Helpful Tips Student Disciplinary Hearing

Cristina Pietri • March 3, 2023

Being accused of academic misconduct is a terrifying experience. The consequences of an investigation alone could potentially jeopardize all the time, effort, money and sacrifices you have made towards your goal of holding a college degree. Student disciplinary procedures are every day more common, and many students are caught off guard and blindsided by the time when they first learn there is an investigation against them. Whether it was a mistake, a misunderstanding or a lie from someone with an ulterior motive, the truth of the matter is that you need to understand the process in order to defend yourself.

The presence of a student advisor or attorney since the early stages of the investigation tends to make a remarkable the difference in the manner the university conducts the investigation. Under their guidance, advice and support, the student is better prepared to be wary of practices and tactics universities use that may not be in your best interests. However, the student is not always aware that there are people who work on these cases. and when they do, some of them come to us for our advice later in the process. This article is to give you some and tips – in a general sense- of things to pay special attention.

The first principle I want you to remember is that in a student disciplinary proceeding, the University is not going to help you, it’s not going to defend you and they will not conduct the investigation with your best interests in mind. Their investigation and outcome are to protect themselves from any liability or potential lawsuits, so you must to be very careful with what you say and with who you speak. I cannot stress it enough: if you are being investigated for student misconduct, and the investigator tells you that they just want to help you, don’t believe them. They are part of the University, and the school is only interested in protecting themselves from potential legal liability, even if it means at your academic or professional future’s expense. Bear in mind, that the Student Handbook or Student Code of Conduct from your school (which dictates the student misconduct process) is written by the University, enforced by the University and if there is a suspicion of student misconduct, investigated by the university. The hearing will also be before the university’s chosen panel or hearing officer, which will in turn adjudicate responsibility and impose sanctions. Not only that, but if you exercise your right to appeal, it will also be before another individual or panel chosen by the University, or school’s officials such as deans and provosts. Furthermore, school officials are professionals who have many years of training and experience in student affairs, so you will automatically be at a disadvantage. They probably see your type of case many times every day. You’re playing in their court, by their rules, made to protect them. What’s worse: those rules and regulations have been carefully prepared and curated by a team of attorneys that are highly skilled in academic matters and policy. Not only the rules are carefully made by attorneys, but they also have a General Counsel or Legal team at their disposition to consult in a wide array of matters.

I don’t mean to scare you. What I mean to say is they have all the power; they are covered by every angle and you must be prepared to present a strong case.

The student disciplinary process is made up of different stages. Not every student misconduct investigation leads to a disciplinary hearing. It’s also worth noting that every university has different rules and procedures. That being said, I want to elaborate on student disciplinary hearings, because it’s (understandably) one of the main concerns and the more formal stage of the student misconduct adjudication process

Have a Student Advisor present: My first word of advice, without any doubt, would be to exercise your right to have an advisor present at the hearing. Most universities allow the student to bring a student advisor or support person. The ideal advisor would be an attorney who has experience in student cases, or an attorney that has courtroom experience. The moment an attorney advisor gets involved in a disciplinary proceeding, the tone and process changes and they’re forced to be more thorough, diligent, and careful. Most students don’t even know that there are law firms that work with every stage of the student disciplinary process. Law firms such as the one I work with, Lento Law Group, have entire teams dedicated to Student Disciplinary Defense with plenty of experience both in Student Disciplinary Proceedings and in the courtroom. However, your advisor or support person doesn’t have to be an attorney. It can be a mentor, a parent, even your best friend. It’s helpful to have another set of fresh eyes or perspective to consult if you get confused or cornered by a school official or the hearing officer. Even if the person isn’t an attorney, having someone by your side will make you feel less vulnerable, and you would have a familiar face to be by your side in such stressful time.
Start building your case as soon as possible: the University will possibly send you a Hearing Notification Letter where they state the day, time, and place of the hearing. The Hearing Notification tends to be sent just a few days before the hearing, so it’s best if you by then have collected the mosr evidence possible to strengthen your case. The Hearing Notification letter will also give even shorter deadlines to announce your witnesses and to notify them with any evidence you intend to present at the hearing.
Notify the school of your advisor appearance: if a student advisor or support person will be attending the hearing, you must notify the school of that fact, and also provide their names.
Notify all the evidence and witnesses you intend to use within the time frame given by the school: or you may risk the chance of them objection to the evidence on the grounds it was nor provided to them in a timely manner.
Read the Hearing Notification very thoroughly: the letter is essentially the school’s entire case against you. It announces the charges against you and how they are going to prove it. That is, it usually includes a list of the witnesses for the University, a summary of their testimony along with all the documents which they will be using against you. You must make sure that they include all the evidence they say they’re providing with the notification.
Prepare your opening statement: it is not required but I always recommend students to prepare a brief opening statement, so the hearing officials or panels know what your defense is and how you intend to prove it.
Prepare your witnesses and practice their testimony: don’t “wing it”; remember you are against experienced university officials.
Once in the hearing, listen very carefully to the witnesses’ testimony against you: so, you can provide rebuttal testimony or cross-examine that witness.
In cross-examination you should focus on the part of their testimony you are positive is incorrect, inaccurate, or false.

