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Source of Law: United States Constitution 1st Amendment

Citation: U.S. Const. amend. I

Link to Full Text: First Amendment

·      The First Amendment protects individuals, including students, freedom of expression and speech. This applies to the school environment as well.

·      It is important and vital for schools to maintain balance in promoting student’s freedom of speech and expression while also conducting a systematic and beneficial learning environment.

·      When placing restrictions on student speech, schools must have legitimate concerns and reasons, such as disruptions to the learning environment.

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Source of Law: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Citation: 20 U.S.C. § 1415(k)

Link to Full Text: IDEA

·      IDEA guarantees appropriate services to students with disabilities.

·      When disciplining and suspending students with disabilities, schools must follow specific and strict procedures to ensure the actions do not interfere with their right to free appropriate public education (FAPE).

·      Students with disabilities are entitled to manifestation determination hearings. These hearings determine if the students behavior is due to their disability before applying specific disciplinary actions.

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Source of Law: Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Citation: 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. Part 99

Link to Full Text: FERPA

·      FERPA protects student education records by ensuring the records are kept confidential except to those who have an educational responsibility to the student involved.

·      To guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of students, schools must comply with FERPA requirements when releasing student discipline records, which include suspensions.

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Source of Law: In re Gault (1967)

Citation: Brown vs. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

Link to Full Text: In re Gault

·      In this Supreme Court case, the court determined that students facing suspension or expulsion from public schools are entitled to certain due process requirements.

·      Due process requirements include notice of charges, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, the right to counsel, and the right to a fair hearing.

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Citation: Code of Conduct - Community Independent School District, n.d.

Link to Full Text: Community ISD Code of Conduct

·      Misconduct from students may result in removal from the regular educational setting by either routine referral or formal removal.

·      State law allows students to be suspended out of school for no more than three school days, with no limit on the number of times a student may be suspended.

·      When deciding to order out-of0school suspension, the administration must consider whether the student’s behavior was due to self-defense, intent at the time of misconduct, and the student’s disciplinary history.

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As a 7th year educator and future school counselor I chose the topic of suspension of students to better understand how and when administration decides to suspend a student. There have been many instances in my education career of frustration from teachers because we think a student should be suspended yet they aren't.

School counselors need to be aware of the laws surrounding suspension of students so they can help counsel those students and inform the teachers of ways to better understand the process.

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- Student behavior has become a rising topic, especially since Covid. Behavioral incidents have increased dramatically in the classroom and educators are becoming increasingly frustrated when these students are allowed back in the classroom instead of being suspended. School counselors must understand the laws surrounding suspension of students so they can relay the information to educators in a calmly manner. It is also important to understand the laws related to suspending students with disabilities as school counselors work closely with these students, their parents/guardians, and any plan they may have.

- An emerging issue related to the suspension of students that educators should closely watch is the potential impact on students' long-term educational outcomes and their overall well-being. While suspension has traditionally been used as a disciplinary measure for various violations, there is growing concern about its effectiveness and potential negative consequences.

Educators should closely monitor the implementation and effectiveness of these alternative disciplinary practices to assess their impact on student outcomes. It is important to examine whether these approaches lead to reduced suspensions, improved student behavior, increased academic engagement, and enhanced social-emotional well-being.

(Wierman, n.d.)

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Wierman, M. (n.d.). The consequences of suspension and what schools can do instead. Edmentum Blog. https://blog.edmentum.com/consequences-suspension-and-what-schools-can-do-instead

Álvarez, B. (n.d.). School Suspensions Do More Harm than Good | NEA. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/school-suspensions-do-more-harm-good

Leckrone, B. (2020, February 19). In About-Face, Syracuse lifts suspensions of protesting students as they continue occupation. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/in-about-face-syracuse-lifts-suspensions-of-protesting-students-as-they-continue-occupation/

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Citation: Álvarez, B. (n.d.). School Suspensions Do More Harm than Good | NEA. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/school-suspensions-do-more-harm-good

Link: https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/school-suspensions-do-more-harm-good

Summary: This articles explains how findings show student suspensions to be ineffective. While severe incidents such as bringing weapon to school are punishable by suspension, educators believe many other infractions can be dealt with in other ways, like restorative justice. This is because students are suspended are losing instructional time and losing motivation to be in the classroom altogether.

