Legal Constraints on Intervention Programs in Public Schools (From Juvenile Rehabilitation Reader, P VI.1-VI.40, 1985, Peter W Greenwood, ed. - See NCJ-101426)

• NCJ Number: 101430
• Author(s): M Miller
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 40 pages
• Sale Source: Rand Corporation
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper explores the legal framework for and potential of primary and secondary public school intervention programs for status offenders and predelinquents.

Abstract

The operation and purpose of the juvenile courts has changed in the face of badly failed expectations, and new intervention strategies can no longer work within the current juvenile legal framework. Because public schools observe and deal with large numbers of children before they interact with the juvenile justice system, they represent a resource for intervention. Public school and education law has developed without consideration of this intervention potential. While requiring compulsory education and regulating some aspects of the school's relationship to students, parents, and others, the limits on school powers and discretion come from other sources. Legal authority for the school's intervention role can be derived from case law and legislation mandating equal and appropriate education for each child. If schools are to deal with the diverse behavior and learning problems so that each child can obtain the best possible education, then a wide range of programs and aims are valid. While special intervention programs will have to be sensitive to equal protection and due process requirements, the minimal criteria in the existing law leaves substantial room for the implementation of new, school-based public intervention programs. 22 references.