15 Laws, Rights to Protect Your Child vs Unfair School Discipline or Treatment

Knowledge is power, especially so when it could be life-saving.  In public schools, parents and students must know their rights. In this article, let’s examine the 15 laws and rights that can protect your child against unfair school discipline or treatment.

Knowing these laws and rights can minimize or entirely avoid the chance of unfair treatment or wrongful disciplinary punishment: suspension, expulsion or arrest.

The disciplinary action can come from a school official or School Resource Officer (SRO) or the like.  Knowing the laws and rights may even change your child’s life forever – by preventing him/her from entering the school-to-prison pipeline.

However, the key to protecting your child from wrongful school disciplinary actions is more than just knowing the laws and rights. It also depends on how well you can coach your child beforehand to handle those sudden adverse situations that require instant strategic actions.

Disclaimer: Information provided in this article is for your general guideline only. For legal advice, please consult an attorney.

Know your rights to empower you against bureaucracy, wrongful suspension, expulsion or arrest

1. Your child’s right to request parent’s presence before answering high-pressure questions 

This is an immensely overlooked and underused right that parents should, but largely fail to, coach their child to employ when he/she is facing high-pressure questioning from a school official or, worse yet, an SRO. As such, unfortunately, your child could accidentally incriminate himself/herself with statements wrongly or unjustly interpreted by these authorities. The result: a wrongful disciplinary punishment.

So embrace this: your child, when he/she runs into disciplinary trouble at school, has the absolute right to request your presence before answering any questions from a school official or SRO. Before such a possibly intense situation happens, coach your child to speak calmly and firmly to the authority, “I would like to call my parent (or legal guardian) now, please.” Then proceed to call you immediately.

2. Your and your child’s Right to Remain Silent

Your child is vulnerable enough facing high-pressure questioning from a school official.  But when that comes from an SRO, your child could be as intimated as an ant looking up to an elephant.

One day, I met Criminal Law attorney Nardine Guirguis at our board meeting for our community organization, Wake Collaborative To Stop Bullying.  I seized the “free” opportunity and asked her to take on a student’s right to remain silent.  She gracefully stated:

“Not only would Miranda rights need to be read and consented to, but because children (i.e., minors) are unable to enter into contracts because of their lack of capacity/competency to do so, then there needs to be an additional layer of protection. Specifically, the child should not be questioned without a parent (or legal guardian) present and the parent (or legal guardian) being read the Miranda rights in order to ensure proper waiver or effectuation of them.”

So to prepare for your child’s questioning from an SRO, coach your child to calmly and firmly state, “I have the right to remain silent, and I would like to call my parent (or legal guardian) now, please.” And follow that with a call to you immediately.  You can learn more about Miranda rights here.

A case study on your child’s right to Miranda warnings and your presence:  

Last June, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a news release on its settlement agreements with Mississippi and its city Meridian. This settlement came as a result of a 2012 lawsuit filed by the department against the Mississippi Division of Youth Services and the Meridian Police Department, among other entities, on alleged violations on the rights of youths’ due process.

Part of the agreement, as stated in the news release, “requires the city police department to uphold constitutional protections following a youth’s arrest, mandating Miranda warnings as soon as a youth reasonably believes he or she is not free to leave and prohibiting officers from interviewing detained youth unless a guardian or attorney is present.”

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7 Effective Strategies to Discipline Disruptive or Disrespectful Students Without Suspension

A teacher shares her 7 Effective Strategies to Discipline Students without Suspension. Can you share yours?

How should teachers deal with students who are disruptive or disrespectful?

“Suspend them!”

This is a common conclusion you may come to. However, uCANcomplain is here to promote constructive disciplinary practices. We believe that there are better ways than suspensions to discipline students.

Frankly, I am no expert at disciplining students. Lucky me, in my bygone 10 years as an educator or tutor, I had never encountered a misbehaving student or tutee. How was that possible? It’s all a matter of mind-set.

First of all, culture helped. The majority of my educating career occurred in Hong Kong, where a teacher’s social status is highly respected. Children are taught to respect teachers even before they start kindergarten.

