Education Law

Dear Colleagues, 

As the world continues to shrink amid growing interdependence, one of the major challenges facing the global community is ensuring the establishment of sound, working educational systems, at both the elementary-secondary and higher educational levels, designed to produce educated citizenries. Almost needless to say, the law is a major factor that helps to create educational systems while monitoring their quality, as it protects the rights of both teachers and students, along with the interests of parents. Clearly, this is a daunting task for legal systems around the world, as they seek to ensure national stability and well-educated citizenries. Aware of this challenge, this Special Issue of Laws focuses on the crucial topic of Education Law.  

The centrality of Education Law on an international level was first highlighted by the promulgation of The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (Declaration) in 1948. In fact, the Declaration was the first internationally accepted document to enunciate the value of education as a basic human right; this recognition has helped to shape not only the nature of school systems, but also the rights of students, their parents, and teachers. According to Article 26 of the Declaration:

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Additionally, a variety of other international and domestic documents, including judicial opinions of the United States Supreme Court, and those of high courts in other nations, have recognized the rights not only of students to receive an education, but of the corresponding right addressing the freedom of teachers to teach as they deem fit, free from unwarranted governmental interference. At the same time, there has been incredible growth in the rate at which children attend school in developing nations, necessitating the creation of a body of well-educated teachers who can instruct these students.  

Starting with the enactment of compulsory schooling laws for primary schools in the middle of the nineteenth century, especially in Western industrialized nations, beginning with the United States, enrollments in elementary and secondary education have increased dramatically. Even so, a recent study of 146 nations reveals that, in 1950, 47.1% of people aged fifteen years of and older lacked any formal education; a number that has declined to 14.55%. Moreover, elementary school completion grew from only 17.1% to 17.3%, while the number of people who completed secondary education did increase from 5.2% to 25.9%. To this end, a study published by the World Bank noted that the patterns of educational attainment clearly vary greatly across various countries, as well as across population groups within these nations.

For some, basic education is practically universal, whereas for others, attainment is dismal, as the average years of study rose from only 3.12 to 7.89. A value of this proposed issue, then, is that it is designed to provide readers with an understanding of how laws in different countries promote the development of educational systems that can be used in nations where schooling for all is still not a priority.

Concerns over the need for primary and secondary schools, let alone higher education, have emerged as important throughout the world, largely as a consequence of the increasing range of rights accorded to citizens in their home countries. While there are similarities in the ways that educational institutions operate, there are also many differences. Furthermore, legislative and judicial systems around the world continue to draw increasingly on the knowledge and experience of educational leaders in other countries in order to improve on the quality of schooling in their own countries.

This issue is designed to address issues in Education Law in various countries, with the goal of enhancing international awareness of issues in Education Law. It is my hope that this volume can serve as a valuable resource for academicians, lawyers, and educational practitioners, by providing them with an enhanced awareness of strategies that are being used to manage problems commonly faced in multiple educational settings.

Of course, no single issue can ever hope to cover the myriad of legal topics, or laws of nations, addressing the legal status of Education Law. Even so, I hope that these informative, thought provoking, well-written and researched articles can serve as up-to-date and ready sources of information, to help keep educational leaders, academics, and students abreast of the many changes in the ever-growing area of comparative Education Law.

Prof. Dr. Charles J. Russo
Guest Editor

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• Education law
• Legal Issues in elementary and secondary education
• Legal issues in tertiary/higher education
• Comparative education law