Author Articles

DeMitchell, Todd A.

University of New Hampshire
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TODD A. DEMITCHELL is a Kimball Fellow and professor in the Department of Education and Justice Studies Program at the University of New Hampshire. His research interests are the legal mechanisms that impact schools and colleges, such as education law, collective bargaining, and policy analysis. Recent publications include Negligence: What Principals Need to Know to Avoid Liability (Roman & Littlefield Education, 2006); �Academic Freedom and the Public School Teacher: An Exploratory Study of Perception, Policy, and the Law� in Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal (with Vincent Connelly); and �Teacher Perceptions of Professionalism and Unionism: A Tangled Relationship� in Education Law Reporter (with Casey Cobb).

To Test or Not To Test? Drug Testing Teachers: The View of the Superintendent

Todd A. DeMitchell, Stephen Kossakoski & Tony Baldasaro - 2008

Superintendents are responding to the constitutionality of student drug-testing policies by implementing drug-testing programs. Are superintendents implementing drug-testing policies in response to recent court decisions that have allowed for the preemployment and the suspicionless drug testing of teachers? A mixed methodology was used to address the following questions: (1) Have school districts adopted a mandatory drug-testing policy, either preemployment or suspicionless, for teachers? (2) Do superintendents support a mandatory drug-testing policy, either preemployment or suspicionless, for teachers? (3) Do superintendents have differentiated support for preemployment and suspicionless drug-testing policies for teachers? This study found that superintendents believe that they have the authority, without offending the Constitution, to implement teacher preemployment and suspicionless drug-testing policies.

Should Schools Tell Parents that a Child is Lesbian or Gay?: Useful Guidance from a Federal Court in California

Todd A. DeMitchell, Richard Fossey & Suzanne Eckes - 2007

In California, a lesbian school girl sued school authorities, arguing that her constitutional right to privacy had been violated when her principal disclosed her sexual orientation to her mother. The case, Nguon v. Wolf, provides useful guidance to educators about how and when to discuss a student's sexual orientation with the student's parents.

The Professional and the Union Member: A Tangled Fit

Todd A. DeMitchell & Casey D. Cobb - 2007

Teachers are arguably the most heavily unionized workforce in America. They are also professionals. How do teachers fit together these seemingly disparate roles�union member and member of a profession?

Notes on the Law and Ethics of Do Not Resuscitate Orders in Schools

Todd A. DeMitchell & Scott Fletcher - 2008

Educators owe a legal duty to their students to protect them from foreseeable harm. Educators, as professionals, are also required to act in an ethical manner towards their students. But what happens when the duty to protect conflicts with the wishes and legal rights of the parents and possibly the student? A do not resuscitate order for a student challenges the legal duty to protect and the professional demand to act ethically. Unfortunately, this situation occurs within the special education community of our public schools with heart wrenching frequency.

The End of the T-Shirt Wars in the Public Schools? Palmer v. Waxahachie Independent School District

Todd A. DeMitchell, Suzanne Eckes & Richard Fossey - 2009

School districts received a welcome message from a recent decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Palmer v. Waxahachie Independent School District, the court ruled that a Texas school district has the authority to a adopt student dress code that bans all messages on students' clothing so long as the district offers students other means of expression during the school day.

The Googlization of Public Education

Todd A. DeMitchell & Richard Fossey - 2009

Should public schools adopt the business model of Google? Is selling advertising space inside the schoolhouse gate an answer to our chronically underfunded public schools?

The �I ♥ Boobies� Case: Educators, Not Judges, Should Define the Boundaries of Decent Speech in Schools

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2011

May a school punish students for wearing breast-cancer awareness bracelets that include the word "Boobies"? A federal court says no.

Zellner v. Herrick: Zero Tolerance for Educators Who View Pornography on School Computers

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2011

A Wisconsin school teacher was fired for viewing pornography on a school computer in an incident that lasted only a few seconds.

Not To Decide Is to Decide: The Supreme Court�s Decision Not to Review Four Student Internet-Speech Cases Leaves Public-School Educators in a State of Confusion

Richard Fossey, Todd A. DeMitchell & Suzanne Eckes - 2012

Public school leaders need guidance from the Supreme Court concerning their authority to regulate students' internet-delivered speech that is hurtful to others in the school community.

