Authors

Ashton Tuck Scott

Goss v. Lopez as a Vehicle to Examine Due Process Protection Issues with Alternative Schools

Abstract

Circuits are split on whether students are entitled to procedural protections before school officials may force them into alternative schools. This Note argues that students facing an involuntary transfer to a disciplinary alternative school are entitled to procedural protections under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Part I explains the trend toward the use of disciplinary alternative schools and the social and educational harms that these schools exacerbate. Part II explores the current circuit split around the procedural due process rights of students facing involuntary transfer to an alternative school. Part III argues that courts should expand the Supreme Court's holding in Goss v. Lopez to ensure students receive due process protections before being involuntarily transferred to disciplinary alternative schools. Part IV addresses counterarguments and concludes that, by extending procedural protections to students facing involuntary alternative school transfers, courts can protect those most vulnerable from harmful disciplinary actions.

This abstract has been adapted from the author's introduction.

Repository Citation

Ashton Tuck Scott, Goss v. Lopez as a Vehicle to Examine Due Process Protection Issues with Alternative Schools, 63 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 2091 (2022), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol63/iss6/7