Education Law: Is it a field of law?
For a long time now, I have been going back and forth, reading books after books, and trying to understand the major tenets of the term “Educational Law.” But it has been very challenging to grasp the theoretical underpinnings of this area of law. After many attempts in futility, I am now of the opinion that the concept of educational law is not necessarily an area of law. Let me explain why…
The term itself is an arbitrary appellation which denotes legal issues in education. However, many of these issues originate from other fields of law, such as tort law, contract law, and civil rights issues, just to name a few. I would also say that these issues are not endogenous to education.
A popular notion.
The notion of educational law is very popular in K-12 education. Most scholars and school practitioners are familiar with this concept. There is a sizable body of work, which addresses the concept at length. We commonly know this area of law is commonly as “School Law.”
Scholars have written extensively about the many legal issues that often plague the functioning of school entities. The question is whether that makes of the concept a field of law. I would say no.
