If a student is charged with an underage drinking offense at their college or university, or even outside, if it took place off of say campus grounds, schools would almost always impose their disciplinary process to address the matter. Depends on the particular circumstances whether there’s going to be defenses to the case or not. In some instances, it may be a matter of seeking a mitigated outcome or to try to obtain the least restrictive or severe sanction as possible. Again, if there’s no potential say triable issues, so to speak. Under age drinking offenses can impact students in unexpected ways. It can lessen future opportunities, unfortunately, such as those involving internships or graduate school or even potential employment depending on the circumstances. An experienced attorney advisor can help and should be involved from the start of the process.

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When Academic Discipline Turns Into Litigation

A recent Idaho case shows how academic disputes can escalate when fairness is in question, particularly where allegations of racial discrimination are raised under federal civil rights law. According to the Idaho Capital Sun, a jury awarded $160,000 to a doctoral pharmacy student who alleged racial discrimination after being removed from […]

When the SRO (School Resource Officer) is Involved: Why “Educational Discipline” Just Became “Legal Defense”

In the name of student safety, schools are installing School Resource Officers (SROs) on campus. But SROs’ involvement in campus problems also means that incidents at school can now turn directly into criminal investigations. What parents need to know is this: If your child faces discipline because of an incident […]

Can Schools Punish Students for Social Media Posts? The Mahanoy Standard

A frustrated high school cheerleader walks into a convenience store on a Saturday afternoon. She snaps a photo with a friend, raises her middle finger, and posts a profanity-filled message to Snapchat complaining about school and cheerleading. By Monday, she’s suspended from the cheer squad. Most students would assume that’s […]

State > District > School: How Inconsistent Policies Become a Defense in Student Misconduct

The state is greater than the district, while the district is greater than the school. That probably seems like a weird SAT math problem. However, it describes the legal concept of “preemption,” when a higher authority’s law prevents lower authorities from acting inconsistently with the senior law. And preemption can […]