STUDENTS HELPING STUDENTS: AN ALTERNATIVE TO CURRENT DISCIPLINARY MECHANISMS IN SCHOOLS
Author: Shuvo Robi Sircar
Comment discusses current and proposed disciplinary mechanisms in schools. Illustrates the notion that suspension and expulsion practices, like corporal punishment, need to be left in the past; and extolls the benefits of restorative justice models in lieu of current suspension and expulsion measures. Starts by showing how suspension and expulsion practices violate Due Process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. Next, the comment identifies some of the problems posed by these practices, how Courts have exacerbated these problems, and then highlights some of the important background issues. Finally, the comment discusses restorative justice models and alternatives to the suspension and expulsion model.