Student Rights, School Discipline Are at Issue In Off-Campus Dispute

By Mark Walsh

An off-campus rock-throwing incident in San Marcos, Texas, has turned into an important legal battle over school discipline and the constitutional rights of students.

At issue is a provision in last year's rewrite of the Texas education code that is designed to keep students suspected of serious off-campus crimes out of regular classrooms.

Nationwide, some school officials have been frustrated to learn they could not prevent students charged with crimes as serious as murder from attending class when the incidents...