Alabama Students One Step Closer to Due Protections they Deserve

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Senate today passed SB 203, a bill that would create procedural due process rights for students facing exclusionary discipline, including suspensions and expulsions from school.  
 
The following statement is from Mike Tafelski, senior supervising attorney for the SPLC Action Fund:  
 
“With today’s passage of SB 203, Alabama students are one step closer to receiving the due process protections they are entitled to under the law, reversing a decades-long practice of disregarding these rights in schools across the state.  
 
“No one should be deprived of the due process rights that define our democracy, including children. All students have a right to defend themselves against accusations that threaten to push them out of school. They are entitled to proper notice, a hearing and all the procedures that come with it to ensure they have a meaningful opportunity to be heard, and the evidence is thoroughly and objectively evaluated.  
 
“Alabama is the only state in the Southeast that does not include student due process rights in state law. It is time that changes.  
 
“We are urging Alabama House representatives to take up this issue and vote in favor of adding these crucial protections for students to state law. The futures of our students, particularly Black and Brown students who are disproportionally impacted by exclusionary discipline, depend on it.”