With the growth of “zero-tolerance” policies in schools and the substantial number of students who are being identified as requiring “special education” services, issues in education law are becoming increasingly common. Luckily for parents and students, schools often are highly cooperative in addressing their needs. Still, there are exceptions and this is not always the case. Moreover, people sometimes are intimidated when dealing with large school districts.
The issues raised in education law are particularly near and dear to my heart because I worked for six years as a teacher, helped start a school for homeless kids and spent another three years administering school discipline. I’m very well-versed in how schools operate and the processes they utilize to make their decisions.
Most of the issues in school law come down primarily to two areas: discipline and special education.
- In terms of school discipline, the most important things to bear in mind are that schools are giving student due process when they discipline them and that the school is following its own procedures. Bear in mind that most school districts do not allow schools to expel or kick out students on their own. Rather, prior to expulsion, the student brings his or her parent(s) to an expulsion hearing, and then provides reasons for why they should not be expelled.
- Special education plans: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) governs the approach schools take to dealing with students who have special needs and/or learning disabilities. Whenever a student has been identified as being in special education, the school must assemble a plan for how it will address that student’s education needs. Parents may have input into this plan.
- Special education plan enforcement: once a special education plan has been put in place for a student, the school must ensure that it actually is following its own plan. If not, then the student is not having his or her education needs met.
- LRE – the least restrictive environment. One of the core principles of IDEA is that every special education student should be in the least restrictive educational environment as is necessary to learn. This means that if a student can adequately learn in a general education setting, then that is where he or she should be placed, rather than being kept in a special education classroom.
- Special education and discipline: students with special education needs often are the ones who are responsible for a large percentage of the discipline incidents in a school. Bear in mind, however, that a school generally may not expel students for conduct that is “manifestation” of their disability.