Every student has rights that schools and other educational agencies must protect. Any school safety and supervision expert witness will emphasize the importance of school administrators and teachers maintaining knowledge of students’ rights to avoid negligence lawsuits. A school, college, summer camp, or other agency responsible for the safety and supervision of students in their custody must meet a professional standard of care that respects student rights and protects them from harm. Failure to supervise students adequately can cause injuries, abuse, death, or more and can be grounds for disciplinary action against teachers and other school staff.
School Liability Expert Group is a diversified team of education administration and supervision experts that comprises a supervision expert witness, student discipline expert, student injury liability expert, student abuse expert, and other court-qualified specialists. We have worked with hundreds of law firms and parents, schools, and other child-oriented agencies throughout the United States and Canada, handling education-related lawsuits and school liability issues such as negligent supervision of students, injuries, abuse, and more. Our experience and expertise in the field are, therefore, unparalleled.
Plaintiff and defendant attorneys can count on our experts for consultations, trial and deposition testimonies, and comprehensive report compilation in student supervision and safety litigation. Schools can rely on our supervision expert witness services for consultations, program quality reviews, staff training, and upgrade recommendations to ensure compliance with all laws, regulations, and industry standards and avoid costly lawsuits. Our team can help parents initiate and navigate lawsuits against schools for failure to supervise students adequately, leading to child harm. They can also find the best school placement for their children based on our analysis and review of child custody and special education matters of the current and prospective school. Book a call with an education expert today!
What Rights Do Students Have?
Public schools and education institutions shall not infringe on rights guaranteed to students by law. This applies to the formulation of school policies and enforcement thereof by administrators and teachers.
Racial Non-Discrimination Rights
Schools should not discriminate against minority groups of students when administering education, athletics, discipline, and more. As school safety and supervision expert witness would note, students of color tend to receive more harsh and more frequent disciplinary actions than other students in many educational institutions. Such disparities are grounds for disciplinary action against teachers and other involved staff. All school faculty should receive bias training to ensure no unintentional breaches. Our team’s student discipline expert, student injury liability expert, student abuse expert, or other specialist will work with you in cases involving violation of student supervision and safety and discipline rights based on race or other protected characteristics.
Sex and Gender Non-Discrimination Rights
When it comes to student supervision, a supervisor expert witness will explain that federal laws like Title IX prohibit public schools from discriminating against students based on gender identity or sex.
Schools are not allowed to formulate or enforce dress code policies unfairly. While a school can maintain a dress code, that dress code must be the same for all students. For instance, schools cannot require female students to wear dresses, and male students should always wear pants. To further illustrate this, imagine a school dress code policy that bans students from wearing hats and jewelry. If male and female students are breaking the dress code, but female students are being disciplined more harshly and often, then this could violate student rights. It is more often issues of enforcement that lead to student rights violation lawsuits.
Similarly, students cannot be denied access to opportunities such as scholarships or extracurricular activities because of their race, sex, national origin, or disability. In these unequal treatments and supervision of student cases, a supervision expert witness can review the facts to render an expert opinion on whether sex discrimination occurred.
Rights of Students with Disabilities
Public schools are federally mandated to protect students from discrimination based on a disability. Schools must provide equal access to all school opportunities, from academic classes to field trips for disabled students. Schools are also required to identify, qualify, and organize IEP plans, behavioral plans, accommodation plans, and other special education services for children with disabilities. Failure to supervise students with behavioral or physical disabilities appropriately can cause harm to them or other students and become grounds for disciplinary action against teachers and other staff, or negligence claims against institutions.
Our supervision expert witness, student discipline expert, student injury liability expert,and student abuse expert can provide helpful consultation services for schools looking to improve their student supervision and safety standards for students with disabilities. We can also review a case to determine whether a school met its duty to ensure fair treatment for students with disabilities.
LGBTQ+ Student Rights
Schools are not allowed to discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This type of non-discrimination applies to school rules and procedures, student supervision, and disciplinary efforts. Regardless of their identity, these students should be able to express it at school. Our student safety and supervision expert witness team understands the nuances of rules surrounding expressions of one’s sexual orientation at school.
Consider a school with a clear rule of no public displays of affection, such as kissing in the hallways, for all students. This rule does not infringe on student rights, as it applies to all students. However, it is similar to the dress code example; if this rule is never enforced for straight couples but is consistently enforced, with consequences for LGBTQ couples, a student discipline expert may find this to be a violation of LGBTQ student rights.
Additionally, CDC data has shown that LGBTQ students are at higher risk of experiencing bullying, harassment, violence, and suicide. Schools are not allowed to ignore reports of harassment and bullying, regardless of the sexual orientation of the victim or accuser, as this failure to supervise students provides grounds for disciplinary action against teachers and other responsible school staff.
Schools should engage a supervision expert witness, student injury liability expert, or student abuse expert to ensure they enact protections for these more vulnerable student populations. Ensuring student supervision and safety policies are equal for all students is vital in avoiding student rights violation lawsuits. At School Liability Expert Group, we can look into a specific discrimination case or provide tailored advice and training for a particular school to improve its current policies.
School Liability in Student Rights Violations
In most cases relating to school liability, schools are held liable for negligent supervision of students. Failure to supervise students strictly during on-campus and school-sponsored off-campus programs can result in injury or abuse. Beyond negligence, discrimination against members of a protected class or other rights violations are grounds for disciplinary action against teachers or more dire consequences.
School safety and supervision expert witness services are commonly sought in matters that escalate to litigation. These services offer an expert opinion on whether a school met the professional standard of care in protecting all students equally. Frequently, these witnesses will be specialists in a field relevant to the case, such as a student discipline expert, student abuse expert, or student injury liability expert.
Get Expert Help with a Student Supervision and Safety Issue
Whether you are an attorney, parent, school, or other child-oriented agency seeking help with any student safety, supervision, or disciplinary rights violation case, our court-qualified education experts at School Liability Expert Group are ready to assist you. Our positive client testimonials are a testament to our commitment to providing prompt, individualized, and thorough consultations and expert witness services. Book a call today to discuss your matter with a safety and supervision expert witness.