources] * [http://www.navigatehighered.com/uploads/1/2/7/5/12753485/model_-_student_classroom_bill_of_rights_-_good.pdf Model Student Classroom Bill of Rights] * [http://www.facebook.com/occupycollege Occupy Education] * [http://www.youthrights.org National Youth rights Association] * [http://www.facebook.com/groups/376997822384370/ Students and Families for Higher Education Reform] {{Youth empowerment}} ==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Student Rights}} [[Category:Ageism]] [[Category:Student rights| ]]'