Harris, H. & Tinker, M. B. (2018, November 30). Hate speech is showing up in schools. Censorship isn’t the answer. Retrieved March 6, 2021 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/30/saluting-nazis-or-kneeling-against-racism-which-students-get-first-amendment-rights/

The US Constitution provides students in public schools have the right to be heard before imposing any discipline action for an offense that occurs at school. Students who are at risk for being suspended have the right to defend themselves in a hearing prior to implementing a disciplinary suspension/expulsion. This was established forty-six years ago with the landmark case Goss v Lopez in which 9 students from Ohio were suspended and denied the opportunity to defend themselves before being expelled. The courts decided the students had been denied their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. This case established the right to “due process” when a student is being suspended/expelled or excluded from the classroom. However, in 2019 at an Alabama public school, two students were accused of having a gun on campus and were immediately expelled from school with no evidence to support the claim. They were not given an opportunity to defend themselves but instead were expelled immediately. Even after they were acquitted in juvenile court, the Montgomery Public School would not let them come back. The case was taken to court and the students ultimately won. The courts required Montgomery public schools to remove the two students’ suspensions from school records and provide the students with “educational services worth thousands of dollars to make up for the 14 months of lost education.” (Tafelski, 2021).

In this recent case, the Montgomery school district was held liable for the loss of “educational services.”  Students have a right to an education and education is considered property.  According to the Fourteenth Amendment, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” (U.S. const. amend §1) The Montgomery school district was required to make the students whole by giving them back the education they were deprived of during the time away from school. The law states that all students have a right to due process before any suspension/expulsion is implemented (Tafelski, 2021).

Public schools in the state of Alabama use suspension/expulsion disciplinary practices at a higher rate than other states (Tafelski, 2021). This is particularly important because this type of disciplinary action impacts students of color more than anyone else. Black students in Alabama are 3.7 times more likely to be suspended than their white cohorts (Tafelski,2021). When a student is suspended, it has a negative impact on the learning process and makes the student more susceptible to failing academically and dropping out of school. The consequences of suspending a student can be devastating, thus it is important that students have due process to mitigate the impact of disciplinary actions.

As a future counselor it is important that I advocate for students and help them succeed at school. Counselors should be aware of student rights and issues concerning discipline. However, a counselor should remain a neutral party when it comes to student discipline. Developing relationships with students requires confidentiality and trust and counselors should remain distanced from any issues regarding punishments for students with behavioral problems. A counselor should work at preventing behavioral issues in the first place by implementing programs that address topics important to students and address the needs of the students at school (Benshoff, Poidevant & Cashwell, 1994).

School counselors can also be proactive by collaborating with teachers, administrators and others for a discipline program that is effective for those students who exhibit problem behaviors (Benshoff et al, 1994)

 References

Benshoff, J. M., Poidevant, J. M., & Cashwell, C. S. (1994). School discipline programs: Issues and implications for school counselors. Elementary School Guidance and Counseling, 28(3), 163-169.

Tafelski, M. (2021, February 18). Alabama students don’t have due process but they should. Retrieved February 26, 2021 from https://www.al.com/opinion/2021/02/alabama-students-dont-have-due-process-but-they-should.html

U. S. const. amend XVI § 1