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Student Due Process and Privacy Rights

Dwayne Mack

American College of Education

EL5753 - Law and Policy

Dr. Bernard Mulvaney

June 6th, 2021

Student Due Process and Privacy Right

Every student must receive due process in the school setting. There need to be

consequences for unacceptable behavior; however, this needs to be balanced by the

administration with students’ rights and behavioral issues related to student disabilities. The

administration must keep in mind that “the ability of parents to challenge the educational

programming of a child with a disability is crucial since every day that a child does not receive

an appropriate education is a day of learning that is lost forever” (Shaver, 2015, p.144). It is the

job of an effective administrator to follow all laws and district directives related to the discipline

process.

Case Study

An important issue raised in the case study is finding out her IEP and whether the

academics manifest behavioral problems due to being frustrated about the subject or assignment.

In addition, with Julia having an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which includes behavioral

plans, it would be helpful to know if she has a behavioral goal or if she has a Positive Behavior

Intervention Plan (PBIP).

With Juila’s meeting about her outburst behavior, there are people who should attend the

meeting, with the first being the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist at the school.

The importance of the ESE Specialist helps the administrator, teacher, and parents understand

the language on the IEP. The ESE Specialist helps write every student in the school’s IEP and

makes sure that teachers follow the guidelines. The administrator of discipline would also attend

the meeting, as they are the one who is going to give Julia her due process. The teacher where

the incident in the classroom occurred needs to be present to provide a detailed report of what

happened and the events that lead to the outburst. And lastly, Julia’s parents would be in
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attendance to hear and offer any outside information about Julia and what / why she may have

had this outburst in class.

When determining the consequences for Julia, it is essential to look at her IEP and

whether the lesson/material being taught in the classroom manifests her behavior due to being

frustrated or her bottom push (Lee County School District, 2020). The IEP needs to be changed

so that her behavior is not triggered. Also, could the teacher have used different techniques to de-

escalate the situation by being aware of Juila’s IEP behavioral goals? Again, more information

is needed about Julia’s IEP to determine the consequences of her classroom behavior.

Even though Julia’s IEP may help her during this meeting to decide the consequence for

her behavior, her parents have the right to challenge the disciplinary action against their

daughter. If the parents feel that the IEP is not being followed to the fullest extent, they can get a

lawyer to fight against the disciplinary action. The school and district may not agree with the

parent’s decision to get a lawyer for the parents to have every right to contact a lawyer if they

feel that their daughter’s IEP was violated (Lee County School District, 2020). From my

experience working in this situation with our school discipline administration, if a parent doesn’t

like the outcome of a hearing, they have the right to appeal the disciplinary action and take it to

the district for an appeal hearing where their lawyers can plead their case to the school board.

Equally important is the due process for Juila. After the situation with Julia in the

classroom, the administration would have given her a chance to get her side of the story. At my

school, I let the student write out a statement and give their side of the story. We would also get

statements from the teacher and other students in the class to get a different perspective about the

situation in class. From these statements, we would get a picture of what happened in the

classroom. But at the end of the day, we have to consider her IEP and what the IEP team
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suggests about her consequences. It is important to remember that a student with a disability may

be removed from their current placement for discipline for up to 10 days for each act of

misconduct as long as there is no pattern of misconduct. However, the student would still need

to receive services that help them progress in school and meet their goals (Florida Department of

Education, 2012).

Comparatively, Marcus has the same right as Julia when it comes to due process.

Looking at Marcus' situation, the first thing we would do is have security go and pick him up

from class with his belongings. All the same time, we would have one of the other administrators

looking at both Julia’s and Marcus’s schedules to see if they have any classes together. If they

have any class together, we would contact that teacher and ask for their seating chart and as if

they were in proximity to each other. Suppose the students do not have classes together. In that

case, we will use the schools’ camera to track Marcus throughout the day to see if he and Julia

interacted together in any common areas.

If the decision is made to search Marcus, he would be searched under the Florida

Statutes and district policy. The search is allowed if there is reasonable suspicion that the

student has an illegal substance in his possession (232.256 Search of Student Locker or Storage

Area; Authority., 2021). Marcus would be scheduled for a Level III hearing (Lee County School

District, 2020). If he had been selling the contraband, then the matter would turn over to our

local law enforcement through our School Resource Officer (SRO), and the consequences are out

of the school’s hands.

The consequences of Marcus could depend on the recommendation of the principal.

According to the Code of Conduct, Marcus could be sent to the Prevention Center Program for

20 Days, where Marcus would have to go through classes about the negative effects of drugs and
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the consequences of drug use and possession. He would also be subject to random drug tests

until the program is completed. The other option would be for Marcus to send to the Alternative

School, which we call the Success Academy. Marcus would have to stay there for up to 90 days

(Lee County School District, 2020). All of the classes provided at our school will also be

provided at Success Academy. Success Academy tries to keep the student on course to stay on

track to graduate while providing all students with additional behavioral support. The principal

must take into account the students’ behavioral and academic records. If this is the student’s first

mistake, they will most likely be sent to the Prevention Center Program. But if Marcus has a

history of behavioral issues, most likely, he would be sent to Success Academy for 90 days. The

district has guidelines in the Code of Conduct, giving the administration freedom to provide the

outcome they see fit (Lee County School District, 2020).

When analyzing the Lee County Code of Conduct, the most effective discipline policies

are the use of Restorative Justice. Using Restorative practices (RP) emphasizes the importance

of relationships and learning from behaviors necessary in the community. RP is composed of

actions that build community. Social-emotional learning (SEL) supports the goals of RP by

helping students understand and manage their emotions while showing empathy for others and

establishing goals for responsible decision-making. In addition, SEL helps students develop a

connection to their school (Hulvershorn & Mullholland, 2017).

In-School-Suspension (ISS) is another effective discipline policy that works only if you

have an educator in the room. With an educator, you have a person that can help the students

when they come across problems with assignments and can teach the students to learn about

different subjects.
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An ineffective discipline policy is Out of School Suspension (OSS), which shows that it

doesn’t work to curve students’ behavior. One of the most significant components of why it

doesn’t work is parental involvement. In many cases, when the student is home because of OSS,

the parents have to work; therefore, no one monitors the student’s academic work or sees that

they are completing their work. The students also come back to the classroom behind and lack

the skill and depth in knowledge about the subject to pass an assessment or any state assessment,

decreasing their chances of graduating.

Conclusion

When determining student consequences for discipline issues, it is imperative to consider

the circumstances of the student’s situation. It needs to be noted if a student has an IEP or a

behavior plan. All proper procedures must be followed related to the implementation of the

student’s IEP and behavior plan. If a student faces the consequences, the school district policy

must be followed, and discipline should be administered fairly. Every student deserves the

opportunity to receive a quality education. However, the students need to understand the

consequences of their inability to behave within the school environment.

References
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Florida Department of Education. (2012). A Parents Introduction to Exceptional Student

Education in Florida. Florida Department of Education. Retrieved June 3, 2021, from

http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7674/urlt/0064540-eseparent.pdf

Hulvershorn, K., & Mullholland, S. (2017, April 17). Restorative practices and the

integration of social emotional learning as a path to positive school climates. Journal of

Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, 11(1), 110-123.

Lee County School District. (2020). Student Code of Conduct.

Shaver, E. A. (2015). Every Day Counts: Proposals to Reform IDEA’s Due Process

Structure. Case Western Reserve Law Review, 66(1), 144-208.

232.256 Search of student locker or storage area; authority. (2021). Justia US Law.

Retrieved June 5, 2021, from

https://law.justia.com/codes/florida/1998/TitleXVI/chapter232/232_256.html