Continental Parlor 9 Hilton San Francisco and Towers Ballroom Level
Section on Education Law Victoria Jeannette Dodd, Suffolk University, Chair
Violence-Free Schools: An Achievable Objective? (And at What Cost?)
Moderator:
Victoria Jeannette Dodd, Suffolk University
Speakers:
Peter Arenella, University of California at Los Angeles Anne Proffitt Dupre, University of Georgia Paul Finkelman, The University of Tulsa Michael Heise, Case Western Reserve University
The events at Columbine High School and similar tragedies seem to reveal that public schools are places of violence and retribution. What are appropriate constitutional, statutory, and other legal remedies for dealing with this significant social problem? Are there policy downsides to any of these solutions?
Our panel will discuss various responses to the problem of school violence. Professor Heise will discuss the impacts of mandatory expulsion statutes. Professor Arenella will discuss the use of student informants and Fourth Amendment contextual issues. Professor Finkelman will address the applicability of the Second Amendment in the school setting. Professor Dupre will discuss whether the Columbine events have caused the courts to rethink the bedrock principles of Tinker.