SPLC Action Fund Urges Support of Due Process Bill for Students in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Today, State Sen. Rodger Smitherman introduced SB 203, a bill that, if passed, would provide a uniform statewide system of procedural due process protections for students facing suspension or expulsion for alleged violations of the student code of conduct or state law. The bill would also prohibit the suspension or expulsion of any student in pre-K through fifth grade whose behavior does not endanger the physical safety of other students or school personnel. Under the bill, public schools would also be prohibited from suspending or expelling a student for truancy and tardiness violations. 

The following statement is by Mike Tafelski, senior supervising attorney for the SPLC Action Fund’s children’s rights practice group. 

“We are grateful for Sen. Smitherman’s leadership on this important bill that would ensure Alabama students are not unjustly denied access to a public education based on mere allegations of wrongdoing without any procedural steps to find out the truth. 

“The right to a public education must be fiercely guarded. Time and again, suspensions and expulsions have proven to be an ineffective and harmful discipline strategy. This bill protects students like SPLC’s clients in Montgomery who were unjustly expelled for 14 months for something they did not do. It will also protect our youngest students in pre-K and elementary schools from being subjected to exclusionary discipline for non-serious offenses. And it would remove the option of suspending and expelling students for truancy and tardiness, a senseless practice that does not address the underlying issues. 

“A uniform system across all school districts in the state, which this bill creates, will ensure that the rights of all Alabama students are applied evenly regardless of where they attend school in the state. 

“This is perhaps one of the most important bills in our lifetime to have a significant impact on school climate and the way students experience fairness in school. We strongly urge all members of the state legislature to support its passage and vote to send it to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.”