A Guide to Legal Procedures and Prudence for Educators

The Legal Calendar (A Guide to Legal Procedures and Prudence for Educators) Atty. Joseph Noel M. Estrada
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June July August
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Start of Classes
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Governance of Schools
Schools have the right to adopt its o w n r u l e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s pertaining to ADMISSION and DISCIPLINE of students Yap Chin Fah v. Court of Appeals [Resolution], G.R. No. 90063, December 12, 1989)” 4
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S.T.R.A.W. Bills
1. House Bill No. 102 as introduced by Representative Edcel B. Lagman; 2. House Bill No. 1093 as introduced by Representative Terry L. Ridon; 3. House Bill No. 2870 as introduced by Representatives Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; and 4. House Bill No. 4435 as introduced by Representatives Ibarra M. Gutierrez III and Walden F. Bello.
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Education is a privilege, not a matter of right. -­‐(Ateneo vs. Capulong)
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Academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning. Article XIV, Section 5(2)
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Schools are entitled to reasonable regulation and supervision 9
Article III of the Philippine Constitution cannot be invoked against the school
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“A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40)
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CLASS SUSPENSIONS
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E.O 66
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September October November
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No Permit, No Exam Policy (CHEd)
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COORDINATING COUNCIL OF PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (COCOPEA), Petitioner IN RE: HOUSE BILL NO. 1099, “AN ACT PENALIZING THE IMPOSITION OF A ‘NO PERMIT, NO EXAM POLICY’ OR ANY SUCH POLICY THAT PROHIBITS STUDENTS FROM TAKING THEIR PERIODIC OR FINAL EXAMINATIONS DUE TO UNPAID TUITION AND OTHER SCHOOL FEES” INTRODUCED BY KABATAAN PARTY-­‐‑LIST REPRESENTATIVE TERRY L. RIDON. 20
Student Discipline
In the case of Jose S. Angeles vs. Hon. Rafael
Sison; G.R. No. L-45551 February 16, 1982, the
Supreme Court declared:
“A college or any school for that matter, has a dual
responsibility to its students. One is to provide
opportunities for learning and the other is to help them
grow and develop into mature, responsible, effective and
worthy citizens of the community. Discipline is one of the
means to carry out the second responsibility.”
“I called you because your son is misbehaving in class.”
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“He is also misbehaving at home. Pinatawag ba kita?”
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•Substitute parental authority can only be
exercised within the school premises and it
shall be exercised only to protect and
promote the physical, mental and moral
well-being of the students. (DepEd Memo 297 Series of 2006, Prohibiting Acts Constituting Violations of RA 7610)
Authority of the School To Discipline
• “Xxx there are instances when the school might be called upon to exercise its power over its student or students for acts committed outside the school and beyond school hours in the following: • a) In cases of violations of school policies or regulations occurring in connection with a school sponsored activity off-­‐campus; or • b) In cases where the misconduct of the student involves his status as a student or affects the good name or reputation of the school.” (Angeles vs. Sison) • c) In cases where misconduct is committed in cyberspace. (Vivares vs. STC)
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I don’t usually handle cases against schools, but when I do, it is against the BSM.
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The Anti-Bullying Law and
Child Protection Policy,
Vivares and Suzara
Petitioner
-versusSt. Theresa’s College
Respondent
“The individual’s desire for privacy is never absolute,
since participation in society is an equally powerful desire.
Thus, each individual is continually engaged in a
personal adjustment process in which he balances the
desire for privacy with the desire for disclosure and
communication of himself to others, in light of the
environmental conditions and social norms set by the
society in which he lives.”
- Alan Westin, Privacy & Freedom (1967)
Facts:
A and B, both minors and graduating students of STC, Cebu City
took pictures of themselves while changing into their swimsuits for
a beach party they were about to attend clad only in their
undergarments. These photos were uploaded on Facebook.
A computer teacher at STC learned about this from her students at
the computer class.Using STC’s computers, students logged in to
their Facebook accounts and found more pictures of the students in
their undergarments. These photos were not confined to the girls’
Facebook friends but viewable by the public.
STC found the students to have deported themselves in a manner
proscribed by the School’s Student Handbook.
Issues:
Whether a writ of habeas data should be
issued;
Whether there was indeed an actual or
threatened violation of the right to privacy in
life, liberty, or security of the minors involved.
WRIT OF HABEAS DATA is a remedy available to any
person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is
violated or threatened by an unlawful act or commission
of a public official or employee, or of a private individual
or entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or storing of
data or information regarding the person, family, home,
and correspondence of the aggrieved party.
The purpose is to protect an individual’s right to
informational privacy.
Informational Privacy- is the
right of individuals to control
information about themselves.
