American Public School Law

Question 1

The underlying difference between the two aspects of due process is that the substantive aspects relates to the essence of important rights such as life, liberty and property as provided under the  Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment(Alexander & Alexander,2013). In contrast, procedural due process outlines the modalities for determining whether the substantive rights have been violated. Thus, the law requires that one be accorded procedural due process whenever there is a threat to the substantive rights of life, liberty and property. In the case public education setting, a teacher can acquire property interest in her job if his or her terms of employment create expectations of continued employment (Alexander & Alexander, 2013). Tenured teachers are considered to have this property right in their employment. This obligates the relevant school authorities to accord pre-termination procedural guarantees to these teachers. In Harrah Independent School District v, Martin, the court was keen to note that Martin had indeed been accorded procedural due process. In come to that conclusion, the court was simply referring to the back and forth communications that had taken place between Martin and the school authorities including a hearing.

In the same Harrah case, the court also clarified that Martin had not shown that his dismissal for non compliance had anything to do with relating to freedom of choice matters (Alexander& Alexander, 2013). It is evident from the foregoing that the two aspects of due process are interdependent such that the possession of substantive aspect entitles one to the procedural aspect. This was the position in Cleveland v. Loudermill Perhaps an illustration from real life could be the denial to renew the practicing certificate by a state bar to an attorney who has been practicing law in the given state. The attorney has a property interest in his practice creating a situation of substantive due process. The State Bar Association is complying with procedural due process when it conducts hearings prior to denying the license.

Reference

Alexander, K., & Alexander, D.(2013).American Public School Law,8^th Edition.Belmont,CA:Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

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