Section 7.5 Academic Sanctions

• Library: School Law (2003 Ed. + 2016 Supp)

D. (§7.5) Academic Sanctions

Academic sanctions may involve such measures as a grade reduction or denial of a diploma. As a general proposition, academic penalties based on evaluations of the student’s academic performance are not subject to traditional due process protections. Bd. of Curators of Univ. of Mo. v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78 (1978). This is so because the nature of academic evaluation requires judicial deferral to the specialized expertise, knowledge, and discretion of the teachers and evaluators. Id. If, however, academic sanctions are arbitrary and capricious or based on reasons other than academic evaluations, courts are less reluctant to intervene. Academic sanctions must be clearly related to a valid educational purpose, with the severity of the penalty tailored to the needs of the educational purpose.

In R.J.J. ex rel. Johnson v....