An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 15 – Student Discipline

Section 3 D ISCIPLINARY I NVESTIGATIONS If a teacher, administrator or staff member receives a report of student misconduct, the school should be prepared to investigate the report or incident and take appropriate corrective and disciplinary action. The following are some guidelines and suggested best practices in conducting disciplinary investigations. A. G UIDELINES FOR I NVESTIGATING R EPORTS O R I NCIDENTS O F S TUDENT M ISCONDUCT . The scope of an investigation will depend on the underlying misconduct or allegations at issue. Generally, however, the investigation process should include consideration of the following:  The person(s) designated to conduct investigations. Consideration should

be given to the credibility, authority, training and experience of the individual. The demeanor, character, and ability of the investigator to remain impartial are also important factors. In larger schools, the investigator is often the dean of students or division head. In smaller schools, it may be the assistant head of school or duty officer for that day. For incidents that involve greater publicity, allegations that involve high- level school employees, or investigations that may become cumbersome due to complicated facts and/or a larger number of witnesses, schools may want to consider hiring an outside, third-party investigator.  Training for persons who are designated to conduct investigations. Investigations conducted by persons who have not been trained in conducting investigations are vulnerable to legal challenges. Disputes around disciplinary actions will often focus on the investigation and whether it was conducted promptly and fairly. Therefore it is essential that individuals conducting disciplinary investigation be trained in how to conduct investigations. In addition, an investigator will often be required to make credibility determinations in order to reach findings about what most likely occurred. An investigator who does not have the training or experience in making credibility determinations – and being able to articulate the bases for those credibility determinations – will leave the investigation vulnerable to legal challenge as well.  The timeline for conducting investigations. Investigations should be done in a prompt and timely manner, so that incidents will be fresh in the minds of the persons involved and evidence will be available.  The procedure for conducting investigations. Schools may consider requiring that written and signed statements be obtained from all witnesses. In addition, the individual responsible for investigating a report of student misconduct should be required to generate a final written report that summaries the allegations, each witness’ statement and the investigator’s findings at the conclusion of the investigation.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 519