Disability Law Commons^™

A Study In Double Standards, Discipline, And The Disabled Student, Anne Proffitt Dupre

Washington Law Review

School violence and other school discipline issues erode trust and confidence in our public schools and inhibit students from obtaining the education necessary to participate meaningfully in our nation's democratic and political institutions. This Article examines an issue of school law that appears almost insoluble-what one judge has called the "exquisitely difficult" issue of school discipline and the disabled student. The issue is governed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, enacted in 1975), which imposes significant constraints on school authorities who wish to discipline disruptive or violent disabled students. School officials have stated that IDEA left them powerless …