The legal rights, privileges, and responsibilities of pupils in the publicly-supported schools of Saskatchewan

Abstract

The term “law,” in the broad sense, denotes the body of legal rules that emanate from all sources. Consequently, law is concerned not only with statutory enactments, but also with constitutional provisions and judicial decisions. The effective school administrator must possess a knowledge of substantive law if he is to make sound decisions. However, a knowledge of the statutory provisions alone will not suffice. The statutes may be silent in certain areas, while they may be vaguely expressed in other areas. In such cases the courts may be called upon for interpretations. The accumulation of judicial interpretations concerning educational issues serves as a set of legal principles to guide school officials in the effective performance of their duties. This study has been designed to synthesize legal data for use regarding problems in the areas of legal rights, privileges, and responsibilities of pupils in the publicly-supported schools of the Province of Saskatchewan, as they have been determined by legislation, statutory regulations, ministerial orders, and court decisions. Delimitation of the Problem It is not the writer's purpose to attempt to cover every conceivable problem which could arise regarding the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of pupils in the publicly-supported schools of Saskatchewan. Even if it were possible to foresee all problems that might conceivably arise concerning the subject, the changing philosophies of parents, teachers, school boards, courts, and society in general, would tend to invalidate many of the conclusions. Each legislative session produces new laws in an attempt to meet prevailing needs and to seek solutions for existing problems. These laws in turn undergo change through legislative amendment and through judicial interpretation. The specific purposes of the study are: (1) to determine the legal rights and responsibilities of the pupil in the publicly-supported schools of Saskatchewan through an examination of the pertinent legislative enactments, statutory regulations, and ministerial orders; (2) to synthesize the court decisions affecting the legal rights and responsibilities of the Saskatchewan pupil and to express in layman's terms the general principles involved in these decisions; (3) to develop a set of recommendations that may assist the school administrator in reaching legally-sound decisions regarding the public school pupil of Saskatchewan.