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Article Title: UVM Hockey Coach Fired for Inappropriate Texts

Citation: Alonso, J. (2023). Univ. of Vermont hockey coach fired for inappropriate texts. Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/07/20/univ-vermont-hockey-coach-fired-inappropriate-texts

Link: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/07/20/univ-vermont-hockey-coach-fired-inappropriate-texts

Summary:
* University of Vermont hockey coach was fired for inappropriately texting a student.
* His attorney is pursuing legal action because due process was lacking.

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Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs

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Univ. of Vermont hockey coach fired for inappropriate texts

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The University of Vermont’s men’s hockey coach, Todd Woodcroft, has been fired following an investigation into inappropriate texts between him and a student, The Athletic reported Tuesday.

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Article Title: In About-Face, Syracuse Lifts Suspensions of Protesting Students as They Continue Occupation

Citation: Leckrone, B. (2020, February 19). In About-Face, Syracuse lifts suspensions of protesting students as they continue occupation. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/in-about-face-syracuse-lifts-suspensions-of-protesting-students-as-they-continue-occupation/

Link: https://www.chronicle.com/article/in-about-face-syracuse-lifts-suspensions-of-protesting-students-as-they-continue-occupation/

Summary:
* Syracuse University lifted the suspension of dozens of students as they continue their protests.
* The protestors have set up in the chancellor's building.
* Students are demanding that the university follow through on previous promises to crack down on racial incidents.
* Some staff have attempted to smuggle in food and other needed items to the protestors but were punished for those actions.

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Syracuse University lifted the suspensions of dozens of student protesters on Wednesday amid national attention to their occupation of the private institution's main administration building.

The protesters have been occupying Crouse-Hinds Hall, where the chancellor's office is located, since Monday. The students are demanding that the New York university follow through on previous promises to crack down on racist incidents that have beset the campus for years. The students have also demanded the resignation of several university officials.

After about 30 students didn't leave when the building closed on Monday, at 9 p.m., they were warned, written up, and eventually issued interim suspensions. Syracuse insisted that it hadn't suspended the students for protesting, but for breaking the rules by remaining in the building after it closed.

Before the suspensions were lifted, some graduate students called for a strike, asking all teaching assistants, part-time faculty members, and non-tenured instructors at the university to cease their work until the suspensions were dropped and the protesters in Crouse-Hinds were given unconditional access to food and supplies.

"During the sit-in, university administrators have restricted access to Crouse-Hinds Hall. Faculty who have attempted to smuggle food, tampons, and medication to the student activists have had their bags searched and these items confiscated," the graduate-student letter reads. "Students have been offered food by the university, but it is conditioned on their willingness to meet the university's standard for what counts as constructive dialogue."

The letter blasted the administration for its handling of the protest. In a tweet on Tuesday the university seemed to imply that the protesters could be fed if they just left the building.

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Students claiming we're restricting their access to food are free to leave the building any time.

- SU Campus (@SUcampus) February 18, 2020

But a Syracuse spokeswoman said food had been offered to the protesters on multiple occasions. The students accepted food for lunch on Tuesday, but rejected dinner that night and breakfast on Wednesday morning, officials said.

At a University Senate meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Syracuse's chancellor, Kent Syverud, said students could stay in Crouse-Hinds to protest and the suspensions would be lifted.

Zachary Greenberg, an official at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a free-speech advocacy group, said FIRE considers the university to be one of the worst in the nation on protecting students' freedom of speech. But Greenberg, a graduate of Syracuse, said it had been within its legal rights to suspend the students.

"The building the students were in closes at a certain time, and there would be no issue with Syracuse punishing students for trespassing and for violating the rules of these buildings," Greenberg said.

