Teaching Teachers to Be Masters
[In Educational Law]
As a certified teacher, a former principal and a parent-activist, Associate Professor of Education David Bloomfield is no stranger to the needs of teachers to be versed in U.S. educational law. In fact, he teaches it not only to would-be educators but to current teachers and principals.
     A graduate of Brandeis University, Bloomfield landed a job as an intern at a Boston high school at the height of the busing crisis in the 1970s, when the federal government was forcefully desegregating schools across America. “It was challenging times to witness how the educational rights of citizens became an important social issue,” he says. “It was a fairly new concept in both the education and law fields, and it soon became a new lens to look at the many social issues at work,” he explains. “It had a direct connection to the civil rights struggle, however,” he adds, noting the historic importance of Brown v Kansas Board of Education in regard to the rights of minorities.
     After attending Columbia University Law School, Bloomfield practiced law for a private firm in Washington D.C. Ten years and several “educational rights” cases later, he decided to get training on educational administration and supervision at Baruch College in the early 1990s.
 

    A frequent columnist and contributor in several journals, Bloomfield just published his first book, American Public Education Law (Peter Lang Publishing, 2007), a very unorthodox volume that has been praised as a practical primer for educators.
    Geared for use by teachers, parents and the lay public, the book uses a "fact and find" method. It presents readers with short, real-life scenarios and guides them in finding all relevant laws in their locality and state.
     “Most books present education law nationally, but they don’t teach you how it works,” he says. “And the law applies differently across the country, according to local regulations.”
     Unlike many other books on this subject that tend to be unwieldy legal case books, he has produced something unique, accessible, and useful. According to many reviews, Bloomfield’s primer encourages educators to navigate the perilous waters of public education law—and sail to safety. And his students would agree.