The Law in Education – When School Discipline and Due Process Collide – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 260

Classnotes Podcast (September 4, 2026). School discipline can change a student’s future. Reporter Erin Einhorn and IDRA attorney Makiah Lyons discuss student due process rights, disparities in state protections and what families face when students are suspended or expelled. Key Takeaways Students have due process rights when schools suspend or expel them, but protections and procedures vary widely by state and school district. Goss v. Lopez established a minimum federal standard requiring notice and an opportunity to be heard before students are deprived of their education. Even short suspensions can have lasting academic and personal consequences for students. Families may struggle to exercise their rights because disciplinary decisions happen quickly, legal help can be difficult to obtain and appeal processes may be limited. School discipline can have serious consequences even when students are wrongly accused, act in self-defense or make mistakes. Resource from the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), a nonprofit advancing education equity. Across the country, students are punished by their schools, often for minor behaviors or even by mistake. With due process rights varying from state to state, families find themselves stuck as they try to secure education justice for their children. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1975 ruling in Goss v. Lopez found that the Fourteenth Amendment requires schools to provide students a fair process, even for temporary removals. Schools cannot suspend students for longer than 10 days without notice and some sort of hearing process. But this is the minimum standard. In this episode, IDRA Staff Attorney Makiah Lyons, J.D., speaks with Erin Einhorn, an award-winning investigative reporter whose book, Dismissed: The Children We’ve Lost to School Punishment and the Urgent Need for Change, is due out in the spring of 2027. Erin describes what she learned in her interviews with 60 families in 28 states starting with a 10-year-old boy who got in trouble at school. Show length: 31:09 min. Watch Podcast Video Prev 1 of 1 Next The Law in Education – When School Discipline and Due Process Collide – IDRA Classnotes Podcast 260 Prev 1 of 1 Next Quotes “Suspensions do not make schools safer. They do not make learning easier. In fact, they erode relationships in schools. They make schools less safe. They make schools less effective.” – Erin Einhorn “One of the great injustices is that some kids just have more rights than others… Depending on what state you live in, what district you live in, what school you go to.” – Erin Einhorn “We found that state laws outlining student rights were, shockingly, incredibly different from state to state, even where we might not really expect it.” – Makiah Lyons, J.D. Resources Erin Einhorn webpage Subscribe to Erin Einhorn’s Substack and find out when her book, Dismissed: The Hidden Costs and Cruel Legacy of School Punishment (spring 2027) In states with few legal protections, students say they’ve been unfairly punished at school, by Erin Einhorn, NBC News, August 22, 2023 Restorative Practices Can Prevent and Heal Bias-based Harm, by Paige Duggins-Clay, J.D., IDRA Newsletter, August 2024 IDRA School Discipline – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit  Listen to every episode! To ensure you don’t miss a single episode of IDRA Classnotes, sign up to receive an e-mail alert as soon as a new show is published and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, Spotify or Amazon Music. FAQs What due process rights do students have in school discipline cases? Under Goss v. Lopez, students have a constitutional right to basic due process when a public school deprives them of their education through suspension. At minimum, students must receive notice of the allegations and an opportunity to be heard. States can provide additional protections. What did Goss v. Lopez establish about school suspensions? The 1975 U.S. Supreme Court decision established that public school students have an important interest in their education that is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Schools must provide basic due process when suspending students, although the federal requirements provide only a minimum standard. Do student discipline rights vary by state? Yes. IDRA’s research discussed in the episode found significant differences among states in such areas as written notice, how much notice families receive before a hearing and requirements related to impartial hearing officers. Can a student be suspended or expelled even if they did not do what they were accused of doing? Mistakes can occur. Erin Einhorn describes several families she interviewed whose children were punished despite evidence that they were innocent, as well as students disciplined for accidents, self-defense or other circumstances that were more complicated than the original allegation. Why can it be difficult for families to challenge school discipline decisions? Discipline proceedings can move quickly, families may not understand their rights, and obtaining legal assistance can be difficult or expensive. Even when an appeal ultimately succeeds, a student may already have missed substantial instructional time. hr{ border-top: 2px solid #0072CF; } The post The Law in Education – When School Discipline and Due Process Collide – IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 260 appeared first on IDRA.