Whenever a school makes a procedural error during on-campus disciplinary processes, such errors can be grounds for an appeal, which can overturn the original decision. This makes it essential to recognize such errors in any kind of disciplinary proceedings, regardless of the nature of the student’s offense.

A New Jersey education attorney is trained to catch procedural errors and take advantage of all opportunities to yield a positive outcome for their clients based on the error. Because of this, students facing disciplinary actions should work with an education attorney during disciplinary proceedings or consult with one to know if they have solid grounds to appeal their case on campus or in court.

Procedural errors can differ significantly depending on the kind of proceeding and the school’s rules. But the following are common procedural errors in disciplinary proceedings:

Not Giving Notice

Under state and federal allows and school policies educational institutions should give a notice in a certain way before they take action. Usually, the notice must be written and given to the student in question within a particular timeframe.

Schools usually do not comply with laws or their policies when it comes to giving enough notice. This notice could include notifying a student of their rights, or giving time to respond to an issue before a conference, hearing, or disciplinary action.

When an education attorney looks for grounds to appeal an administrative decision, they review the notice requirements and examine the timeline in detail, so they can determine whether the institution gave enough notice. To make this effective, the attorney will have to analyze the requirements once the process starts and collect evidence to show a lack of sufficient notice when the violation happened.

Not Complying with Other Procedural Requirements

School policy manuals and legal schemes usually include a lot of requirements for disciplinary proceedings. Not complying with these could grounds for a change in outcome or an appeal.

For example, under Title IX laws, educational institutions cannot provide informal resolution as an option before the filing of a formal complaint in a Title IX case. Suggesting informal resolution methods like mediation without a formal complaint is a violation of Title IX’s procedural requirements.

Evidence-Related Mistakes

Educational institutions make procedural errors with matters that involve evidence. They may not permit a student to present evidence in their defense or tell decision-makers to ignore certain evidence. Schools may withhold evidence that must have been shared with all the parties involved in a proceeding. Sometimes, they may not retain evidence like erasing a recorded interview to prevent one party from verifying allegations that a party involved has changed their testimony. Also, schools may not let a student challenge the accuracy of evidence.

Rules Application

In cases like a Title IX complaint that involves sexual misconduct allegations, where an educational institution is expected to balance a complaining student’s interests with a responding student, the school should give equal treatment to both students. If the school lets one student submit evidence to support their case without letting the other do so, it violates the student’s due process rights. Likewise, if the institution a student to have an attorney present during a conference or hearing, this opportunity must also be given to the other student.

Recognizing procedural errors during disciplinary proceedings in schools is the first step to protecting the rights of a student. Such errors must also be brought to the right authorities’ attention to improve the outcome of the case. Such a process is different depending on the kind of proceeding involved and the timing. An education attorney can recognize procedural errors and use these errors to offer an advantage to their client.