High schools, colleges, and universities create codes of conduct to maintain academic and behavioral standards on campus and hold students accountable. Despite state and federal protections for students with disabilities, some educational institutions fail to apply their disciplinary policies accordingly, resulting in an unfair disciplinary process. Defending your academic future and reputation is a daunting task and even more challenging for students with disabilities without legally required accommodations.
Institutions have a right to discipline their students. However, when they create policies ignoring the needs of students with disabilities or fail to consider how disability rights affect them, they do irreparable damage. Fortunately, if you're defending against allegations of academic, behavioral, or sexual misconduct at your school, you have access to professional help.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has a wealth of experience guiding students through high school, college, and university disciplinary procedures in Florida. Our team can also work with a school, district, or institution's Office of General Counsel (OGC) to negotiate a resolution before grievance procedures begin. Call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team at 888-535-3686 now or visit us online.
Can Your High School Discipline You if You Have a Disability?
Much like the academic environment, schools must ensure that the disciplinary process is fair and equitable for all students. Federal laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provide a pathway for students to gain a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) with services designed to meet their needs.
Schools cannot remove students with disabilities from school for a reason related to their disability without completing a set of procedures. For the K-12 education system, the Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) provides information about services for Florida students with disabilities, including disciplinary provisions.
High School Code of Conduct Violations
High school misconduct can broadly be categorized into academic, behavioral, and sexual misconduct/Title IX violations, each with its own set of challenges and implications. When considering students with disabilities, these issues take on added dimensions due to the unique needs and potential misunderstandings related to their disabilities.
Academic misconduct can include nearly anything that provides an unfair advantage in a student's classroom work. Some common examples include the following:
- Cheating: Using unauthorized materials or help during tests or assignments.
- Plagiarism: Copying someone else's work without proper attribution.
- Fabrication: Inventing or falsifying academic information or data.
Students with learning disabilities or communication disorders can struggle to grasp the rules surrounding academic integrity, leading to unintentional misconduct. Inadequate accommodations may push some students towards misconduct as a way to cope with inaccessible learning materials or assessment methods.
Behavioral misconduct is often a catch-all, including actions that interrupt the educational process but are not directly related to academics. Common examples include the following:
- Aggression: Verbal or physical threats or actions against other students or teachers.
- Disruptive Behavior: Actions that interrupt the educational process, such as excessive talking, outbursts, or inappropriate use of technology in the classroom.
- Vandalism: Intentional damage to school or personal property.
Students with emotional disturbances or behavioral disorders may exhibit misconduct as a manifestation of their disability. What may be perceived as misconduct may be a student's response to overwhelming sensory input or frustration due to unmet needs.
Title IX violations include many forms of sexual misconduct, but it primarily deals with issues regarding civil rights. For instance, Title IX misconduct can include:
- Bullying and Harassment: Repeated aggressive behavior or unwanted advances that intimidate or harm another student.
- Cyberbullying: Using digital platforms to harass or bully peers.
- Unfair treatment based on race, gender, sexuality, or disability.
Students with disabilities can be more susceptible to bullying and harassment due to differences in social skills or behavior. However, some may engage in bullying, not understanding the social implications or due to mimicking behaviors they've been subjected to.
Florida High School Disciplinary Processes
In Florida high schools, disciplinary procedures are guided by district policies, which must align with state laws and educational guidelines—and adhere to IDEA and BEESS policies for students with disabilities. These processes aim to address misconduct fairly and constructively, focusing on resolution and rehabilitation. Schools must consider the specific needs and accommodations of students with disabilities, ensuring that disciplinary actions do not disproportionately affect their education.
Part of the misconduct process involves a manifestation determination review (MDR) to analyze the relation between a student's disabilities and the alleged misconduct. Parents or school special education personnel may also pursue a review for a student with no known disability but may be showing evidence as demonstrated by the alleged misconduct. An MDR aims to determine whether the student may need an individualized education plan (IEP) to ensure the school's commitment to FAPE.
In conducting the review, the Florida school district, the parent, and relevant members of the IEP Team must do the following:
- Review all relevant student information, including any supplied by the student's parents, teachers, doctors, and others close to the student.
- Determine whether the conduct in question was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the student's disability or whether it was the direct result of the school's failure to implement an IEP.
If the IEP Team determines that the student is better served and rehabilitated from discipline outside of the normal classroom setting, they may advocate for a disciplinary change of placement. Known as an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) in Florida. After the student returns to their normal education environment with a new or modified IEP, they will receive, as appropriate, functional behavioral assessments and further behavioral intervention services designed to address code of conduct violations to mitigate reoccurrence and a return to an IAES.
Are College Students Afforded Disability Accommodations?
Through BEESS, Florida provides transition services for students with disabilities entering college or the workforce upon graduation. Services begin at age 12, and students remain eligible until they reach 22. Services and accommodations will significantly change once students leave Florida's K-12 education system.
Many of the services public high schools provide to students with disabilities aren't offered in the same way at colleges and universities. For instance, institutions of higher education are required to make all of their programs and services physically accessible to all students and accommodate the academic participation of qualified students with disabilities. However, colleges don't have to modify academic courses if such adjustments would fundamentally alter the course or place an undue burden on the institution. Moreover, they don't test for or help identify disabilities or assign a personal assistant to students with disabilities (although students may request one during disciplinary procedures).
