Course Syllabus
LSI 5693 - The Indian Child Welfare Act & Family Law in Indian Country
Faculty Contact Information
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Description
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and Family Law in Indian Country focuses on the legal issues facing American Indian children and families in the United States. This course will highlight the implementation, interpretation, and understanding of ICWA, as well as tribal child welfare practice, and juvenile justice concerns.
ICWA is unique as a federal statute passed by Congress explicitly pursuant to the trust responsibility but is interpreted and implemented by states. State systems and private actors involved in foster care placements and terminations of parental rights must abide by ICWA if the child involved is an “Indian child” under the law, and tribes have specific rights and responsibilities under the law. All state systems, and a few tribal systems, must also abide by other laws that can conflict with ICWA’s goals to ensure continued federal funding. However, the Supreme Court has upheld ICWA’s application and constitutionality three times, and there are nearly twenty state statutes implementing ICWA. This course will also discuss the wide variety of tribal justice and social service systems currently implementing family law in Indian Country.
Course Prerequisites
None
Course Materials
Fort, K. (2019). American Indian Children and the Law: Cases and Materials. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN-10 1611637953
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Participation | Live Session active participation | 20% |
| Discussions | Weekly discussions | 35% |
| Quizzes | Multiple choice knowledge checks | 25% |
| Final Exam | Case study-based exam | 20% |
| Total | 100% |
Scale
This course will be graded on a 12-point scale.
| Points | Letter Grade | Percentage of Points |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | A+ | 100%-97.0% |
| 11 | A | 96.99%-93.0% |
| 10 | A- | 92.99%-90% |
| 9 | B+ | 89.99%-83.0% |
| 8 | B | 86.99%-83.0% |
| 7 | B- | 82.99%-80.0% |
| 6 | C+ | 79.99%-77.0% |
| 5 | C | 76.99%-73.0% |
| 4 | C- | 72.99%-70.0% |
| 3 | D+ | 69.99%-67.0% |
| 2 | D | 66.99%-63.0% |
| 1 | D- | 62.99%-60.0% |
| 0 | F | Below 60.0% |
Note: Grades will be calculated with no more than 2 decimal points and will not be rounded up or down.
Course Components
Participation
You can earn participation points in two ways for the Live Sessions:
- Participate Live: This option should be your preferred choice. When possible, you should attend and participate in the Live Sessions in real time. To get credit for your attendance, type in the date and time of the session you attended by clicking on the red "Submit Assignment" button at the top of the Live Session page. Your self-reported attendance log will be cross-checked against the attendance tracker in Zoom.
- Make-Up (Watch Recording-Submit Written Summary): In the event that your work or personal schedule makes it impossible for you to attend, please review the recording of the Live Session then write a 2-3 paragraph summary of the Live Session from your perspective. Click on the "Start Assignment" button to type (or copy/paste) your paragraph into the text field. Make-up session summaries are due Sunday by 11:59 PM Central following the missed Live Session.
Discussions
Discussion Board Assignments are designed to prompt you to interact with the subject matter and each other to synthesize the information you learn and articulate how those concepts can be applied in the real world. You will be asked to:
- Respond to a written prompt
- Respond to at least two of your classmate’s responses
- Replies are to be a minimum of four full sentences in length and should be respectful and insightful.
- These replies are due on Sunday by 11:59 PM Central each week.
- Provide a rejoinder to at least one comment on your own original post.
- This will facilitate a back-and-forth discussion so you're interacting with the course materials, with each other, and with me.
Quizzes
The quizzes will offer you the opportunity to reflect on your comprehension and understanding of content via multiple choice questions. These knowledge checks will also give you, as the learner, greater awareness of how you are doing in in the course and your mastery of the content.
Final Exam
Your final exam will be case study-based.
Course Policies
Communication
Feedback
Feedback on assignments will be given no later than a week.
Late Policy
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.
Artificial Intelligence Policy
Using AI (artificial intelligence) programs such as Chat GPT is not permitted unless consulting with me first.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|