Soleil Dixon-Widman Student Discipline and Due Process
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Grand Canyon University *
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500
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Law
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Jan 9, 2024
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docx
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Student Discipline and Due Process
May 2, 2023
Soleil Dixon-Widman
POS-500-O501
Students are given rights, and schools must follow the policy that the school
district of Philadelphia has provided when making decisions that affect students' rights
to an education. The code of conduct in Philadelphia states that if cheating, possession
of a controlled substance, fighting, stealing, or school-related cyber-malfeasance will
receive some form of significant punishment. This could be either an out-of-school
suspension or even an expulsion. Students must follow this code of conduct. This also
includes "not to violate the rights of others, interfere with school programs while at
school, going or coming from school, during school activities, or while on the bus. If a
student violates the school district rules and regulations, disciplinary actions will be
taken. However, students are entitled to due process in some form to protect their
rights. The student's parents or guardians must be notified when a pattern of
misbehavior leads to suspension. For long-term suspension, due process includes "the
right to a notice" and "a fair hearing before the suspension. Suspensions can and
should only happen if a student breaks laws in the code of conduct. Schools can
change students' behavior through intervention strategies. Other possible actions to be
done could be conferences with the parents and school so that a referral for evaluation
of an unidentified disability could happen. Schools could also offer counseling, anger
management classes, or after-school programs. During a temporary suspension, a
meeting is held between students and parents with the administration. They will discuss
and review the violated rules and regulations in the meeting. Parents will be allowed to
be heard, and everything that led up to the suspension will be discussed. Formal
hearings are for long-term suspensions within 30 days of the report. Short-term
suspensions are, at most, five school-days. The superintendent will approve long-term
suspensions, which may not be over twenty school-days in a school year.
Pennsylvania law defines
suspension progress
as denying the right to attend and
participate in any school function for up to ten days. However, an expulsion can last for
up to one calendar year. Notifying the student's parent/guardian must happen before a
suspension is made. In the Code of Conduct, there are three categories when it comes
to suspension. You can have in-school, short-term, or long-term suspension. In-school
Suspension, the student is taken out of the classroom and put in a disciplinary
classroom with direct supervision of school personnel. The student will be supervised,
and school personnel will physically be in the same room as the students. Unless a
student and grade K-2 actions result in serious bodily harm, they should not be
suspended. If this happens, "the school must provide medical documentation to the
Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities." (Office of Student Rights and
Responsibilities) They will then decide if it constitutes serious bodily injury or not.
However, you may be suspended if you violate the Code of Conduct in grades 3-12.
Suspensions vary, and students can have either Short-term or long-term Suspensions.
Short is a period of one to three days, and long is a period of four to ten school-days.
The requirements are consistent with the Goss v. Lopez case. The case shows
that the Judge's judgment was based on the concept that, according to that state law,
the children should have been in school, especially if there was no hearing notifying the
parents. Fourteenth Amendment guarantees Privileges and Immunities of Citizenship,
Due Process, and Equal Protection. It was a violation for the school to suspend the
students when this was known. Going forward, any suspensions must be preceded by
notification and a review.
References
Code of conduct 2021-2022 - School District of Philadelphia. (n.d.-b).
https://www.philasd.org/studentrights/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2021/07/Code-
of-Conduct-21-22-1-1.pdf
Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities
. The School District of Philadelphia.
(n.d.).
https://www.philasd.org/studentrights/student-behavior-and-
discipline/#:~:text=Short%2Dterm%20Suspension%20is%20an,four%20to%20ten
%20school%20days
.
Google. (n.d.).
Final guide to student discipline.docx
. Google Docs.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cWJvkjC99e6EmABixQ4QAZ75339Z0J9_/e
dit
Suspension and expulsion - the School District of Philadelphia. (n.d.-b).
https://www.philasd.org/src/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2017/06/233-Suspension-
and-Expulsion.pdf
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