1. Chapter 5:
Due Process, Student
Discipline, and
Title IX
Presented by
Chelsea Lynne Murry
EDLD 570-01
Dr. James Taylor

2. Key Terms:
Corporal Punishment Due Process
Liberty Interest Procedural due process
Property Interest Shocks the conscience
Substantive due process Title IX
Well-ordered school

3. Well-Ordered School
• A well-ordered school is a school that operates on a
fair system of cooperation under public conception
of justice.
- A fair system of cooperation is when all students,
regardless of the socioeconomic status, ethnicities, or
disciplinary history, receive the same liberties.

4. Three Main
Characteristics:
1. Everyone in the school accepts and knows the
same concept of justice, and that basic principles
will be honored by everyone.
2. All personal interactions, policies, and applications
of policy are designed to facilitate a systems of
cooperation.
3. Students, teachers, and school leaders have a
rational sense of justice that allows them to
understand and act accordingly as their positions
in the school dictate.

5. Ways to Develop a
Well-Ordered School
• Develop a system of mutually acceptable and publicly
justified policies that will maintain order and promote
safety.
• Involve a wide range of interested stakeholders in
forming the school rules.
• Model and insist that teachers and other adults in the
school honor basic fairness and student rights, and that
parents and students honor teachers’ rights.
• Use the concept of a “well-ordered school” to reinforce
feelings of emotional safety for students, teachers, and
parents.
• Use data to publicly justify certain restrictions on student
freedom.

6. Scenario #1:
In May 1, 2015, you became the principal of a
community high school in the roughest neighborhood
in Baton Rouge. This is your first year as an
administrator. The school’s turnover rate is at least 3 to
5 teachers every year. The school is on its fourth
principal in 2 years, and there is frequent violent
occurrences at your school.
Using the information from the previous slide, how
would you create a positive culture in a rough
environment?

7. Due Process
• Due process is a legal principle that considers the
manner of fair and adequate procedures for
making equitable and fair decisions.
- Clauses embedded into the Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendment address the concept that persons shall
not be deprived of “life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law.”
• Liberty interest is defined as a person’s good name,
integrity, or reputation.

8. Procedural Due Process
• Procedural Due Process is the minimum sequence of steps
taken by a school official in reaching a decision. It is usually
defined as a notice and right to a fair hearing.
Procedural Guidelines for Suspension of 10 or less:
1. The student must be given oral or written notice of the
charges.
2. If the student denies the charges, an explanation of the
evidence that the administrators have and an
opportunity for the student to present his or her version
of the events is required.
3. These steps may be taken immediately following the
misconduct or infraction that may result in suspension.

9. Substantive Due Process
• Substantive Due Process is defined as “the doctrine that the
Due Process Clauses of the 5th and 14th amendment require
legislation to be fair and reasonable in content and to further
a legitimate governmental objective.”
Substantive Due Process usually involves four questions:
1. Does the rule or policy provide adequate notice of
what conduct is prohibited?
2. Does the rule or policy serve a legitimate educational
purpose?
3. Is the consequence reasonably (or rationally)
connected to the offense?
4. Is the rule or policy applied equitably?

10. Long-Term Suspension
and Expulsion
• Only Superintendents, School Boards, and District
Hearing Officers have the right to expel a student in most
states.
Guidelines:
1. Students have the right to a prompt written explanation of the facts
leading to the expulsion.
2. During the appeal process, students generally have the right to
evidentiary hearing, including having an attorney present.
3. Students have the right to present and refute evidence and to cross-
examine and face witnesses, especially when the witnesses are fellow
students.
4. Boards may make decisions based on a preponderance of the
evidence rather than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” requirement of
criminal trials.
5. The district should be prepared to present data demonstrating that
expulsion decisions are not based on racial criteria.

11. Student Suspension or Expulsion for
Off-Campus Behavior
• Courts are supportive of school officials’ authority to
develop and enforce reasonable rules for student
conduct on school grounds and at school-
sponsored activities, field trips, and events.

12. Scenario #2
A student named Lynne is being bullied at her Junior High School.
Lynne frequently visits the administrators and informs them of
what is going on with Candice during classes, lunch, and on her
walks home from school. The administrators have discussions with
Lynne and Candice about their behavior both on campus and
off-campus.
After about two weeks of bullying, Lynne sees Candice at a
neighboring high school basketball game, and the two
exchange words. They began fighting, and a semi-riot breaks out
at the basketball game. They were charged with disturbing the
peace by fighting, and given a citation from local police.
What disciplinary actions would you implement for the students?

13. Guidelines:
Guidelines to follow:
1. Follow all state laws regarding suspension or expulsion of students
charged or convicted of crimes off-campus.
2. Make clear to students and parents that accountability for proper
behavior may extend beyond the schoolhouse gate when misbehavior
occurs on school buses or at school-sponsored off-campus activities.
3. Discipline for off-campus behaviors should be supported by link
between the behavior and disruption at school.
4. Be sure that there is sufficient evidence to support disciplinary decisions.
5. Follow all state laws that prohibit the enrollment or readmittance of
students convicted or charged of certain crimes regardless of location.
6. If the student in question is classified as disabled under IDEA and/or
Section 504, all procedural safeguards and requirements under these
statuses are in force.
7. Follow all state laws reporting requirements to law enforcement when
suspending or expelling students for offense that are classified as felonies
under state law.

14. Extracurricular Activities
and Title IX
• Title IX is designed to protect students from being
denied the benefits of any educational program or
activity because of gender.
• It includes admissions, recruiting, course offerings,
harassment based on gender, physical education,
educational programs and activities, and
employment.
• If a student becomes pregnant, then permission
from a physician should be obtained before that
student is allowed to participate.