The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 39, No. 2 & Volume 40, No. 1 - 223

Invisible Disabilities and the Student Conduct Process

is important before initiating any specific
conduct action. The residence life professional
should use meetings with the students and the
facts from the incident report to inform her
decision to either initiate interim actions or
begin the student conduct hearing procedures.
In this case, facts from the incident report
(e.g., Rick prodded, rather than stabbed, Carl;
Carl was laughing during the incident; Rick’s
behavior, while inappropriate, was more atypical than dangerous) coupled with contextual
facts garnered from conversations with Rick
and Carl (e.g., Carl did not feel, and has never
felt, threatened; Rick methodically describes
the amount of pressure he intentionally used
so as not to hurt Carl; Carl said this is the first
time something “funny” like this happened)
imply that she does not need to take interim
action but instead should address the behavior
through the traditional conduct process.
Initiating the conduct process prompts
more questions for the hearing officer: Was
there a violation of the code of conduct? If so,
whose actions violated the code? If there was
a code violation, what sanctions are most appropriate? Are parents/guardians likely to get
involved in this situation? And, finally, to what
extent does the passing mention of Asperger’s
Syndrome impact this case? The facts in the
incident report were verified through meetings
with the students. Rick definitely poked Carl
with a metal fork after he was awakened. In
the initial steps of the conduct process with
Rick, the conduct officer educates him about
the student conduct process and his opportunity to file a report concerning Carl’s behavior. Rick chooses not to file a report, but
the hearing officer can still address Carl’s
behavior through an educational conversa-

tion and warn him that further actions of this
nature could constitute a pattern of behavior
and therefore a violation of the code. The important thing to remember is that she must
address all the student behavior that is documented in the incident report as she would in
a situation involving any other students.
When addressing Rick’s behavior, the
hearing officer should be aware that his parents
or guardians might get involved. If they do,
she must remember that she can discuss the
student conduct process with them but cannot
divulge any specific information unless Rick
signs a FERPA waiver and wishes his parents/
guardians to be part of the process. Regardless
of the level of parent/guardian involvement,
the hearing officer needs to understand that
her responsibility is to the student; while it is
appropriate to address parental/guardian concerns and glean insights from them, the actual
conduct process should not be driven by them.
Their involvement in this specific case could
be heightened, however, as it is reported that
Rick might have Asperger’s Syndrome. Accordingly, the hearing officer can protect Rick’s
FERPA rights and provide his parents/guardians with a thorough overview of the conduct
process, using general examples with a clear
articulation of the spectrum of potential outcomes. She must also be aware that, depending
upon the unique conduct process policies at her
institution, parents/guardians could become
more directly involved by serving as advisors
or support persons during the adjudication
process; therefore, the hearing officer should
clarify these roles and appropriately educate all
parties throughout the conduct process.
Through conversations with Rick and his
parents, the hearing officer learns that Rick
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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 39, No. 2 & Volume 40, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 39, No. 2 & Volume 40, No. 1