HELD:
STC did not violate the girls’ right to privacy.
The disclosure of the photos of the minors were not
limited or kept within their zones of privacy and
thus, they cannot invoke the protection attached to
the tight to informational privacy.
“A person who places a photograph on the internet
precisely intends to forsake and renounce all privacy
rights to such imagery, particularly under
circumstances such as here where the defendant did
not employ protective measures or devices that would
have controlled access to the Web page or the
photograph itself.” -US v. Gines-Perez
No such thing as “Friends Only”.
The best Facebook filter is the one between your
children’s ears.
Responsible Social Networking or “Netiquettes”.
Internet consumers ought to be aware that, by
entering or uploading any kind of data or
information online, they are automatically and
inevitably making it permanently available online.
Whatever you post on Facebook stays there…
FOREVERMORE.
STC cannot be faulted for being steadfast in its duty
of teaching its students to be responsible in their
dealings and activities in cyberspace, when it enforces
the disciplinary actions specified in the Student
Handbook, absent any showing that, in the process, it
violated the students’ rights.
***
December
January
February
teacher
Teacher Relationships
• School • Profession • Students
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• Teachers are likewise
called upon to pursue
training and development
for their professional
growth so that they may
keep up with the global
trends in education.
• This is not optional for
teachers. It is an
obligation.
“4. Assume the responsibility to maintain and
sustain his professional growth and advancement
and maintain professionalism in his behavior at all
times.”
• AT ALL TIMES!!!
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•The Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers
provides:
•
• Section 2. Every teacher shall uphold the highest
possible standards of quality education, shall make the
best preparations for the career of teaching, and shall be
at his best at all times and in the practice of his
profession.
Meet
Meet your P.E. Teacher
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Section 3. Every teacher shall pursue such other
studies as will improve his efficiency, enhance the
prestige of the profession, and strengthen his
competence, virtues, and productivity in order to be
nationally and internationally competitive.
In Pena vs. NLRC, [G.R. No. 100629. July 5,
1996], the Supreme Court declared that:
“It is the prerogative of the school to set high standards of
efficiency for its teachers since quality education is a
mandate of the Constitution. As long as the standards fixed
are reasonable and not arbitrary, courts are not at liberty to
set them aside. Schools cannot be required to adopt
standards which barely satisfy criteria set for government
recognition.”
“Security of tenure, while constitutionally guaranteed, cannot be used to shield incompetence or deprive an employer of its prerogatives under the law.”
Integrity and Morality Aside from professional competence and growth, the teacher is also called upon to maintain his integrity and morality.
• Disgraceful or immoral conduct inside or outside the school campus may cause the termination of a teacher or faculty.
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Borrowing Money
In the case of Pearl S. Buck Foundation, Inc.
vs. NLRC (182 SCRA 446 [1990]) the Court
ruled, stating that —
“Borrowing money is neither dishonest, nor immoral, nor
illegal, much less criminal. (Medical Doctors, Inc. [Makati
Medical Center] v. NLRC, 136 SCRA 1 [1985]) However,
said act becomes a serious misconduct that may justly be
asserted as a ground for dismissal when reprehensible
behavior such as the use of a trust relationship as a
leverage for borrowing money is involved.”
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“.. the Department considers the act of teachers in ". . .
contracting loans from parents of their students . . ." not
only a serious misconduct based on Article 282 (a) of the
Labor Code, but is likewise a violation of a student's right
". . . to be free from involuntary contribution . . ." (Section 9
(9) of the Education Act of 1982).“ -Former DepEd Usec. For Legal, Atty. Ed Nachura
Unauthorized Collections
“xxxx regardless of who initiated the collections, the fact
that the same was approved or indorsed by petitioner,
made her "in effect the author of the project."
It hardly needs reminding that, in view of their position and
responsibility, those in the teaching profession must
demonstrate a scrupulous regard for rules and policies as
befits those who would be role models for their young
charges.
(Anita Salavarria vs. Letran College G.R. No. 110396.
September 25, 1998)
Cheryll Santos Leus,
Petitioner
-versusSt. Scholastica’s CollegeWestgrove
Respondent
It isn’t premarital sex
if you have no intention
of getting married.
Facts
Cheryll Santos Leus was hired by SSCW as a
non-teaching personnel, engaged in premarital sexual relations, got pregnant out of
wedlock, married the father of her child, and
was DISMISSED by SSCW.
According to SSCW
Petitioner’s employment is terminated on the ground of
serious misconduct.
Pre-marital sexual relations between two consenting
adults with no impediment to marry, even if they
subsequently married amounts to immoral conduct.
