Due process and Student Discipline

Due process is a constitutional right that is guaranteed by the 14th amendment and therefore applies to every American citizen, from adults to children, as long as they are subject to institutionally prescribed disciplinary procedures. The elementary student handbook of the school chosen for this essay, the Easton district school, has information on the processes for both short- and long-term suspensions as well as expulsions. The manual includes different classifications for crimes like arson, assault and battery, blackmail, drugs, and bringing weapons onto school grounds. Each of these offenses can be addressed in one or more of four ways; counseling, short-term suspension (1-10 school days), long-term suspension (11-90 school days) and expulsions which include emergency expulsions. The due process for short and long term suspensions has been discussed in the subsequent section (Doe.sd.gov, 2017).

Discussion

Prior to a short-term suspension, the student concerned is notified, which is often early in advance by word of mouth and a written note from the administration. The notification informs the student of his offense and the scheduled time for a disciplinary hearing where he/ she has the right to defend themselves. Lawyers are not given as options to students in this case and the disciplinary hearing is often a monolog in which the student is informed of the steps that management has taken to punish his misconduct. A letter is then dispatched to the parents which is often written in advance and a copy given to the student. In cases of long-term suspension expulsion, the offense is often severe enough for the school to involve third parties such as the police. These types of offense include trading of dangerous weapons such as guns, selling and buying drugs and arson the results in the death of students. In this case, the student is notified of his actions and the administration’s intent to hand him/ her over to the police. Additionally, the student can be given an emergency suspension since he poses an immediate danger to the fellow school mates and even teachers. In cases of emergency expulsions, the student is often escorted off the premises and driven to the parent’s residence or the guardian is asked to come collect the student. From this perspective, we see that the due procedures for short and long term suspensions are fundamentally the same as they both involve a notification, a hearing and specified action (Easton School District, 2010).

The due process in Easton School is consistent with Goss V. Lopez in which the supreme court held that a student cannot be denied the due process through a hearing in cases of suspension, particularly long-term suspension (Law.duke.edu, 2017). At the very least, the court mandated that then students must be given notice of the administrations intend to undertake the disciplinary procedure of suspension, regardless of the local state laws. Education is a constitutional right which cannot be denied without a form of due process.

Conclusion

Due process is important in legal cases, it applies to everyone in the land from adult to child. Schools are not an exception since a suspension or expulsion amounts to the denial of the right to education to a child and that alone warranties due process. This was the rationale in the Goss V. Lopez case.

References

Doe.sd.gov. (2017, March 14). Student due process. Retrieved from doe.sd.gov:

https://doe.sd.gov/oatq/dueprocess.aspx

Easton School District. (2010, April 14). Elementary student handbook. Retrieved

from easton.wednet.edu: http://www.easton.wednet.edu/docs/ElementaryHandbook.pdf

Law.duke.edu. (2017, April 14). Goss v. Lopez. Retrieved from law.duke.edu:

https://law.duke.edu/childedlaw/schooldiscipline/attorneys/casesummaries/gossvlopez/