College Code of Conduct Violations
College and university-level misconduct can be classified as academic, behavioral, and sexual misconduct/Title IX violations, just like high school. They will also take on different dimensions due to a student's needs and disabilities, which can result in a higher risk for discipline.
Academic misconduct is similar to high school, wherein cheating and plagiarism are handled with severe discipline. Examples of other unfair academic advantages include the following:
- Bribery: This includes offering money, goods, or services to obtain an unfair advantage.
- Collusion: When two or more students share assignments or complete them together without authorization.
- Misrepresentation: Representing one's knowledge for assessment in a false manner.
Students with disabilities must follow academic integrity rules like their peers. While institutions will accommodate students, it's typically on a case-by-case basis, giving the student the burden of proof to acquire academic accommodations.
Behavioral misconduct isn't confined to the college campus. Florida schools generally hold disciplinary jurisdiction over students at off-campus events and in many other areas that aren't the classroom. Some common examples of behavioral or non-academic misconduct include the following:
- Misuse of University Resources: Improper use of campus facilities, amenities, or computer networks.
- Illegal Drug Use: Possession or use of illicit substances on campus.
- Alcohol Misuse: Underage drinking or excessive consumption leading to disruptive behavior.
Peer pressure can be a big factor when allegations of non-academic misconduct arise. Students with disabilities may feel the need to take part in certain activities in order to fit into campus life better. However, any form of leniency given in high school because of a student's age doesn't transfer to higher education.
For allegations of sexual misconduct or Title IX violations, institutions are pressured to deliver swift justice for victims. However, if colleges don't provide reasonable accommodations for an accused student with a disability during the disciplinary process, it could result in an unfair decision. Some examples of Title IX and sexual misconduct can include:
- Hazing: Subjugation to difficult, dangerous, and often humiliating, tasks and rituals in order to join a group, team, or organization.
- Sexual Violence: Actions including sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and any unwanted sexual contact.
- Sexual Exploitation: Quid pro quo interactions (benefits, services, or money for sexual conduct).
Students with disabilities may have a harder time reading social cues in intimate or sexual relationships, potentially due to unaddressed social or behavioral problems from their days in K-12 education. Moreover, fellow students or administrators may be intolerant of students with disabilities, and campus sexual assault rules tend to deemphasize the mental state of the accused.
Florida College and University Disciplinary Processes
While most colleges and universities in Florida follow a framework to promote transparency and due process, navigating the disciplinary process can be challenging for students with disabilities. Respondents are informed of the allegations, evidence, and their rights in the disciplinary process, including the right to an advisor—which may or may not be allowed to be a legal professional.
Many institutions convene a panel comprising faculty, staff, and sometimes students to hear the case. Both parties have the opportunity to present their case, which may include relevant evidence, witness testimony, and personal statements. Most colleges use the "preponderance of the evidence" standard, meaning it is more likely than not that the misconduct occurred to determine responsibility.
When a college or university is handling an allegation of sexual misconduct, it has certain obligations to the accused student and the accuser. Examples are the right to have an attorney present at a live hearing and the right to cross-examine all witnesses. Because some universities have two sexual misconduct policies—one for Title IX and another that expands upon it—students may not always have these same rights during a sexual misconduct hearing. However, due process requires schools to notify students of the charges against them, allow accused students to see the evidence against them, and give accused students a chance to defend themselves, at a minimum.
Problems Students with Disabilities Face in Disciplinary Proceedings
Students with disabilities can encounter unique challenges during the college disciplinary process, impacting their ability to fully participate in and respond to disciplinary proceedings. These challenges can stem from the nature of their disabilities and the institution's readiness to accommodate their needs. Some of the problems they may face include:
- Lack of Institutional Awareness and Understanding: Faculty, staff, and disciplinary bodies may lack awareness or understanding of the specific needs and rights of students with disabilities.
- Accessibility Issues: Students with physical disabilities may find it challenging to access hearing locations or participate in the process without accommodations. On the other hand, students with hearing, speech, or visual impairments may struggle with communication barriers if assistive technologies or services (like sign language interpreters or accessible documents) are not provided.
- Bias and Misconceptions: Behaviors associated with certain disabilities can be misinterpreted as misconduct or defiance, leading to unfair disciplinary actions. Moreover, the stigma around disabilities may influence the attitudes and decisions of those involved in the disciplinary process, even if it's unintentional.
- Negative Impact on Education: Concerns about the potential negative repercussions of disclosing a disability might lead some students to forego necessary accommodations. Disciplinary actions without properly considering a student's disabilities can lead to unjust barriers to academic progress.
Students can't rely on colleges and universities to provide clear information on how to request accommodations, ensure all materials and proceedings are accessible, and consider the impact of disabilities in evaluating cases to determine appropriate punitive measures. To mitigate challenges when misconduct arises, students with disabilities must reach out to the Lento Law Firm for help.
How Can the Lento Law Firm Help Florida Students?
Florida's educational institutions must follow state and federal disability laws, but that doesn't mean barriers to accommodations or unfairness in the disciplinary process won't occur. Students with disabilities are at risk of being falsely accused of misconduct at any level of education and will face challenges that can quickly upend their educational journey.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense understands how Florida's high schools, colleges, and universities manage students with disabilities in disciplinary procedures and other school-related issues. Our team stands prepared to build a defense strategy for any situation, including brokering a beneficial resolution with a school, district, or institution's OGC. Call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 now or reach out through our confidential online consultation form.