Also, naturally I believed my pupils were my little friends. So I bonded with them, and vice versa, at a socially equal level inside and outside the classroom.

With respect and friendship working in my favor, it is easy to understand why my little friends never gave me a hard time.

But teaching in the United States is a totally different story. To gain the knowledge from an experienced teacher on how to deal with students who are disruptive or disrespectful in the classroom, I “interviewed” my sister-in-law, Marianne. She is a highly respected 17-year veteran high school teacher in Tennessee.

S: “How do you deal with students who are disruptive or disrespectful in class?”
M: “It depends on how they are disrupting.” She suggests the following 7 strategies that have been working for her.

7 Effective Strategies to Discipline Students without Suspension

#1.  Change the seating arrangement
M: “For example, if they develop a habit of chatting with students sitting next to them, I change their seating arrangement. And the dynamic in the classroom totally changes.”

#2.  Make the student see the situation from a teacher’s perspective
M: “Or, I will bring the student out in the hallway and talk to him/her privately. I kind of put up a mirror, so they see how it looks like or sounds like from my viewpoint. And I say, ‘So what do you think I see?’ To just help them be reflective of their own behavior.”

#3.  Make the student look at oneself and realize how the teacher feels by his/her act
M: “If a student is being funny at my expense in order to get their peers’ attention, I might speak to the individual in private. I say, ‘Do you understand that you are undermining me when you do that?’

They are kind of surprised by that idea, and might respond with, ‘That’s not what I meant to do.’ I would then say, ‘I understand. But that is actually the effect. You are not just getting a laugh out of your friends; you are actually hurting me in the process.’”

#4.  Impose consequences subtly
M: “I teach 11^th graders. They will soon need to ask teachers to write letters of recommendations for the college applications process. Sometimes I have a conversation with them about this letter: ‘You know, I have to comment on your social maturity and your lack of taking responsibility for your behavior. What do you suggest that I write based on what I just observed? That paragraph in my letter looks pretty sketchy right now.’”

#5.  Call the parents
M: “For somebody who is not really engaged in the course, and does not respond to my attempts to reason with the student, I call parents/guardians. Students often understand that the adults are invested in helping them to be successful.”

#6.  Have a conference with all parties concerned
M: “Sometimes when we have a kid who is not engaged in several of the classes, we try to figure out why this individual is not involved. Sometimes we bring in all the teachers, the individual student, and the parents for a conference.

We go around the table stating what we each believe to be the student’s strengths. And say, ‘This is what I see you are capable of doing (mentioning specific observations).’ As a group of adults, we try to make the student understand that we are there to support him/her, but it is up to the student to take advantage of this by using the opportunities presented at school.

Many times kids say one thing at home and another thing at school. As a result, the adults at home and at school have a different understanding of the situation. Parents at times do not know that their student is not working at their potential.  A conference usually turns things around.”

#7. Give parents a heads-up of what to expect from both the teacher and their child

S: “A student can be disruptive because he or she is not engaged in what is being taught. And one of the reasons why a student is not engaged could be because his/her skills are not on grade level. So giving parents a heads-up certainly may avoid conflicts down the road and prepare parents for what could be coming.”

M: “Yes, we have an ‘Open Night’ event at the beginning of each school year when parents visit each of their student’s classes. At that time, I tell the parents: ‘I will check your students to see if they have the academic skills sets they need. There will be a red flag for some of them, as those students might be considered below grade level in reading comprehension or writing skills. If that’s the case, you might hear at home that ‘she doesn’t like me,’ or ‘she is picking on me all the time.’ But that could actually mean that I am intensively working with your student to strengthening skills needed to be successful in the course.

Some students are not willing or open to learning at the time. They see my attempt to work closely with them as something negative. They don’t see it as an opportunity. If that’s your child, you will get a phone call from me to let you know that I cannot do much more for your child right then, as I have trouble reaching your son or daughter.”

