Student Discipline Dos and Dont's

A student discipline case recently made its

way to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.† The case, Schaer v.

Brandeis University, 432 Mass. 474 (2000), involved accusations of rape by one

student against another.† At stake for Brandeis were the integrity and

autonomy of its student discipline system. For Schaer, at stake were his

reputation, student records and his future at Brandeis and afterwards.

Fortunately for Brandeis, the court dismissed

Schaer's complaint, finding that Brandeis had conducted its student

discipline proceedings with ìbasic fairnessî and had met the student's

ìreasonable expectations.î† In doing so, the court followed the vast

majority of jurisdictions in granting considerable deference to schools and

colleges in student academic and discipline matters.† For private

institutions, courts generally will uphold student discipline decisions where

there was at least some evidence to support the decision, no evidence of

obvious bias or improper motives, and a modicum of procedural due process ó

normally notice and a hearing.† Public institutions are generally

required to provide more procedural due process than private institutions.†

As a general rule, the greater the property interest at stake, the greater

amount of process due.† See Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975); Dickson

v. Alabama Board of Education, 294 F.2d 150 (5th Cir. 1961).

Schools and colleges may, of course, grant

their students greater rights than are required by the courts.† When

doing so, through student or parent handbooks or the like, schools and

colleges should keep in mind the following guidelines to ensure effectiveness

and decrease litigation risks.

Do

Review and publish regularly

It is crucial to keep both students and staff

regularly informed of student discipline policies and to ensure that the

policies are up to date.

Involve counsel

Involving legal counsel early and often will

greatly reduce litigation risks.

Keep it simple

Students and staff are more likely to

misunderstand and misapply complicated policies.

Make a record

It will preserve the evidence supporting the

disciplinary decision and make any review easier and more accurate.

Retain flexibility and discretion

Expressly reserve the discretion to change

policies, procedures and sanctions.† It is also advisable to use a

catchall provision stating that procedural mistakes will not invalidate a

student discipline decision that was otherwise fair under the circumstances.

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