Being involved in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and child protection issues in New Mexico, I was struck by the recent question of whether parents need lawyers for school disciplinary hearings. See Anna Stolley Persky, July 2011 issue of the ABA Journal. The article begins with a "painful case," concerning "good kid" Nick Stuban, a Boy Scout and foot ball player in Virginia, who was transferred from school under the school's "zero tolerance policy" regarding drugs and weapons, for having brought to school a capsule of the then-legal synthetic marijuana. Six days after starting at his new school, Nick committed suicide.
At the time of the incident, Nick's parents were discouraged by school administrators from bringing a lawyer to the disciplinary hearing, arguing it "would make the proceeding
unnecessarily confrontational." They did not bring a lawyer and "it was a disaster" according to Dad. It lasted about an hour an a half and was marked by "badgering" Nick and "impugning his integrity," and brought Nick and his parents, and his ill mother's nurse to tears.
unnecessarily confrontational." They did not bring a lawyer and "it was a disaster" according to Dad. It lasted about an hour an a half and was marked by "badgering" Nick and "impugning his integrity," and brought Nick and his parents, and his ill mother's nurse to tears.
As Persky notes, "[i]n retrospect, Stuban [Dad] believes a lawyer would likely have helped the family understand the seriousness of the proceeding and help prepare Nick's defense." This is borne out by the experiences of Brent Pattison, Director of the Middleton Center for children's Rights at Drake University Law School. He says "he has seen dozens of cases in which a school's disciplinary proceedings fail to conform to fundamental concepts of fairness, such as maintaining impartiality."
Persky reports that "[a]ccording to children's advocates, parents of students facing more than a short-term suspension should consult with an attorney the moment they receive notice of a disciplinary proceeding." Some add that this is particularly true "the more the school adheres to a zero-tolerance policy ... because second changes or light punishments are less likely results."
Some schools representative still discourage lawyers' presence, however, stating the concern stated in the Stuban case that it will make the process unnecessarily adversarial. Andrew K. Block, Jr., director of the University of Virginia School of Law's child advocacy clinic observes that an attorney does not have to come into the actual hearing, but should be consulted prior to the hearing.
If you are interested interested in child-related mediation or guardian ad litem (GAL) services, please contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or info@pilarvailepc.com.
