Brigham Young University will host the seventh annual Utah Educational Law Institute Friday, June 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the BYU Conference Center located northeast of the Marriott Center.
Pre-registration is $35 and includes lunch. Registration at the door will cost $40, and will not include lunch. Law and education credits are available for an extra fee.
Students can attend for free but should register for planning purposes, since space is limited. Students wanting lunch are required to pre-register and pay $13.
To register and for more information, contact the David O. McKay School of Education at (801) 422-2568.
"I think all educators need more law training so they can be better educators," said Scott Ferrin, co-chair of the Utah Law Institute and a BYU faculty member, who referred to the institute as the "best-kept secret around."
"Knowing the law frees educators to be educators with less fear of violating someone else's often rigid conception of a teacher's legal duties," he said. "A sophisticated understanding of education law teaches educators that if something makes sense pedagogically it generally is also consonant with law."
Presenters will include Charles Russo, professor at the University of Dayton; Tom Anderson, former assistant general counsel with the U.S. Department of Education; Mike McCoy, general counsel of the Utah Educators Association; and Jean Hill-Welch from the Utah State Office of Education.
The Utah Educational Law Institute is co-chaired by David Sperry, dean of the College of Education at the University of Utah, and Steven Baugh, director of the Center for Improvement of Teacher Education at BYU.
In addition to the collaborative efforts of the co-chairs' institutions, the Utah State Office of Education and the Education Division of the Utah Attorney General's Office will add expertise and support.
The event is funded by the BYU Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, the BYU Journal of Education and Law, the Education Section of the Utah Bar Association, and the Del Wasden Memorial Fund.
Writer: James McCoy
