History of Due Process and Student Conduct

Higher education has long benefited from student activism and historical movements, including how colleges and universities attend to issues of student misconduct. Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education has become the benchmark for student conduct cases. In a landmark decision reversing a long history of case law, the court held that the right to a state-supported education cannot be taken away from an individual without due process of law. The concepts, safeguards and requirements articulated in the Declaration of Student Rights and Responsibilities of the student handbook and our university-wide conduct system were framed by the outcome of this pivotal case. 

The bravery of Joseph Peterson, Bernard Lee, St. John Dixon, Edward E. Jones, Leon Rice, Howard Shipman, Elroy Embry, James McFadden and Marzette Watts, and others involved in the 1960 sit-ins, remind us that the fundamental right to due process and free expression must be protected. UNH affirms its commitment for students to safely exercise their rights (or not) under the First Amendment in statement and the University’s Freedom of Expression Policy and Guidelines on Peaceful Dissent.

Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education, 1961

Motivated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words in an interview on February 22, 1960, 35 Alabama State College students conducted a sit-in on February 25, 1960, at a segregated lunchroom located in the Montgomery County courthouse in protest of the Whites-only policy.

Shortly after the sit-in, Alabama Governor John Patterson, ordered Alabama State College president, Harper Councill Trenholm, to expel any student involved in the sit-in. Governor Patterson threatened future institutional funding and declared that “…the citizens of this state do not intend to spend their tax money to educate law violators and race agitators…” In statements to the press, Governor Patterson said that his demand for expulsion of Alabama State College students was aimed primarily at the “ringleaders” of the protests. 

After a week of protests, Governor Patterson bypassed President Trenholm and directed the Alabama State Board of Education to expel nine students and put twenty on probation for participating in the protests. On February 25, 1960, nine students were summarily expelled from Alabama State College for engaging in a sit-in to confront segregation at the Montgomery County courthouse.

The Board sent letters to the students claiming the right to expel them without notice or a hearing under the College’s in loco parentis authority for “Conduct Prejudicial to the School and for Conduct Unbecoming a Student or Future Teacher in Schools of Alabama, for Insubordination and Insurrection, or for Inciting Other Pupils to Like Conduct”. The court transcript revealed that members of the Board voted to expel the students for violating state segregation laws of Alabama: Separation of Race in Public Ordinance.

The expelled students challenged the decision in court; however, the litigation did not focus on segregation. The College’s procedural violations were more relevant than the students’ motivations to challenge separate but equal practices at the courthouse. In Dixon v. Alabama State Bd. of Ed.,  294 F.2d 150 (5th Cir. 1961), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 930 (1961), the Fifth Circuit held that students attending public universities had a protected interest in remaining in good standing and completing their education, and, therefore, were entitled to a minimum level of due process protections prior to being expelled for misconduct.

As a public institution, students enrolled at UNH must be afforded, at a minimum, the following to meet the principle of fundamental fairness:

• Notice outlining the allegations and specific charges that may have violated a rule or policy. 
• A fair and impartial hearing.
• An opportunity to prepare, be heard and speak in one’s own defense.
• The results and findings of the hearing presented in a written report open for the student to inspect.

_References: 
 

_{Castleberry, F. (1960, February 29). Governor’s expulsion orders aimed primarily at sitdown ringleaders. Alabama Journal.
ASU Student Sit-In Newspaper Clipping File Collection. Archives Dept., Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL.}

_{Hines, D., & Ingram, B. (1960a, February 26). Expel Negro sitdowners, college told: Alabama State president given mandate in governor’s office. Montgomery Advertiser.
ASU Student Sit-In Newspaper Clipping File Collection. Archives Dept., Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL.}

_{Transcript of proceedings. (1960, August 22). Trial Transcript in Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education.
National Archives (Transcript of Record for Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education, 5th Cir.), Fort Worth, TX.}