The scandal brought about by the pregnancy out of
wedlock ran counter to the moral principles that SSCW
stands for and teachers its students.
According to SSCW
Termination of Petitioner is a valid exercise
of SSCW’s management prerogative.
SSCW as a Catholic school exclusively for
young girls, would lose credibility.
Petitioner should have strived to maintain the
honour, dignity and reputation of SSCW as a
Catholic school.
According to the Petitioner
Pre-marital sex between two consenting adults without
legal impediment to marry each other does not fall
under “disgraceful and immoral conduct” and “serious
misconduct” under the Manual and the Labor Code.
That the pregnancy would set a bad example to
students is speculative and imaginary.
The dismissal constitutes grave abuse of discretion of
SSCW.
Main Issue:
Whether pregnancy out of wedlock by an
employee of a catholic educational institution
is a cause for the termination of her
employment.
Alleged disgraceful and immoral conduct must be
assessed against the prevailing norms of conduct.
the determination of whether a conduct is
disgraceful or immoral involves a two-step process:
first, a consideration of the totality of the
circumstances surrounding the conduct; and second,
an assessment of the said circumstances vis-à-vis
the prevailing norms of conduct, i.e., what the
society generally considers moral and respectable.
Public and secular morality should determine
the prevailing norms of conduct, NOT
religious morality. The distinction between public and secular
morality and religious morality is important
because the jurisdiction of the Court extends
only to public and secular morality.
The morality referred to in the law is public and necessarily secular,
not religious.
Otherwise, if government relies upon religious beliefs in
formulating public policies and morals, the resulting policies and
morals would require conformity to what some might regard as
religious programs or agenda.
Accordingly, in order for a conduct to be considered as disgraceful
or immoral, it must be “‘detrimental (or dangerous) to those
conditions upon which depend the existence and progress of human
society’ and not because the conduct is proscribed by the beliefs of
one religion or the other.”
Thus, in Santos v. NLRC, the Court upheld the
dismissal of a teacher who had an extramarital affair with his co-teacher, who is
likewise married, on the ground of disgraceful
and immoral conduct under Section 94(e) of the
1992 MRPS. The Court pointed out that extramarital affair is considered as a disgraceful and
immoral conduct is an afront to the sanctity of
marriage, which is a basic institution of society
(Colegio de San Juan De Letran-Calamba vs. Belen Villas;
G.R. No. 137795; March 26, 2003)
“Misconduct is improper or wrongful conduct. It is the
transgression of some established and definite rule of action, a
forbidden act, a dereliction of duty, willful in character, and
implies wrongful intent and not mere error of judgment. Under
Article 282 of the Labor Code, the misconduct, to be a just cause
for termination, must be serious. This implies that it must be of
such grave and aggravated character and not merely trivial or
unimportant. Examples of serious misconduct justifying
termination, as held in some of our decisions, include: sexual
harassment xxxxxxxx”
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EXTRA-­‐MARITAL AFFAIR IS A SERIOUS MISCONDUCT
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Extra-­‐Marital Affair
A teacher, both in his official and personal conduct, must display
exemplary behavior. He must freely and willingly accept
restrictions on his conduct that might be viewed irksome by
ordinary citizens. In other words, the personal behavior of
teachers, in and outside the classroom, must be beyond
reproach. Accordingly, teacher must abide by a standard of
personal conduct which not only proscribes the commission of
Immoral acts, but also prohibits behavior creating a suspicion of
immorality because of the harmful impression it might have on the
students. Likewise, they must observe a high standard of integrity
and honesty. From the foregoing, it seems obvious that when a
teacher engages in extra-marital relationship, especially when the
parties are both married, such behavior amounts to immorality,
justifying his termination from employment. (Jose s. Santos, Jr
vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 115795. March 6, 1998)
When the affair is NOT immoral
“With the finding that there is no substantial evidence of the imputed
immoral acts, it follows that the alleged violation of the Code of Ethics
governing school teachers would have no basis. Private respondent
utterly failed to show that petitioner took advantage of her position to
court her student. If the two eventually fell in love, despite the
disparity in their ages and academic levels, this only lends
substance to the truism that the heart has reasons of its own which
reason does not know. But, definitely, yielding to this gentle and
universal emotion is not to be so casually equated with immorality. The
deviation of the circumstances of their marriage from the usual societal
pattern cannot be considered as a defiance of contemporary social
mores.” (Evelyn Chua-Qua vs. Hon. Jacobo Clave, G.R. No.
