Education and Government Law Glossary Terms

(ACLU) The group that works to protect civil liberties of Americans.

(ADA) The landmark act of 1990 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by employers, public accommodations, state and local governments, public and private transportation, and in telecommunications.

Copyright is protection provided to authors of fixed literary, dramatic, artistic, and musical works as well as some other intellectual works, published and unpublished. The owner of a copyright has the exclusive rights to use the copyrighted work for reproduction, distribution, creating derivative works and public display of the work. Copyright protects the form of expression but not the subject matter, protecting for instance, the way an author described a cat but not preventing anyone else from writing their own description of a cat – as long as it is not copied from an original work. The Library of Congress registers copyrights. Registered copyrights of works created since 1978 last the life of the author plus 70 years. For works "made for hire", the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Some treaties extend copyright protection in member countries.

A constitutional right afforded by the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution, guaranteeing that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

The legal right of a city or state over all property within its boundaries, even private property, for the betterment of the public or the community. The process is also known as “condemnation” and the land taken by eminent domain must be acquired from the owner at reasonable compensation (fair market value) and meet requirements related to the degree of public use or community improvement that will be served.

(FERPA) the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. It gives parents certain rights to review and request changes in their child's school records as well as requiring parental permission for the release of education records except under specified circumstances.

(FAPE) the United States standard that states that every child is entitled to full access to public education, no matter how severe their disability.

(FOIA) is the act which allows access to most public records, with exceptions for reasons that can include protection of national security, trade secrets, law enforcement records, attorney-client privilege, invasion of personal privacy, and internal personnel records.

(IEP) the written, legal educational contract put into place once a child has been evaluated by a school system and assessed as having a learning disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A team of school personnel and the child’s parents make up an IEP team which meets to develop special education intervention strategies and services to be provided to a child with a disability.

(IDEA) This act was passed in 1975 and reauthorized in 2004 and is the primary federal law that governs IEPs and the special education process. IDEA guarantees that children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment.

(NCLB) The act of 2001 that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. NCLB holds states and school districts more accountable for ensuring that all students reach certain proficiency standards in a specified amount of time and allows students to transfer to higher performing schools or receive supplemental services such as tutoring if school standards are not met in time. The law also makes other provisions regarding curriculum, teacher qualify, and parental rights to certain information. Children with disabilities are included in the standardized testing that determines whether a school meets the mandated standards, and 95% of students with disabilities must participate in the annual testing. Federal education funding is tied to a school’s performance related to NCLB.

Patents protect inventions and improvements to existing inventions. A patent grants an inventor permission to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention in the United States or importing their invention into the United States. There are three types of patents: utility, design, and plant. Typically, utility and plant patent last 20 years from filing and design patents have a term of 14 years. A utility patent will expire during its term unless appropriate maintenance fees are timely paid. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents but the owner has to enforce the patent without the help of the USPTO. Patents are issued and enforced by country.

The party (individual) or entity who starts a lawsuit against another party (the defendant) in a court of law.

Part of the Educational Amendment of 1978 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Enacted to ensure that sexual discrimination and harrassment does not occur. Ensures that both males and females receive equal and fair treatment in all areas of public schooling, including but not limited to: financial aid, admissions, housing, educational programs and activities and athletics.

Trademarks or service marks,(also referred to just as "marks"), protect brands, brand names, symbols, logos, devices, and designs applied to products or used in connection with services. A trademark can be words, a design, a color, a sound, a smell and even the way something feels as long as it is distinctive. The USPTO issues federal mark registrations used "in commerce," which is generally in more than one state. Only marks with final USPTO federal registration can be shown with the "®" symbol. Federally registered marks are benefited by: the owner’s ability to take action in federal court on behalf of the mark; the owner's ability to legally enforce the mark nationwide; the owner's ability to use the filing date of the U.S. application in a foreign registration to predate registrations in foreign countries; and the owner's ability to record the registration with the U.S. Customs Office (to prevent the importing of infringing foreign goods). U.S. federal trademark registrations are valid for 10 years after registration, providing that the owner uses the mark during the terms and an "Affidavit of Use" has been filed between the fifth and sixth years following registration. States also issue state trademark protection. Federal trademarks are issued and enforced by each country.