Advice for Parents in Dealing with School Discipline Situations

Parents, you need to understand one thing when dealing with a principal over a student discipline issue: There are 52 cards in the deck, and the principal holds all 52 of them. With that in mind, it doesn't pay to go in ranting and raving, threatening a lawsuit, or being rude. Good schools maintain effective discipline. Poor schools fail to do so.

However, there may be times when a discipline situation is not handled correctly. School administrators can be under a lot of pressure and have great demands on their time, so it's natural to assume that mistakes will be made. I know I've made my share of them. Consider the following questions if you're not sure that your child was treated fairly:

1. Did my child receive his/her due process rights? In other words, did my child get a chance to tell his/her side of the story? Was he/she allowed to give the names of witnesses, if appropriate? Was my child informed which code of conduct was violated and the terms of the consequence administered?

2. Were you as the parent contacted about the incident? This should ideally take place on the same day the principal handled the situation, but in some instances it could be the following day.

3. Does the punishment "fit the crime?" Did the principal take into account your child's overall academic and behavioral record at the school? If it was a classroom disruption issue, were you contacted by the teacher prior to being contacted by the principal, so that you had an opportunity to correct the situation yourself?

4. Did your child follow school protocol? For example, if your child is having a problem with another student and has already reported that problem to an adult at school, was that problem addressed?

Remember to never ask, "What did the other kid get?" or "Who else was involved?" Due to student privacy laws, the administrator simply cannot tell you. If you would like to ask me about a specific situation involving your child, you can do so anonymously and I will give you my honest opinion.