'Kenny V. Wilson' (2021): The Criminalization of Student Misbehavior

Thirty-one U.S. states have laws that may result in students being arrested for misbehavior in school that is often considered a low-level rule violation. The problems with these laws include the vagueness and subjectivity of the language of the law. As a result, the enforcement of such laws has been criticized as being discriminatory, especially against minorities and students with disabilities. In 2016, two laws in South Carolina were challenged in a series of important cases that stemmed from an arrest made of a student who posted a video of a violent, headline-grabbing altercation in her classroom involving a school resource officer. This brief report (a) reviews the incident that led to the case in South Carolina, (b) examines the history and eventual outcome of the cases challenging the South Carolina laws, and (c) offers implications for improved practice.