Drafting & Enforcing Dismissal, Suspension & Readmission Policies – On-Demand Training

Safeguard Your Students’ Health & Minimize Your Institutional Liability

Failure to create clear policies and procedures that follow legal and ethical guidelines, adequately address privacy concerns, and support student safety could lead to costly litigation, a public relations nightmare or worse: a student injury or death. As an institution, you have a duty to take varying levels of “reasonable action” to protect your students from inflicting foreseeable self-harm, as well as from foreseeable violence by others.

Our expert presenter Hannah Ross, General Counsel and Chief of Staff at Middlebury College, reviews the legal background — including several precedent-setting cases, core risk management principles, behavioral contracts and voluntary/involuntary leaves, and best practices for supporting students who are at risk of self-harm or harm to others.

Be able to better separate those who will have suicidal thoughts from those who will make a suicide attempt, as well as those who are dealing with complex mental health issues; differentiate between Title II and ADA implications; consider reasonably available interventions for students at risk of self-harm versus hurting others; and connect these models to create a campus-wide approach to improving the safety and learning experience for all students. Safeguard your campus community and uphold the mission of your institution.

Topics Covered

As a result of this training, you will be able to:

• Examine legal developments in current cases and previous cases to help inform good practices for supporting at risk students – create clear policies and procedures that encourage appropriate communication between divisions, address privacy concerns, protect the health and safety of students, and minimize institutional liability.
• Clarify how the DOJ’s definition of direct threat under Title II of the ADA applies differently to the risk of harm to self – versus harm to others – develop clear and compliant policies to address students’ voluntary and involuntary leave, craft appropriate behavioral contracts, and return from leave processes.
• Develop familiarity with evaluating accommodations and weighing what is reasonable, including academic, residential, and conduct requirements and expectations, in contexts where a student’s safety and well-being are at risk – evaluate, report and document appropriately to protect students and the institution. 
• Initiate a campus-wide dialogue with faculty, staff, administration and students on the current mental health crisis and campus policies that address “students of concern” – appropriately identify and mitigate reasonably foreseeable risks of self-harm or violence to others in compliance with the ethical and legal standards and ensure post-vention protocols are in place to reduce future risk.
• Identify the core components of institutional negligence and liability – develop risk management strategies that protect your institution and students from inflicting self-harm or other foreseeable violence and remain compliant with the law.

Presenter

Hannah Ross currently serves as the General Counsel, Chief of Staff, and Secretary to the Corporation at Middlebury College in Vermont.
Click here for full bio.