49549. August 30, 1990)
A Beautiful Affair
REPUBLIC ACT No. 7877 -­‐"Anti-­‐Sexual Harassment Act of 1995." Section 3. Work, Education or Training -Related,
Sexual Harassment Defined. - Work, education or
training-related sexual harassment is committed by an
employer, employee, manager, supervisor, agent of the
employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainor,
or any other person who, having authority, influence or
moral ascendancy over another in a work or training or
education environment, demands, requests or
otherwise requires any sexual favor from the other,
regardless of whether the demand, request or
requirement for submission is accepted by the object
of said Act.
(b) In an education or training environment, sexual harassment is committed: (1) Against one who is under the care, custody or supervision of the offender; (2) Against one whose education, training, apprenticeship or tutorship is entrusted to the offender; (3) When the sexual favor is made a condition to the giving of a passing grade, or the granting of honors and scholarships, or the payment of a stipend, allowance or other benefits, privileges, or consideration; or (4) When the sexual advances result in an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for the student, trainee or apprentice.
Two Kinds of Sexual Harassment
• Quid pro quo • Hostile environment
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Sec. 121 of the MORPHE
• Giving of grades to students not based solely on scholastic performance is Grave Misconduct!
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• Tampering or falsification of, or negligence in keeping school or student records, including unreasonable delay in the submission of grades is a GROUND FOR TERMINATION!
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Sec. 121, MORPHE
• Conviction of a crime, or an attempt on, or a criminal act against the life of a school official, personnel, or student, or upon property or interest of the institution is also a ground for termination! (Of course.)
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Sec. 121, MORPHE
• A teacher may be TERMINATED for being NOTORIOUSLY UNDESIRABLE.
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March April May
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Tuition and Other Fees
• Each private school shall determine its rate of tuition and other school fees or charges. The rates and charges adopted by schools pursuant to this provision shall be collectible, and their application or use authorized, • subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. (Sec.42, BP 232) 92
In St. Joseph’s College v. St. Joseph’s College Workers’ Association, the Supreme Court recognized the school’s dilemma in increasing tuition fees, to wit: “ I n t h e i r d e s i r e t o r a i s e t e a c h e r compensation and to expand school facilities, they resort to sometimes painful increases in tuition fees, only to find out later that – despite their good intentions – their gross revenues actually decrease because of the lesser number of enrollees who can afford the increases.” 93
TUITION AS INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
• The proceeds from tuition fees and other school charges, as well as other income of schools, shall be treated as institutional funds. Schools may pool their institutional funds, in whole or in part, under joint management for the purpose of generating additional financial resources. • (Sec.44, BP 232)
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Consultation Req’t
• In any proposed increase in the rate of tuition fee, there shall be appropriate consultations conducted by the school administration with the duly organized parents and teachers associations and faculty associations with respect to secondary schools, and with students governments or councils, alumni and faculty associations with respect to colleges. • (Sec.10, RA 6728)
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Lien on Credentials (DepEd)
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Graduation
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G.R. No. 189456 CHIANG KAI SHEK COLLEGE and CARMELITA ESPINO, Petitioners, vs.
ROSALINDA M. TORRES, Respondent. 99
Issue: Can a school suspend an erring faculty, instead of an outright dismissal with agreement to voluntarily resign at the end of the SY?
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graceful exit
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While respondent did not tender her resignation wholeheartedly, circumstances of her own making did not give her any other option. With due process, she was found to have commiGed the grave offense of leaking test questions. Dismissal from employment was the justified equivalent penalty. Having realized that, she asked for, and was granted, not just a deferred imposition of, but also an acceptable cover for the penalty. 102
Petitioners should not be punished for being compassionate and granting respondent'ʹs request for a lower penalty. Put differently, respondent should not be rewarded for reneging on her promise to resign at the end of the school year. Otherwise, employers placed in similar situations would no longer extend compassion to employees. Compromise agreements, like that in the instant case, which lean towards desired liberality that favor labor, would be discouraged. 103
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SCHOOLS need FLEXIBILITY to survive
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“Section 5. Curriculum Development.Xxx. h) The Curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to localise, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective educational and social contexts. Xxx.”
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K-12 Labor
Transition Issues
Affecting PEIs
33,000 faculty in HEIs stand to be displaced
Diminution of salaries and benefits of those absorbed in SHS 108
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Major Issues on Labor and Management Compensation: How will SHS Teachers be paid? Will Art. 100 of the Labor Code apply against HEIs? (Prohibition on Diminution of Salaries)
Mode of Separation: Retrenchment or Redundancy?
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Welfare of Teachers & Faculty
Survival & Sustainability of Educational Institutions 113
While the government should be vigilant in protecting labor from exploitation during the transition period of the K to 12 Program, it should not lose sight that private educational institutions have legal rights too under the law, and on top of these rights is the right of survival and self-­‐‑preservation. ———————————— 114
Maraming Salamat Po!!!
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