The previous information is not intended to substitute legal advice, it is only for informative purposes. Every case is different, and an education attorney or student advisor is best educated, trained and experienced to provide you with professional advise that will adjust to your particular needs.

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The Education Department is opening fewer sexual violence investigations as Trump dismantles it

January 17, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before President Donald Trump’s administration started dismantling the Education Department, the agency served as a powerful enforcer in cases of sexual violence at schools and universities. It brought the weight of the government against schools that mishandled sexual assault complaints involving students. That work is quickly fading away. The department’s Office for Civil Rights was gutted in Trump’s mass layoffs last year, leaving half as many lawyers to investigate complaints of discrimination based on race, sex or disability in schools. Those who remain face a backlog of more than 25,000 cases. Investigations have dwindled. Before the layoffs last March, the office opened dozens of sexual violence investigations a year. Since then, it’s opened fewer than 10 nationwide, according to internal data obtained by The Associated Press. Yet Trump’s Republican administration has doubled down on sexual discrimination cases of another kind. Trump officials have used Title IX, a 1972 gender equality law, against schools that make accommodations for transgender students and athletes. The Office for Civil Rights has opened nearly 50 such investigations since Trump took office a year ago. Even before the layoffs, critics said the office was understaffed and moved too slowly. Now, many firms that handle Title IX cases have stopped filing complaints, calling it a dead end. “It almost feels like you’re up against the void,” said Katie McKay, a lawyer at the New York firm C.A. Goldberg. “It feels like a big question mark right now,” she said. “How are we supposed to hold a school accountable once it has messed up?” An Education Department spokesperson said the office is working through its caseload, blaming President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration for leaving a backlog and rewriting Title IX rules to protect LGBTQ+ students. Trump officials rolled back those rules. “The Trump Administration has restored commonsense safeguards against sexual violence by returning sex-based separation in intimate facilities,” spokesperson Julie Hartman said. “OCR is and will continue to safeguard the dignity and safety of our nation’s students.” Students have few other places to turn The layoffs have slowed work at the Office for Civil Rights across the board, but it has an outsize impact on cases of sexual violence. Students who are mistreated by their schools — including victims and accused students alike — have few other venues to pursue justice. Many are now left with two options: File a lawsuit or walk away. One woman said she’s losing hope for a complaint she filed in 2024. She alleges her graduate school failed to follow its own policies when it suspended but didn’t expel another student found by the school to have sexually assaulted her. No one has contacted her about the complaint since 2024. The woman recently sued her school as a last resort. She said it feels like a David and Goliath mismatch. “They have all the power, because there is no large organization holding them accountable. It’s just me, just this one individual who’s filing this simple suit,” the woman said. The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. The civil rights office is supposed to provide a free alternative to litigation. Anyone can file a complaint, which can trigger an investigation and sanctions for schools that violate federal law. In 2024, the agency received more than 1,000 complaints involving sexual violence or sexual harassment, according to an annual report. It’s unclear how many complaints have been filed more recently. Trump’s administration has not reported newer figures. In conversations with the AP, some staffers said cases are piling up so quickly they can’t track how many involve sexual violence. In December, the department acknowledged the civil rights backlog and announced dozens of downsized workers would be brought back to the office amid a legal challenge to their layoffs. The workers’ return offers some hope to those with pending civil rights complaints. Department officials have vowed to keep pushing for the layoffs. Historically, the feds have held schools and colleges accountable Before Trump was elected to his second term, the office had more than 300 pending investigations involving sexual assault, according to a public database. Most of those cases are believed to be sitting idle as investigators prioritize easier complaints, according to staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. The details of past cases underscore the urgency of the work. In 2024, the office took action against a Pennsylvania school system after a girl with a disability told staff she had been sexually touched by a bus driver. She was put back on that driver’s bus later that afternoon, plus the next two days. The district was required to designate a Title IX coordinator for its schools, review previous complaints and consider compensation for the girl’s family. That year, the office demanded changes at a Montana school where a boy was pinned down by other students and assaulted after a wrestling practice. The students had been suspended for three days after school officials treated it as a case of hazing instead of sexual assault. In another case, the office sided with a University of Notre Dame student who had been expelled over accusations of sexual misconduct. The student said the college never told him precisely what he was accused of and refused to interview witnesses he put forward. Cases that get attention from the federal office are being handled under federal rules created during Trump’s first term. Those rules were designed to bolster the rights of students accused of sexual misconduct. Lawyers who work with accused students see little improvement. Justin Dillon, a Washington lawyer, said some of his recent complaints have been opened for investigation. He tells clients not to hold their breath. Even before the layoffs, cases could drag on for years, he said. Others gave up on the office years ago. The LLF National Law Firm said it stopped filing complaints in 2021 in favor of suing schools directly. Lawyers at the firm said the office had become incapable of delivering timely outcomes, which was only worsened by the layoffs. Complaints can be resolved several ways. They can be dismissed if they don’t pass legal muster. Many go to mediation, akin to a settlement. Some end in voluntary agreements from schools, with plans to rectify past wrongs and prevent future ones. In 2024, under Biden, the office secured 23 voluntary agreements from schools and colleges in cases involving sexual violence, according to a public database. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, there were 58. Since Trump took office again last year, there have been none. The dismantling of the Office for Civil Rights comes as a blow to Laura Dunn, a civil rights lawyer who was influential in getting President Barack Obama’s Democratic administration to make campus sexual assault a priority. As the issue gained public attention, the office started fielding hundreds of complaints a year. “All the progress survivors have made by sharing their story is being lost,” said Dunn, who’s now a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York. “We are literally losing civil rights progress in the United States, and it’s pushing us back more than 50 years.” ___ The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

