Westchester County Disciplinary Hearing Attorneys Serving New York

New York State Education Law Section 3214

Is your child facing suspension from school — or worse, expulsion? In New York, a superintendent’s hearing must be held for suspensions for more than five days in length.

A disciplinary hearing can result in serious consequences for any student.

However, if your child has special needs, and those special needs contributed to his or her behavior, it may not be an issue of discipline but instead an issue of disability. If this hearing involves a child classified with a disability, then a manifestation hearing must occur to determine if the disability was the cause of the behavior in question.

When representing students in disciplinary hearings whether or not they have any special needs, we believe that all children have the right to a fair hearing. In addition to a traditional disciplinary hearing, students with special needs are required by law to undergo the following:

• Fact-finding phase: This will determine whether a child is innocent or guilty.

• Manifestation hearing: This determines whether the child’s special needs have caused the conduct.

• Penalty phase: When a child who has been classified as having special needs is the subject of a hearing, there is an additional step.

Our firm has experience with disciplinary cases involving all types of students. Making our arguments at the manifestation hearing in the penalty phase, we will help the hearing officer understand how your child’s special needs were a mitigating factor in his or her conduct.

Disciplinary Matters

Our attorneys can assist your family in preparing for a hearing. If your child has special needs, his or her disability may be considered a mitigating factor in punishment if the suspension is for more than 10 days, or if this is not the first suspension your child has faced. At the Law Office of Peter D. Hoffman, PC, based in Westchester County, we have handled superintendent’s hearings for regular education students and superintendent’s and manifestation hearings for children with disabilities.

Contact Us

In all education law cases, we make arguments based on science, working with experts from a variety of fields as necessary. We work with various psychologists and other experts who are able to get everything up to speed quickly, because all hearings must occur five days after the suspension.

With offices in Westchester County, our lawyers represent families throughout Westchester County, Putnam County, Rockland County, Manhattan and the Bronx, New York. Contact us via email or call us at today for more information.