Balancing the Rights of School Districts in Wake of Shootings

In the wake of the latest rash of school shootings, as in all those which came before, rational minds question the general role of the public school system in preventing such attacks. Why didn't the school do more to prevent this tragedy? If this keeps happening, could it be the fault of the school system?

While it is unknown whether the student perpetrators in these massacres were identified as special education students in need of emotional support, public school districts are constrained to abide by federal and state laws limiting their authority to discipline and place students in schools outside the district where they might receive needed therapeutic support.

Regarding discipline, federal special education laws do not permit expulsion of special education students if the conduct leading to the expulsion was a manifestation of the student's disability. This means that if a student identified as emotionally disturbed engages in behavior typical of that student's profile, the student simply cannot be expelled through typical discipline proceedings as would be a nondisabled student. Rather, the school district is required to complete a behavior assessment and create, or modify, a positive behavior support plan.