Guide · Education

Student Discipline: A Comprehensive Guide to Suspension, Expulsion, Searches, Speech, and Disability Protections

42 U.S.C. § 1983

Type
Guide
Jurisdiction
National
Date
2024-11-07
Topic
Education

This guide covers the law governing removal of students from school, organized around the recognition that the constitutional floor is minimal and that the operative protections come from state law, district policy, and the disability framework. It sets out what process is due for short and long removals, the search standard and its scope limits, and the four distinct frameworks governing student speech including off-campus expression. The disability provisions receive extended treatment: the ten-day threshold, the manifestation determination, stay put, special circumstances removals, continued services, and protections for students not yet identified. Later parts address the substantive education standard, reimbursement for private placement, exhaustion and forum selection, discrimination claims arising from discipline, education records, threat assessment processes, parallel criminal proceedings, disparities, and reentry.

Student Discipline: A Comprehensive Guide to Suspension, Expulsion, Searches, Speech, and Disability Protections

Education > Student Discipline, School Searches, and Education Due Process | Published 7 November 2024 - Updated 8 January 2025 | UpLaw - uplaw.us

Part 1 — The constitutional floor

Goss v. Lopez holds that a public school student has protected interests in education and reputation, and that a suspension of ten days or fewer requires: oral or written notice of the charges; an explanation of the evidence if the student denies them; and an opportunity to present the student's side. The discussion may occur immediately after the incident.

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