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Courting School Discipline Policies

NCJ Number
128477
Journal
School Safety Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 25-27
Author(s)
H S Lufler Jr
Date Published
1991
Length
3 pages
Annotation
After reviewing landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions pertinent to school discipline, this article discusses the impact of such court cases, the litigation explosion, school law knowledge, and improvement in school disciplinary climates.
Abstract
The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) established the principle that students retain their constitutional rights while under school jurisdiction. Wood v. Strickland (1975) held that school officials may be liable for denying students their constitutional rights, although it did not specify what constitutes such denial. Goss v. Lopez (1975) found that students had property and reputational rights that must be protected in even a short suspension from school. Commentators speculating about the trend set by these decisions had more impact on school staff attitudes toward discipline than the court decisions themselves. School staff typically were more cautious in their disciplinary behaviors than was warranted by the court decisions themselves. Regardless of whether attorneys actually filed suit, school officials increasingly reported in the 1970's that they worried about litigation under the litigation "explosion" of that period. There is a need to present school law accurately in an educational package for both school staff and students so as to improve school disciplinary climates. Such instruction should encompass not only the cases where education malpractice was found, but also the cases dismissed by the courts as without merit. 6 notes