Academic Discipline

Increasing attention is being focused on the issue of student discipline, in part as a result of the school violence incidents that have occurred in recent years. With zero tolerance policies being implemented by many districts, and threats of violence being taken more seriously, an increase in the number of expulsion proceedings has taken place. Additionally, parents are more frequently retaining attorneys and challenging the sufficiency of the grounds for an expulsion, as well as the procedures that were followed by the school district in the course of the disciplinary proceedings. An attorney representing the student at the hearing can assure that proper procedure is followed in an expulsion hearing. Certain steps and precautions should be followed when investigating the incident that led to the expulsion recommendation, and when preparing for and participating in the expulsion hearing.

The number of parents who retain lawyers to challenge expulsions has increased significantly in recent years, in an effort to nip an issue on the bud, and to be prepared for legal challenges. Although an expulsion hearing is an administrative rather than a court proceeding, care still must be taken to assure that a student's due process rights are met.

For more information, a full article can be found here:

Preparing For A Superintendent's Hearing

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