children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...

hold hearings, the reaction was shock and dismay
-anarchy seemed just around the corner. But now
that schools have had increasing experience with
suspension hearings, some officials have found that
fair procedures actually increase respect for authority.
One principal has predicted that "[a]dministrators
and teachers will come to learn that due
process will strengthen, not weaken, their positions
within their school and community.""s Another has
written that "when due process is followed ... [t]he
operation of the school can be greatly enhanced
rather than disrupted or impeded. "12·'
123 James E. Ferguson, "Due Process-Is Now," National
Associatioll of Secondary School Principals Bulletill, Vol.
57, February 1973, p. 99.
, 24 Hendrick C. DeBruin, "Education and Due Process,"
Education, Vol. 90, November 1969, p. 182.
"5 Donald V. Johnson, "Student Disciplinary Codes-What
Makes Them Tick," Speech delivered to the Annual Conference
of the Natiooal Association of Secondary School
Principals, (Dallas, Texas) February 2-7, 1973, p. 4.
It may be that the requirement of a hearing will
cause principals to suspend fewer children. Certainly,
it will screen out suspensions that are demonstrably
unfair or mistaken. But that will be a gain, not a
loss, for the public schools. A hearing may also require
principals to think twice about using suspensions
in the more marginal cases. One principal
told a conference of secondary school principals that
he re-examined the use of suspensions in his school
and determined that they were necessary in only a
minority of cases. "In some cases," he said "we
realized that out-of-school suspensions would be
needed, for example, in situations where hot tempers
as a result of a fight required cool-off time away
from school." But, for most other cases, he set up
an in-school suspension center where students could
continue their studies. "Students respect it," he concluded,
"and it has cut down on many kinds of disciplinary
problems in the school. "1'5
c) Hearings Will Create An Adversary Atmo-
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