�It�s Her Fault�: An Illinois School Board Fires a Guidance Counselor For Self-Publishing a Sexually Explicit Advice Book on Adult Relations

Richard Fossey, Suzanne Eckes & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2014

An Illinois school board fired a tenured guidance counselor because he self-published a sexually explicit advice book on adult relationships. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the school board's decision on the grounds that the board reasonably believed that the book could undermine the integrity of the school counseling program.

Education Is Upside-Down: Reframing Reform to Focus on the Right Problems

Todd A. DeMitchell - 2016

Does a Student Have a Constitutional Right to Criticize Lesbianism in a University Film Course? A Federal Court Says Yes

Richard Fossey, Todd A. DeMitchell & Suzanne Eckes - 2016

Do students have a First Amendment right to write about controversial topics and express controversial ideas in a university classroom? In some cases they do, as a federal court in New Mexico recognized in a brief opinion released in 2014. But then the court reversed itself a year later.

G. G. v. Gloucester County School Board: The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds the U.S. Department of Education�s Transgender Restroom Policy

Suzanne Eckes, Todd A. DeMitchell & Richard Fossey - 2016

Only one federal circuit court of appeals has addressed the legal issues involved with allowing a transgender student to use the restroom that aligns with his gender identity. We analyze this court opinion and discuss the status of the law for school officials.

A White Sports Coat and a Pink Carnation

Suzanne Eckes, Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2013

Protecting the Legal Rights of LGBT Students to Attend the Prom

San Diego Unified School District v. Commission on Professional Competence: A California Teacher is Fired for Soliciting Sex on Craigslist

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2011

Can a teacher be fired for soliciting sex on craigslist? A California court says yes.

Doe v. University of Cincinnati: A College Student Accused of Sexual Assault Has a Constitutional Right to Confront His Accuser at a University Disciplinary Hearing

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2018

In a recent decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a male student accused of sexual assault has a constitutional right to confront his accuser at a university disciplinary hearing.

Peltier v. Charter Day School: A Charter School�s Regulation Requiring Female Students to Wear Skirts is Ruled Unconstitutional

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2019

A federal judge ruled that a charter school's regulation requiring female students to wear skirts violates the Equal Protection Clause.

�All These People Must Die�: The Ninth Circuit Rules That a School May Expel a Student for Creating a Hit List, Even Though the Student Never Intended for Anyone to See It

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2019

In McNeil v. Sherwood School District 88J, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made clear that a school district may expel a student for out-of-school speech that contains threats of violence against other students without violating the First Amendment, even if the student never communicates those threats to anyone.

School Uniforms: There Is No Free Lunch

Todd A. DeMitchell - 2006

The basic argument for adopting school uniforms is that merely a change of clothes will bring about desired behavioral and academic student outcomes. That a uniform transforms individuals appears to be at the heart of the argument. But, does just wearing a uniform bring about changes in behavior?

Should Courts Ban Demeaning Speech in Schools? The Ninth Circuit�s Controversial Anti-Gay T-Shirt Case

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2006

Free speech in the schools can have a bruising quality. The Ninth Circuit was correct when it said that in some instances student speech can be psychologically painful to others�especially vulnerable students like the gay and lesbian students that Tye Harper�s T-shirt criticized. But it is a very dangerous thing for a court to allow schools to propound the officially approved viewpoint on a particular controversial topic and then censor the views of those who disagree. We believe that the Supreme Court should accept Tye Harper�s appeal and restore the proper balance that Tinker established over 35 years ago between the student�s right to speak on unpopular topics and the school�s legitimate interest to maintain a proper educational environment for those same students.

�Bong Hits 4 Jesus� Should Not Be Protected Speech in the School Setting

Richard Fossey & Todd A. DeMitchell - 2007

In any event, thanks to Frederick v. Morse, we will soon know whether a sign proclaiming �Bong Hits 4 Jesus� deserves constitutional protection in the context of a school-monitored activity. We hope the Supreme Court will declare that this phrase is not constitutionally protected as it was used in Frederick v. Morse and thus preserve the majesty of the First Amendment for topics that are worthy of its shelter.

Sexual Orientation and the Public Schools: The Law is Changing and Becoming More Humane

Richard Fossey, Todd A. DeMitchell & Suzanne Eckes - 2007

Unfortunately, students and teachers still experience discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation. Nevertheless, thanks to progressive legislators and courts scattered around the country, discrimination in the schools based on sexual orientation is headed toward the dustbin of American history. Among all the problems that public schools face, it is reassuring to know that the civil rights of gays and lesbians in American schools are expanding and not in retreat.