NCJ Number
101457
Date Published
1986
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This article examines the decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), other case law, and the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHCA) as they relate to school discipline and the role of schools in responding to the needs of children (some of whom may be violent or disruptive).
Abstract
While the Brown decision held that schools could not deny admission to a child for racial reasons, its implications include that schools may not make other educational or disciplinary decisions for overtly racial reasons. Beginning in the early 1970's, several lawsuits sought to establish external limitations of the disciplinary powers of the public schools. U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Goss v. Lopez and in Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz imposed constitutional procedural restrictions on the ability of schools to push students out of the educational system. Despite this recognition of some students' rights, other U.S. Supreme Court decisions have suggested that these rights will be limited and that the school's ability to police itself and discipline children in a reasonable manner will not be hampered by the Federal courts. In enacting the EHCA, Congress articulated Brown's concern for the equality of educational opportunity for handicapped children. Several Court decisions have held schools responsible for providing individualized, specialized instruction, an obligation with implications for the disciplinary handling of children with disability-related disruptive behaviors. Thus, the EHCA is an important step in carrying out the mandate in the Brown decision. 8 footnotes and 64 references.