SLLA 6990 - "Ethical Leadership"

How can school leaders best promote openness and collaborative decisions in ethical school leadership and make ethical conversation integral to their school culture?

• They can analyze the ethical implications of any decision for the school community.

• They can maintain constancy in their ethical frameworks throughout their careers.

• They can accept needed funding even if the donors require less effective methods.

• They can regularly initiate discussions for self-examination and ethics development.

Which of these can school leaders appropriately do to prevent or eliminate racism and ensure cultural equity in their schools?

• They can change school board policies and also the school board’s member composition.

• They can train their faculty in mediation and conflict resolution skills to settle disputes.

• They cannot do anything about minority student overrepresentation in special education.

• They can make official policies not tolerating racism that suffice without consequences.

Under the National Education Association (NEA) Code of Ethics, Principle I, Commitment to the Student, educators are enjoined against doing a number of things, including that they: “Shall not disclose information about students obtained in the course of professional unless disclosure serves as compelling professional purpose or is required by law.”

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964

• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and/or the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act Title II

• Rehabilitation Act Section 504

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) recommendations for ethical behaviors by school leaders include the following:

l. Fulfilling their professional duties honestly and with integrity

ll. Obeying all the federal, state, and local laws and regulations

lll. Basing all decisions on the value of student success and well-being

lV. Acting to change laws, policies and regulations against education goals

V. Implementing the local board of education regulations and policies

Which combination of these could MOST present a conflict for a school leader in some instances?

• l and lll

• ll and lV

• ll, lV, and V

• lll, lV, and V

How can a school leader evaluate and improve the school curriculum for cultural and racial equity?

• Instruct teachers to view curriculum as pluralistic and unchanging.

• Include multicultural education within the school curriculum goals.

• Assure books include diversity but not look for prejudiced content.

• Focus multicultural education on foods, festivals, and fun activities.

On which of the following do the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act differ with respect to student records?

• Requiring instruction and training of educators on records confidentiality

• Defining which student records are considered to be educational records

• Determining conditions for destroying educational records via state laws

• Regulating records collection, maintenance, confidentiality, or disclosure

It is your first year as an administrator. The office staff is often heard gossiping about students, families, and teachers. Because they have worked at this school for years, they have lived in the community for years, and they are much older than you, you are hesitant to mention the problem. As the educational leader, what should you do?

• Leave them alone. If they’ve been there for years apparently, it has not been a problem.

• Send them an email stating new office policies and add there will be no gossip. Then sign them up for training about professionalism in the workplace.

• Get a teacher who has been there a long time and is friendly with them to talk to them about ethics of talking about private or personal issues within the school day.

• Call them into your office separately and explain that because the office sets the tone of the building, you’d like their help to add some professionalism by keeping talk to office work, keeping talk quieter, and eliminating all personal references to students, teachers, or parents out of conversation.

There are few instances when a school is allowed to release student information that would otherwise be held due to restraints of confidentiality. Which of the following is not a situation when student confidential information is allowed to be released by the school?

• A search warrant issued by a local or federal court.

• When student information is requested via a court-issued subpoena.

• When a college requests additional information for an admission decision.

• When a parent makes a request to view their child’s records.

The School Board will be announcing and enacting boundary changes in the fall without inviting lengthy public input or opinion. A core group of your fundraising and volunteering parents are going to be forced to withdraw when changes take effect. What can be done to prevent the loss of those parents?

• Drop hints about upcoming changes to policy and boundaries.

• Confide in a peer about your concerns, but take no action.

• Encourage all parents to attend school board meetings and listen really, really carefully.

• Tell one parent and ask them not to tell anyone.

The technology committee of a high school recommends the purchase of graphing calculators for the mathematics department. After checking with three vendors, the principal decides to authorize a contract to purchase them from the wife of a faculty member since she is able to offer a good price and will be readily available for help with instruction and for service. In 150 - 300 words, what are the issues raised by this decision?