Many years ago, I started using the phrase “jurisdictional philosophy,” which I borrowed from independent school attorney David Wolowitz of McLane Middleton, to help schools think about what student conduct they wanted to govern and how—and to what extent they intended to govern out-of-school behavior. The phrase encourages schools to think about student conduct and discipline holistically and consider their position on misconduct that occurs off campus. Wolowitz and I recently sat down to discuss these considerations.Wolowitz says that while all schools have mechanisms for regulating and responding to conduct in school and at school-sponsored events, policies and practices vary widely with regard to conduct occurring away from school—parties, social interactions among students off campus, and online conduct.
He has witnessed the evolution of conduct and discipline policies, seeing the trend change from schools limiting jurisdiction to school hours and activities to schools including language in their policies asserting either mandatory or discretionary jurisdiction over any student conduct, including students’ criminal acts or possible drinking.
One way to evolve the policies is through the use of very general policy language, often near the front of the student handbook, giving the school broad discretion to take action (or not) in response to any student conduct. However, as Wolowitz explains, many of these schools have not thought through the implications. This lack of analysis, often coupled with inconsistent policies within the student handbook, can lead to angry parents, confused administrators, and challenges for school leadership.
To avoid these issues, Wolowitz recommends that schools conduct a jurisdiction audit, which includes a thoughtful discussion about what the school wants its position or philosophy to be. This should include reviewing hypothetical scenarios and walking through how they would play out under the proposed philosophy. The next step is for schools to review all conduct-related policies and ensure that the language matches the philosophy and is consistent with the school’s goals. The entire school community should be trained on the policies to ensure they understand the expectations and consequences.
It is critical that the board is aligned with school leadership. This will minimize surprise and conflict when the school applies its philosophy to a difficult out-of-school situation. Even with this philosophy in place, schools will need to analyze each situation based on the facts and the policies and laws at play and with the school’s mission.
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