<p>"A proposal by the Prince Georges County Board of Education to copyright work created by staff and students for school could mean that a picture drawn by a first-grader, a lesson plan developed by a teacher or an app created by a teen would belong to the school system, not the individual.</p>
<p>The measure has some worried that by the system claiming ownership to the work of others, creativity could be stifled and there would be little incentive to come up with innovative ways to educate students. Some have questioned the legality of the proposal as it relates to students." …</p>
<p>There are an awful lot of lesson plans without copyrights out on the internet that are used by teachers all over the USA. i can see what P.G. County may want to capture some of that value that is created by their employees while working on their dime. The reality is that thousands of teachers write lesson plans at home and NOT on their school districts time.</p>
<p>The idea that P.G. County can claim the copyrights to works created by students who are compelled to attend the school by law is ill considered. That will not stand.</p>
<p>But isn’t it common for employers to have employees assign their inventions to the employer, sometimes (legally required in some states) with the exception that inventions done outside of work, not using employer’s resources, and not relating to work done for the employer cannot be required to be assigned?</p>
<p>Employees work belonging to their employer? I can see that, but students’ work belonging to the school? No way! Music, art, short story, it doesn’t happen very often but occasionally a very talented student can produce something of great value. I can’t see the school automatically owning the rights to any of it.</p>
<p>That would be like College Confidential Forum claiming it owns the limericks we “published” in a thread in the Parents Cafe.</p>
<p>For the students, they are minors (or adults, if 18, voluntarily attending non-mandatory public school) and therefore have no rights. The same goes for searching them, their lockers, etc.
For the teachers, they work at the will of their employer, who can institute whatever rules they want. If a teacher doesn’t like it, they can quit.</p>
<p>Tinker vs. Des Moines, 1969: students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” That does not address issues of copyright, but it’s far too simplistic to say that students have no rights at school.</p>
<p>So what do they then do about HS Seniors working on college applications? If their English teachers give an assignment to write an essay based on the common app prompts, to help them prepare for the application process, who owns that essay? And can the student then use that essay on their college applications? Even if the school system gives them permission to use what now belongs to them, do the students need to include a “by permission of…” statement at the end of the essay?</p>
<p>What about homework? Once they turn it in, does it then become property of the school? As a parent, I would send a statement to the school indicating that all works produced by my child are the property of my child (or me, as the guardian), not the school. If the student is compelled to attend, and compelled to do the work, without compensation, it is wrong for the schools system to claim ownership. At least the teachers are being compensation, and have the choice to leave (though I don’t think it’s appropriate for the school to claim ownership of their work either).</p>
<p>As for the teachers, part of the solution may be simple - don’t produce products that are specific to your school, make them more broad, and copyright them yourself. After that is done, modify or adapt for your school, and if the school wants rights, they can copyright the modifications only.</p>
<p>While a single member of the Board of Ed without a college education can provide perspective, I would think the Board as a whole should be well educated.</p>
<p>My Dad was a research scientist, ALL of his work, done on the job or off, was owned by his company. You use a lot of the products he developed or helped develop on a daily basis. It would have been nice to get a cut of the royalties for those :D. I certainly wouldn’t have to worry about paying for college.</p>
<p>I can sort of see the school owning the copyright to lesson plans, I just don’t know what use it would be to copyright a 1st grader’s drawing and all the hassle involved with enforcing that copyright.</p>
<p>If someone can make a buck off my limerick…(maybe Texas A &M) that would be funny. I think it ironic, that everyone thinks they have such unique thoughts, (some do) that no other human on Earth has ever had the same. That is ego, at its finest.</p>
<p>Some states (about eight) require an exception for inventions that are done off the job, without any employer resources, and not relating to work done on the job.</p>
As has been pointed out, this is not true. Minor students do have some Constitutional protections in school. I live in PG County, my son was in the PG County Public School system and had his Constitutional rights violated by school personnel; he was not the only one whose rights were violated. This is a school system badly in need of oversight. </p>
<p>I am not surprised the PG County Public Schools are trying to do something this asinine. </p>
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hahahahaha! Marian, I love this! Could be a case of petard, meet hoist. :D</p>