Olivia F. Amlung, a Partner in the firm’s Government Practice and Civil Litigation practice groups, published an article in the summer issue of For the Defense, the national publication of the Defense Research Institute (“DRI”). DRI is the largest international membership organization of defense attorneys tasked with defending the interests of businesses, agencies, governments, and individuals in civil litigation. The article, “Student Discipline in Public Education,” navigates the delicate balance between the need to protect individual student rights while also promoting school safety in the public-school setting. Over the past few years, reports from schools across the country and media coverage indicate a surge in violent student behavior in grades K-12. As a result, public school districts across the country have been forced to confront a difficult choice – to continue in their efforts to educate students of all backgrounds and behavioral needs, or to remove these students from the classroom for the safety of others. Ms. Amlung’s article reviews trends in student discipline laws across the country, evaluates due process concerns and the unique effect that they have on these new laws, and offers helpful tips for school districts to navigate the growing minefield that surrounds student discipline in public schools.

A full copy of the published text can be found here.