"Expelled to Nowhere": School Exclusion Laws in Massachusetts

Abstract

Chapter 71, section 37H1/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws allows school principals to suspend any student charged with a felony and to expel that student if he or she is convicted or found to be delinquent. Students expelled from one school in Massachusetts have no right to attend any other school in the state. Therefore, expulsion has the potential to bring a student’s educational career to an end. This Note argues that chapter 71, section 37H1/2 of the Massachusetts General Laws is unconstitutional under both the Federal and Massachusetts Constitutions because it violates students’ right to a “minimally adequate education.” Further, this Note argues that the Massachusetts legislature should adopt House Bill 178, “An Act Relative to Students’ Access to Educational Services and Exclusion from School,” which strikes an appropriate balance between school safety and educational opportunity.