1. Generally
2. Specific Limitations on Punishment
   • School functions
   • Reasonable and Without Malice
   • Excessive Punishments
   • Discriminatory Punishments 

Did the misbehavior occur at a school function?

Although there is no absolute bar to disciplining students for conduct that occurs outside of school, in most instances, a school cannot punish a student for behavior that occurs outside of school or a school function.  The only exception to this general principle is when a student’s out of school behavior will likely disrupt the schools’ normal functioning or create a danger to other students if that student were to return to school.

Is the type of punishment reasonable?      

School punishment must also be reasonable.  This primarily relates to the type of punishment a school uses: suspensions and expulsions versus corporal punishment, time-out, or some other form of discipline.  There is no nationwide standard for how reasonableness is defined, but parents should be clear that this does not mean that the punishment must be reasonable in the eyes of the parent/s.  Rather reasonableness is a legal concept that courts have used several to determine in a case by case fashion.  These factors include

·          the nature and severity of the misconduct;

·          the student’s attitude and past behavior;

·          the severity of the punishment;

·          the availability of less severe, but equally effective means of discipline;

·          the school’s motive in imposing the discipline; and

·          the student’s age and physical condition. 

In addition, courts have often suggested that a punishment is reasonable when it can be said to be for the common good of all students.  Thus, a teacher’s method of discipline can be reasonable when the teacher is simply trying to teach the student a lesson, even if the parents disagree with the particular method.  With that said, discipline would not be reasonable if it is unnecessarily degrading or likely to cause serious or permanent harm, because such punishment would serve no legitimate purpose.  However, various forms of punishment have been justified as having legitimate purpose, including corporal punishment.  So even though a parent might object to placing her child in “time-out,” isolation or corporal punishment, courts have found these and other types of punishment to be reasonable.  Time-out and isolation, for instance, only become unreasonable when they are prolonged or uninterrupted.  Again, the point is that most forms of discipline may be reasonable.  It is only when they become particularly severe or serve no legitimate purpose that courts have found them to be unreasonable.

Is the punishment, regardless of its type, excessive?

A similar limitation on punishments is excessiveness.  The issue here is not whether corporal punishment, time-out, or some other form of discipline is prohibited, but rather whether the punishment was imposed excessively.  If so, the discipline may violate a student's.  The test for whether a punishment is excessive is "whether the force applied caused injury so severe, was so disproportionate to the need presented, and was so inspired by malice rather than a merely careless, that it amounted to a brutal and inhumane abuse of official power literally shocking to the conscience”.  In short, this standard can be difficult to meet because you would have to prove that the punishment was outrageous and caused harm that was truly shocking.

Was the discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or national origin?

As with all actions taken by schools, they cannot impose discipline in a discriminatory manner.  This can most clearly occur when students of one race are generally punished for a particular type of conduct but students of another race are not.  However, proving that discipline is discriminatory can often be difficult.  Courts will rarely infer discrimination simply because one white student was not punished for something whereas one African American student was not.  Instead, courts will often require a pattern of such unequal treatment to be sure that discrimination is the cause rather than some other random cause.  However, if there are particular factors, such as comments made by teachers or a particular history of harsh treatment toward a single students, evidence of a pattern may not be required.

Although proving a particular act of discipline is discriminatory, it can be easier to prove that a policy is discriminatory.  For instance, if a school enacts a dress code or hair policy that would allow students of one race to continue to dress and groom themselves in the same way they have in the past, but forces students of another race to make changes, it might be discriminatory.  For a further discussion of discrimination and discipline, see [link].