Toward an Educationally Appropriate Legal Definition of Disruptive Student Behavior

Abstract

While it is universally accepted that schools must have the authority to control student behavior which disrupts the school program or the process of education, there is room for disagreement as to the kinds of behavior that fall into that category. Administrators have tended to interpret "disruption" broadly—at the expense of student freedom. It appears, however, that only where there is a substantial degree of freedom, which means some disorder, can good education take place. The author, a Professor of Education at Emory University and a student of the problem of classroom discipline, argues from educational principles that the kinds of student behavior which it is proper to define as disruptive are more limited than has been thought.