Could a teacher be sued for malpractice?

In My Humble Opinion
1

If you believe a teacher is intentionally messing around with your kid’s grades (esp. grades that count for college), and you’ve gotten nowhere by following the chain of command - attempting to rectify the issue with the teacher and the school…could you:

a) Have a lawyer send a threatening letter?
b) Even better, actually sue the teacher for malpractice?

Has anyone ever heard of this being done? I respect teachers, but there comes a point where they think they’re a god. It is this kind of teacher that needs to be “dethroned”! - Jinx

2

Define ‘messing around with your kid’s grades’

and while I wait for the definition, I’d have to say that most teachers (public schools around here) are required to keep SO much documentation that it would be almost impossible to falsify grades. Plus, I’d have to say it would take more time to ‘mess’ with them than just grade the work and log in the grade. Being an elementary school teacher, though, is VASTLY different from high school, IMHO. So much pressure is put on children’s performance = good evals/raises for teachers that it would literally be slitting your own throat to make your students look bad.

FB

3

This reply is as brief as possible. I understand where you are coming from, FB. Especially in the high schools, I know teachers thrive on putting fear into such difficult students by blacklisting them. And then, there’s the peer pressure to be like the rest…for those who do not care to think for themselves.

But, I was never the type to accept things as they are. Being knowledgeable of school policy, I had no problem fighting for my rights when certain teachers (in high school, esp.) were abusing their powers. Most of the time, I worked things through my parents and the proper channels. However, I wasn’t afraid to challenge a teacher in class on flagrant violations. Being immune to peer pressure, I didn’t care what my classmates thought.

A friend of mine has a child who had a legitimate absence - getting braces put on. An “A” student in math, the math teacher refused to allow her to make up the classwork because it involved group work. Now, the teacher was informed ahead of time that the child would be out on a certain date, and the teacher made no mention (at this point) of any complications or conflicts at said time. (I guess we’ll have to get the teacher’s word in writing…)

Afterwards, it turns out this assignment weighed heavily in the overall average. And, the teacher refused to allow the child to make up the missed work…in any way, shape, or form. The child’s parent got nowhere with the math teacher, so the parent spoke to the math dept. head who was willing to work out a reasonable solution…especially because of the child’s good record. However, when push came to shove, the teacher was willing to only grant partial credit. And, by now, the math department head was not returning phone calls.

Such actions, IMHO, is abuse of power by the teacher. I think many teachers forget their prime directive is to educate children, as opposed to being on a power trip against them. If it were me, I would not fear fighting it further…even if I had to appeal for a hearing by the school board…or taking it into court. In fact, most parents don’t even know what legal rights and say they have in their child’s education…and it’s a pity. - Jinx

4

I should add: Guess what the teacher’s reasoning for not letting this child make-up the work…? It wouldn’t be fair to all the other kids in the class. Fair? Well, to that I say…if all the other kids think it is unfair that this one child gets braces, then by all means…send the entire class (and the teacher) to the orthodontist! Yes, I am serious when I say this. I believe in fighting warped logic with warped logic. - Jinx

5

Is the issue that the student got a mark of zero for the assignment or that the assinment was simply not counted and effectively didn’t exist for the child’s grade?

If it is the former, there is a legitimate gripe here. If it is the latter, then the teacher is probably doing the correct thing: group work is group work and the whole point is to work together. You can’t “make it up” on your own.

6

Okay, now I have my definition and I can answer with what I hope makes sense. I am not a secondary educator, but I did a stint in Middle school, so I am relating back to those experiences and requirements.

I am responding under the impression that this child was not habitually absent, tardy, or otherwise a troublemaker. That the absence was documented in the orthodontist’s office, and the child/parents turned in a docor’s excuse for the absence.

I tend to agree with Manda JO. If the teacher just put in a zero for the grade, then there is an issue here that needs brought up with the administration.
Not the head of the department (who is a teacher, also, and therefore will tend to side with their peer), but the administration (principal, school board, etc). For any excused absence you are eligible to make up work within a 24 hour period.

My way of handling it would have been the second scenario. This grade simply wouldn’t have existed for that student. For instance:
All other students had 15 grades for that period and the total divided by 15, for this particular child who missed the assignment, the grades would equal 14 and be divided by 14. Make sense? So the child was not penalized for missing the assignment, but, as Manda JO said, you can’t make up group work on your own.

This is how I have seen the situation handled many times for ‘group’ work. It’s almost impossible to recreate the conditions in which you took the grade for one student, but if you simply let that students average be figured with one less grade, it does not significantly change their overall grade.

FaerieBeth

7

I teach Art in high school, and I know grading policies can vary wildly from teacher to teacher. BTW, there is such a thing as educational malpractice, but it means a failure to educate someone while passing them, it does not deal with a specific grading policy and I have never known it to be used in a lawsuit.

In the opinion of many teachers, grades are too easily changed by going over our heads. A principal can change a grade for just about any reason. If the principal stands behind the teacher, many parents can go higher up in the district until someone makes a change.

Personally, I have students out on extended illness leave all the time. If they don’t have a chance to make-up the work, I hold the grade until the student is better and able to do the work. Only if they were unable to come back (or if they got better and did not do make-ups) would I be forced to fail them.

What you might want to think about is that you can wait until the summer to talk to the principal. It might be best not to have a child’s teacher upset at you while a child still is in that class. I know that when my grades get changed, I have to be notified in writing within 10 days and that it bothers me that it was changed. Other teachers also find out which parents complain about grades often, and make sure to have an airtight case about those specific grades.