William Kritsonis, School Law, Ch 8 Expulsion, Suspension

1
Regular Student Discipline, Expulsion and
Suspension

• William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

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Guidelines for Rule Making

• School Administrators Should Follow the
  Guidelines Below in Helping to Maintain Order In
  Their School
• Rules Must Have a Rational Purpose
• The Meaning of Rules Must Be Clear
• Rules That Relate to Protected Behavior Must Be
  Carefully Developed
• Rules That Apply Off Campus Must Be Carefully
  Worded and Applied
• Rules Must Be Consistently Enforced

3
Board of Education v. Rogers, Arkansas v.
McCluskey

• Case involved expelling student for drinking
• School rule did not speak of alcohol, but rule
  was referred to as drug use

• Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school
  district
• Districts have the right to interpret their own
  rules

4
Due Process

• Term comes from the 5th and 14th Amendments of
  the U.S. Constitution
• 3 Due Process Clauses in the Constitution

1. Action by the state
2. State must have been deprived the individual of
   life, liberty, or property
3. Depends on the severity of the deprivation

5
Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education

• 1961 Fifth Court Circuit Ruling

• Students have right to have fair notice of
  charges against them before being expelled

6
Goss v. Lopez

• Landmark Case
• Supreme Court concluded that due process is
  required before a student can be suspended from
  school

• A deprivation of educational services MUST
  involve due process

7
Tinker v. Des Moines School District

• Landmark case
• Students wore armbands to protest the Vietnam War
• Students were suspended for the protest

• Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students
• Cannot suspend students due to their beliefs,
  unless it causes significant disturbance in school

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DAEP

• DAEPs, which stands for Disciplinary
  Alternative Education Programs

• Students assigned to a DAEP, due to misconduct,
  must be separate from other students

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Removal to a DAEP

• Student must be assigned to a DAEP if any of
  these offenses occur
• 1. Any conduct punishable as a felony
• An assault resulting in bodily injury
• A terroristic threat or false alarm
• Certain drug offenses
• Certain alcohol offenses
• Inhalant offenses
• Public lewdness
• Indecent exposure

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Chapter 37

• Student Code of Conduct
• Follow school district handbook
• Teacher Initiated Removal of student from
  classroom

1. Repeatedly interferes with teachers ability to
   communicate with others
2. Behavior is determined unruly, disruptive, or
   abusive to the learning environment

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Suspension

• Local school districts have authority to suspend
  student
• Under TEC 37.005, suspension is limited to 3 days
  per offense

• No limit to number of suspensions
• School districts also have authority over
  in-school suspension thru its code of conduct

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Expulsion

• Only the most serious offenses by a student 10
  years of age or older can lead to expulsion

• Possession of weapons
• Assaultive behaviors
• Arson
• Murder
• Indecency with a child
• Aggravated kidnapping
• Drug/Alcohol abuse
• Retaliation against a school employee

13
Corporal Punishment

• Two Things to Remember as an Administrator
• Dont do it (not worth the risk)
• Any kind of physical stress is also corporal
  punishment
• Landmark Case-Ingraham v. Wright
• Corporal punishment left up to state and local
  officials

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Summary

• New administrators need to be familiar with the
  restrictions of discipline and the law
• Due process is required for student discipline
• Know your district policy in regards to corporal
  punishment and student discipline

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References

• Walsh, J. Kemmerer, F. Maniotis, L. (2005).
  The
• Educators Guide to Public School Law.
  Sixth Edition.
• Austin, TX University of Texas Press.