The tensions at Syracuse this week are just the latest in what has been a turbulent year for the university. Protests broke out last fall after a spate of racist incidents shook the campus. Racial slurs were spray-painted in a bathroom, and a swastika was drawn in the snow.

Syverud, who has drawn criticism for racist campus incidents at other times during his chancellorship, endorsed student demands last November. Among those demands were considering expulsion for students who had written the racial slurs.

"They are angry about those incidents and are frustrated that perpetrators have not all been found and punished," Syverud said of the protesters on Wednesday. "Meanwhile, they feel that they are being punished for protesting this and other things. I'm angry and frustrated about this as well. Some perpetrators have, in fact, been found and punished, including with suspensions, including this semester, but people don't know that because our student-conduct process has been kept so confidential."

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In About-Face, Syracuse Lifts Suspensions of Protesting Students as They Continue Occupation

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The university said it had not suspended the students over their protest, which criticizes inaction on racist incidents on the campus, but for their sit-in.

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Title: ASCA Ethical Standards for Counselors

Code: "A.1.g. School counselors are knowledgable of laws, regulation, and policies affecting students and families and strive to protect and inform students and families regarding their rights."

Citation: American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/764178fc-c4b7-45d2-a4bc-bd4e101ab15e/EthicalStandards.pdf

Link: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/764178fc-c4b7-45d2-a4bc-bd4e101ab15e/EthicalStandards.pdf

Explanation: This code ensures that school counselors are knowledgable of the rules and laws that may affect student's rights. This is important when discussing student suspensions because some instances of suspension involve student's individual rights to freedom of speech and protest. It is important that school counselors know the laws and rules of the district if this comes up in order to explain to the students and the parents their actual rights of expression and speech.

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Book Title: Discipline with Dignity: How to Build Responsibility, Relationships, and Respect in Your Classroom

Citation: Curwin, R. L., Mendler, A. N., & Mendler, B. D. (2018). Discipline with Dignity, 4th Edition: How to Build Responsibility, Relationships, and Respect in Your Classroom. ASCD.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Dignity-4th-Responsibility-Relationships/dp/141662581X/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_1/137-0663331-8586412?pd_rd_w=wScZT&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=F9P07V446MAN733ZPA5C&pd_rd_wg=mLwYr&pd_rd_r=dc348be2-bc39-4f35-9011-1502e043b86f&pd_rd_i=141662581X&psc=1

Summary: "Discipline with Dignity" is a complete guide that offers educators practical strategies for managing classroom behavior and promoting a positive learning environment. The book emphasizes the importance of treating students with respect and dignity while maintaining a structured and disciplined classroom. It provides insights into fostering responsibility, building positive relationships, and addressing the underlying causes of misbehavior, which can be relevant for professionals dealing with student suspensions.

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Discipline with Dignity: How to Build Responsibility, Relationships, and Respect in Your Classroom

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Discipline with Dignity: How to Build Responsibility, Relationships, and Respect in Your Classroom [Curwin, Richard L., Mendler, Allen N., Mendler, Brian D.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Discipline with Dignity: How to Build Responsibility, Relationships, and Respect in Your Classroom

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* Regularly review and update disciplinary policies and practices based on evidence-based research and the evolving needs of the student population.

* Offer professional development opportunities for educators to learn about trauma-informed approaches and strategies for addressing the root causes of student misbehavior.

* Implement a comprehensive and clearly defined disciplinary policy that outlines the specific behaviors that can lead to suspension and provides alternatives to suspension whenever possible.

* Prioritize restorative justice practices that focus on repairing harm, building relationships, and promoting positive behavior rather than solely punitive measures.

* Involve parents and guardians in the disciplinary process, seeking their input and support in developing appropriate interventions for their children.

* Create a positive and inclusive school climate by promoting a sense of belonging, cultural responsiveness, and social-emotional learning opportunities for all students.

* Foster open communication and collaboration between teachers, administrators, and support staff to create a unified approach to addressing student behavior issues.