Thank you, Marianne. Surely, implementing these 7 Effective Strategies to Discipline Students without Suspension benefits both teachers and students. Now, they all can focus on the lessons need to be learned without wasting time on the disciplinary issues.

Related article:  Are Suspensions and Expulsions Necessary to Discipline Students For Non-violent Misconducts?

To help our teachers, please share your strategy. Tell us the best way you know or have experienced below on how to deal with disruptive or disrespectful students in the classroom without suspensions. Or simply give us your comment on this disciplinary issue.

Bullying solutions: Stories, Songs, Videos

How to Fight Bullying with Anti-bullying Songs and Videos

Finding the solutions to bullying start with finding the causes of bullying.  So what causes someone to bully? It is likely one or more of the following: prejudice, discrimination, low self-esteem, lack of positive guidance, mental disability, and/or the absence of growing up in a loving environment.

Not surprisingly, some of these factors apply to both the bullies and the bullied victims. Thus, the solutions to bullying should be focused on empowering the bullied, as well as educating both the bullies and the bullied.

Children need to learn about self-love (not selfishness), empowerment, compassion, kindness, as well as tolerance and respect for each human being. One of the best ways to teach children these valuable lessons is through telling real-life stories in anti-bullying songs and videos.

Bullying Solution: Anti-bullying Songs

Love Yourself, by Khari Toure
http://www.faithtap.com/4057/dad-sings-anti-bullying-song-to-daughter/

The story of how this song was created:
One day, Khari Toure, a poet and a music producer, was heartbroken when his daughter complained to him about being bullied at school. He wrote this song to remind her that “beauty comes in every size, color, and shape.” And he urged “every boy and girl” to “love yourself” in this song and the following chorus:

“I’m beautiful
I’m worthy
And those mean words
Can’t hurt me
I’m priceless
I’m smart
And I love myself
I’m focused on my health”

Being Kind, by Nimo Patel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJhZ64BvvFU&list=PLoRrfowKTFD1PCgRrAHTJ0ExM_B9xd8s2

The story of how this song was created:
From KindSpring.org:  “The 21-Day Kindness Challenge launched September 11th. 98 countries. 6000 people. And a collective tidal wave of good that inspired many — including young rapper-activist “Nimo” Patel at the Gandhi Ashram in India. Nimo wasted no time channeling that inspiration into an infectious music video.

“Being Kind” was created on super short notice by an intercontinental crew of volunteers working out of their living rooms. It features footage from all over the world and heart-melting appearances by the children Nimo works with in the slums. Watch, listen, and prepare to smile big at this lyrical reminder that kindness really is “all we can leave behind.”

Bullying Solution: Anti-bullying Videos

Videos on Bullying Stories and Solutions

Success Story of Helping a Boy with Disability to Win Against Bullying (above)

Success Stories of Fighting Against Bullying http://nobullying.com/category/bullying-stories/success-stories/

Success Story of Fighting Cyberbullying with Self-reliance and Courage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0OV92Yyl20

Success Story of Fighting Verbal Bullying with Compassion
https://youtu.be/JH1cGtY0H4U

Success Story of Turning a Brutal Bullying Incident Into a Positive Message to Help Others
http://abc7chicago.com/news/teen-turns-beating-video-into-powerful-message-against-bullying/1183433/

“I refuse to be held hostage by this video and my fear. I will not be a victim. I will post this video every day until something is done for all the people who continue to experience this type of humiliation.” — Mia DeJesus

Videos on Internet Safety for Children

Internet safety videos for ages 5 -10
http://www.netsmartz.org/NetSmartzKids

Comic-style Internet safety videos for ages 8 – 12
http://www.netsmartz.org/NSTeens

Teens talk about online experience videos, for ages 8 – 17
http://www.netsmartz.org/TeensTalkBack

Teens’ real-life stories about risky behaviors online videos, for ages 11 – 17
http://www.netsmartz.org/RealLifeStories

Sad Story of Deadly Consequence of Online Activity and Cyberbullying
Read about what made Amanda kill herself and how the international police force found the suspect of her bullying:
http://nobullying.com/amanda-todd-story/

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