A growing debate about copyrighting K-12 students' and teachers' work is taking place across school districts.

Universities have known and valued their faculty's intellectual property for a long time, resulting in detailed contracts and intellectual property rules. Ostentatiously these "work made for hire" contracts are especially focused on research papers and documents that have been created using university resources.

We are now witnessing a similar possessiveness from school districts across the U.S. As more K-12 teachers are using the latest technology to create and sell unique lesson plans and other teaching materials, the authorities are up in arms. The question is whether these lesson plans belong to the school districts for whom those teachers work or the teachers who created the materials.

For some, the core legal issue is copyright law, while others are looking at the financial gain for teachers. Some have gone on at length about how much money the teachers are making, while others think that if it is illegal, the money issue is a moot point.

There are even groups who argue that selling lesson plans undermines the entire profession, that giving monetary value to intellectual property cheapens it and hampers the culture of sharing. Students who cannot afford to buy may miss out on pertinent tips and valuable materials in the process, leading to educational inequality.

But what if the teachers do have copyright over what they have created? In that case, they should be able to do whatever they like, not just with the study materials but also with the money they are making. With a pay structure that is nowhere close to satisfactory, many teachers feel they are entitled to an extra income, though most of them create these lesson plans to better help their students.

School districts need to be careful in how they approach this issue. Too much administrative interference may bring out hidden frustrations and cause other untoward events like the teachers' protest in November in San Jose, California.

Teachers in the East Side Union High School District refused to work outside their 7.5-hour work day because they felt they were not paid enough. This led to zero after-school tutoring, no helping students with assignments or even writing their college recommendations beyond the designated school time.

Students eventually joined in to demand higher wages for the teachers who are their biggest supporters for the future careers. In January, the teachers' union finally agreed to a 5 percent increase in wages.

The copyright issue has been at large for years, and we have seen some legal rulings in the last decade. In 2004, a federal appellate court in New York ruled in favor of school districts by stating that all teaching materials including tests, homework assignments and quizzes were owned by the district under the purview of their work-for-hire contracts.

The National Education Association (NEA) subsequently warned all American teachers that if they mean to sell their lesson plans online, they have to be sure of the ownership or copyright issues before they proceed. For many teachers, this ownership is natural as they have spent long hours to perfect their lessons. They consider it a veritable intellectual enterprise that helps them fill in the knowledge gap in their students easily.

The Copyright Act of 1976 recognizes a "teachers' exemption" in work-for-hire contracts. This has been subsequently amended to mention that teachers should own the copyright to the materials they created for use in the classroom.

The digital age has caught both teachers and districts off guard with its opportunities as well as risks. Before the selling and sharing of teaching materials, what first needs to be identified is their ownership.

Teachers have long since considered these materials their own, and they are as perplexed as the authorities. The latter may not have given much thought to the issue until recently when the astounding demand and profit began raising question of value and ownership.

School districts argue that their resources have been used, while teachers argue about the innumerable man hours and intellectual effort that have gone into the creation of these materials.

Self-motivated and innovative teachers have been creating their own materials and lesson plans for a long time now. Most of the time, they do this on their own, on their free time and without need or duress, simply because they want to. In such cases, there is perhaps no doubt that the copyright belongs to them.

However, in 2013, the Prince George's County (Maryland) Board of Education proposed that all works produced by their teachers and students were the property of the district. The news sent shock waves throughout the academic community who felt that it will severely impact the originality of students' and teachers' works.

The board met with opposition not only from teachers, but also from parents and other staffers. Following this reaction, other districts have been more tempered in their approach, but by no means have they given up on the copyright wars.

Today, we have dedicated teachers who spend a lot of their free time devising special lessons to help their students. For most, their work helps no one but the children, the future of America. It is the school districts' responsibility to motivate and encourage them further, even if it means accepting the teachers' ownership over their own lesson plans.