Teaching Constitutional Law to Public Administrators

Abstract

Public administrators face a tension between the administrative values of efficiency, effectiveness, and economy and constitutional requirements that establish individual rights and impose duties on administrators. Whether as street-level bureaucrats directly responsible for the delivery of services, as human resource managers, or as administrators managing agencies and programs, they are confronted by constitutional law throughout their careers. Administrators’ actions are frequently tested in the courts and they can be surprised to find themselves answering in court not only in their official capacity, protected by their employers, but in a personal capacity as well. This study proposes that MPA programs need to recognize the importance of teaching students the role the constitution plays in governing their work environment.