II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2404 

Entitled the ‘‘Fairness in School Discipline Act of 2004’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2004 

Mr. MILLER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

Entitled the ‘‘Fairness in School Discipline Act of 2004’’. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness in School Dis5 cipline Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to restore moral authority to the public 

9 schools and support their efforts to create and main10 tain an orderly school environment conducive to 

11 learning; 
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1 (2) to correct widespread misperceptions re2 garding Federal due process requirements in the 

3 public school context; and 

4 (3) to enforce the minimum Federal due proc5 ess obligations of the public schools, pursuant to sec6 tion 5 of the 14th amendment to the United States 

7 Constitution, and in accordance with the interpreta8 tion of the due process clause by the United States 

9 Supreme Court in Goss v. Lopez (419 U.S. 565 

10 (1975)). 

11 SEC. 3. DUE PROCESS REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW. 

12 (a) SUSPENSIONS OF 10 DAYS OR LESS.—In connec13 tion with suspension of public school students for 10 days 

14 or less, due process requires that the principal or her des15 ignee explain to the student what he is accused of doing 

16 and the basis for the accusation and give the student an 

17 opportunity to tell his side of the story in an informal, 

18 non-adversarial meeting. No right of appeal from the deci19 sion of the principal is necessary to satisfy this statute. 

20 The meeting should typically take place before the student 

21 is removed from school; provided, however, that where the 

22 principal or her designee determines that the student pre23 sents a continuing danger to person or property or may 

24 be disruptive to the academic process, the student may 
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1 be removed immediately. The procedures described in this 

2 subsection shall follow soon after the removal. 

3 (b) SUSPENSIONS OF MORE THAN 10 DAYS.—In 

4 connection with suspension of public school students for 

5 more than 10 days, the following due process protections 

6 are required in addition to those described in subsection 

7 (a): 

8 (1) The student and his parent or guardian 

9 should be notified of the suspension and be given an 

10 opportunity to attend an informal, non-adversarial 

11 follow-up meeting with the principal at the school or 

12 other location designated by the principal. 

13 (2) Where the meeting described in subsection 

14 (a) does not occur before the student is removed 

15 from school, the due process required by subsections 

16 (a) and (b)(1) may be afforded the student at one 

17 meeting described in subsection (b)(1). 

18 (3) The student shall be permitted a single ap19 peal of the principal’s decision to a body designated 

20 by the school board or a school-based committee of 

21 teachers, parents and administrators. No right of 

22 appeal from the decision of the designated body is 

23 necessary to satisfy this statute. 

24 (c) WAIVER.—The student shall be deemed to waive 

25 his procedural rights by remaining silent, or, where the 
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1 hearing is held after the suspension, shall be deemed to 

2 waive his procedural rights by failing to appear. 

3 (d) OTHER CLAIMS.—Nothing in this Act shall pre4 vent any person from bringing a claim based on any other 

5 legally cognizable right in a court of competent jurisdic6 tion. 

7 (e) FEDERAL MINIMUM.—Nothing in this statute 

8 should be construed to prohibit any State or local govern9 ment or local education authority from providing addi10 tional procedural protections not required by Federal law. 

11 (f) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act or 

12 its application to any person or circumstance is held in13 valid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or ap14 plications of this Act that can be given effect without the 

15 invalid provision or application, and to this end the provi16 sions of this Act are declared to be severable. 

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