These days a college education is a ticket to a better life for many people. Education has become such an important asset to have to get a job that sustains a livelihood that can support a family. This is why disciplinary issues at a college or university are a lot more important than they sound. They can potentially result in a student getting expelled from the school that they have worked so hard to get into in the first place.
New Rules Regarding Discipline
There are many schools that are trying out new rules which allow them to punish conduct that is done by a student even if that student is not on campus when it occurs. This is a new reach by the schools as they try to control the reputation of their campus and the students who attend there. It is a bit of a reach in the eyes of some though to have a school wanting to control off-campus behavior. They just don’t think that this is fair in terms of how students are treated. It gives us all the more reasons to seek out an attorney in these situations.
Filing Lawsuits Challenging These Rules
Students and parents both have filed lawsuits throughout the country against the new rules that some universities think they can get away with. They are challenging the constitutionality of discipline being administered to a student for an action that they have taken while off-campus.
The point is that students and the parents who file these lawsuits believe that it the schools do not have the authority or jurisdiction to impose punishment for something that happens off-campus. They believe that the responsibility for that has to fall to the civil authorities in the area. For the university to take farther action against the student is not fair in the eyes of many.
Law In The Internet Age
One of the things that a lot of students are challenging is the idea that they are not free to post literally anything that they want online without facing penalties from the university. Some students fear that if they post minority political views or language that may be seen as harsh by some that they will be punished by the university for having done so. They believe that this is a free speech issue and that they ought to be allowed to say their piece without fear that they are going to be censored by the university. Again, this is another area of the law that has not been completely tested. There are a number of lawsuits that are pending against a number of universities over issues like this.
On-Campus Issues
While we have talked about how some schools are attempting to extend their reach to off-campus activities, we have to make sure to note that lawyers can be called in to deal with on-campus incidents as well. There are situations in which students legitimately do need to be disciplined for whatever action they are taking while on school grounds. That being said, many times universities overreact or do not spend enough time getting all of the evidence together to make a truly compelling case. They may jump to conclusions that are just not accurate.
Lawyers can be hired in these types of situations to protect the rights of the student. Even though university disciplines do not extend to the same extent that civil courts do, they can still be severe in terms of what they could cost to the life of the student. Getting kicked out of school for example is not something that you ever want to have to deal with.
Lawyers may be hired to fight these charges. Sometimes just the thought that a lawyer is being brought into a case is enough to get some school administrators to back off of the idea of punishing the student at all. It doesn’t always work, but it is best to show the school that you are serious about defending your rights in these situations. They need to know that you are not going to just take this all lying down. Think about it from that point of view and get on the phone with an attorney today.