What the Next Artificial Intelligence Phase Means for School Discipline

By By: Joseph D. Lento September 8, 2025 • September 12, 2025

Artificial intelligence continues to make big changes on school campuses at all levels nationwide. Students have already learned how helpful AI tools can be for studies. Yet students have also experienced a frightening wave of school academic misconduct charges alleging misuse of those AI tools. LLG National Law Group’s premier attorneys have rallied to the defense of students accused of AI misuse, defending and defeating school misconduct charges for students at all levels nationwide. But the latest wave of AI chatbot tools threatens to once again transform the school misconduct landscape. Call 833.536.8652 now to retain the LLG National Law Group’s highly qualified attorneys if you face artificial intelligence issues with your school. Student Use of AI Tools in School To this point, students have used ChatGPT and other general artificial intelligence tools, and similar tools designed more specifically for education, to aid their studies. Students have used general AI tools to propose paper topics, suggest paper organization, flag spelling and grammar errors, and suggest improvements in writing. Students have also used general AI tools to correct problem answers, explain subjects more thoroughly, and for similar traditional study purposes. These uses of AI have made studies more efficient and productive, speeding learning. Chat Bots as the Next Phase of School AI Tools Artificial intelligence chatbots, though, are further accelerating the pace of technological change in schools. Students are now able to use platforms like Schoolhub.ai to create their own individual AI-powered chatbot as a personal study assistant, tailored to their specific needs and school program. Getting ready for school once meant buying notebooks and pencils. It later meant buying a laptop computer or tablet. Today, preparing for school may mean creating and training your own chatbot as a personal study assistant. The Discipline Risk of Chat Bots Teachers, professors, departments, and schools have all been slow in developing and publishing policies on student use of AI tools. That delay led to a first wave of student academic misconduct charges for misusing readily available, greatly helpful, and widely used AI tools. Our attorneys have been busy turning back that first wave of AI misuse charges. The new AI-powered chatbots, though, don’t just write assigned papers or answer exam problems, as specifically prohibited by many school policies. The AI chatbots are instead active student study partners, more like a human tutor than a computer program or other digital tool. Schools need to quickly modify their AI policies to help students take due advantage of these powerful new learning tools, rather than to punish students for getting the help they need. Premier Student AI Misconduct Defense Available Retain the LLG National Law Group’s premier attorneys if you are a student facing AI misconduct charges in a school disciplinary proceeding. Our attorneys are ready to help you defend your AI chatbot use or other use of AI tools. We help hundreds of students nationwide defend and defeat student code of conduct charges of all kinds. Call 833.536.8652 now for the representation you need for your best possible student discipline outcome.