By Michael Beeli
Copy Editor
Mira Costa’s New Honor Court allows students to face due process by a trial of their peers when they are accused of ethics violations. Although the Court could benefit from more student input, a student Honor Court provides a beneficial step toward promoting trust and a process of accountability regarding the application of school codes.
Senior Eliza Davis proposed the Honor Court as a means of reviewing appeals to violations of Costa’s Ethics Policy and the consequences to Vice Principal Deborah Hofreiter, who approved it during the summer of 2016 before it was implemented on Oct. 6. The Court adjudicates ethics violations committed by students who wish to dispute the ruling on their case.
The Honor Court will consist of student- judges chosen from a pool by Hofreiter. These students will provide a ruling on cases, Hofreiter said. According to a La Vista Survey of 214 students, 70% believe that the Honor Court will make proceedings of ethics violations more fair by including students in the review process. Incorporating student input is a just decision that will increase trust between students and administration.
According to the website of The School for Education, a nonprofit that promotes strategies for ethics and character education, a student honor council provides an important collaboration between students and adults to support academic integrity. Costa’s Honor Court undeniably benefits students by offering an additional, more understanding venue for the process of ethics review.
Although input from student judges will influence the vice principal, the adjudicating vice principal has the final decision, Hofreiter said. If student-judges are powerless against a vice principal, the value of the Honor Court as a whole may depreciate. Regardless, the policy does provide a conservative safety net of checks and balances to prevent a potential student overrule from ever occurring.
For a student to become a judge, he or she must have no disciplinary actions or ethics violations during high school. These requirements are necessary to ensure that student-judges properly adhere to the ideals of honor and integrity, Hofreiter said. A clean record of high school conduct is a reasonable qualification for student-judges, as it is not too selective yet still helps to ensure those on the court are impartial.
It is important for students and teachers who have to abide by the administration’s decisions to partake in the process of reviewing the decisions, Davis said. Bridging the gap between administrative policy and the reality of the effects with the use of student-judges is an ingenious way to integrate students into creating a more effective review process.
According to section 455 of the Title 28 Judicial Code of the United States, jurors in courts of law are required to recuse themselves if familiar or partial to the case, yet there is no means of ensuring such integrity. The same precednt applies to the Honor Court, meaning that students participating in the school’s judicial system will experience a valuable simulation of authentic legal proceedings.
Although the judges are to be confidential on cases, recuse themselves when necessary and provide fair rulings, there will be no hesitation to remove students from the court if they are found to violate the guidelines, Hofreiter said. The above system is the best policy possible because it emulates legal court proceedings outside of high school.
Mira Costa’s Honor Court acts as an effective, multifaceted tool that provides valuable legal experience to its student-judges, builds trust and understanding in school procedure and intelligently accommodates for fair protection of rights of students accused of
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