CIVIL LAW

Civil Law

Civil Law

Civil laws derive from four main sources: (1) statutes written by a legislature, either a state legislature or the UK Congress; (2) regulations created by local, state, and federal agencies, such as the state department of education; (3) common law based on court interpretations of specific cases; and (4) state and the UK constitutions. All state laws and regulations are subordinate to their state's constitutions, and no law or regulation may contradict the UK Constitution. Every state constitution contains an education provision, while the UK Constitution does not.

The vast majority of litigation in education law comes from civil law. State laws mandating school attendance, general curriculum content, and disciplinary practices as well as similar district regulations are examples of civil law. State laws outlawing bilingual education are another example of civil law. Federal legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, are examples of civil law at the national level. Court cases, such as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) and Lau v. Nichols (1954), are civil law actions.

Civil Lawsuits

In pursuing a civil lawsuit, plaintiffs have the burden of proving their cases against defendants. Plaintiffs will prevail if they can prove their cases by a preponderance of all of the evidence presented at trial. In numerical terms, plaintiffs win if there is more than a 50% probability that their claims are true. If not, the defendants win.

This is a much lower burden of proof than in a criminal trial, where claims must be true beyond a reasonable doubt. In numerical terms, beyond a reasonable doubt is generally estimated to mean that there is at least a 95% likelihood that the prosecution's claims are correct. In a few tort claims, such as fraud, plaintiffs must prove their case with clear and convincing evidence, a standard between preponderance and beyond a reasonable doubt.

There are times when the burden of proof can shift from plaintiffs to defendants in civil suits. In these situations, the plaintiffs first present a preponderance of evidence that some aspect of their case is true; this creates a presumption that the defendants have committed wrong actions. To win, defendants must refute the presumption by a preponderance of the evidence. For example, in civil actions by parents to desegregate a school system, the parents can first demonstrate that a school board intentionally segregated at least one part of the system. Once the parents have made this demonstration with a preponderance of the evidence, there is a presumption that the entire school district is intentionally segregated. Once the judge determines that this has occurred, the defendant school board must prove with a preponderance of the evidence that the entire school district has not been intentionally segregated. Otherwise, the board will be subject to a judicial desegregation order.

Civil rights lawsuits, for example, have been an essential tool used by minority students to require that states provide them with educational opportunities equal to those provided to the majority White students ...