Honig v. Doe

At issue in Honig v. Doe (1988), the U.S. Supreme Court's first and only case on the topic, were the acceptable limits of disciplining students with disabilities under the (then) Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA), now the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA). In its analysis, the Court addressed three issues. First, the Court agreed that the case was moot for one of the two student plaintiffs because he was no longer eligible under the IDEA. Second, the Court refused to create a dangerousness exception in the IDEA, affirming that its “stay-put” provisions prohibit school officials from unilaterally excluding students with disabilities from school for dangerous or disruptive actions that are manifestations of their disabilities while review proceedings are under way; as modified, ...