Student willful misconduct is one of the major concerns of school officials. The loss of a day's Instruction because of student misconduct or because of discipline for misconduct impacts upon individual students, the school, and society. Teachers, administrators, and legislators have sought and continue to seek solutions to these problems. This study has investigated willful student misconduct and the punishments inflicted because of this misconduct. The researcher examined corporal punishment and exclusion from school as punishments for several acts of misconduct. The research included a close examination of eight cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States while Warren Burger was Chief Justice. The purpose of this examination was to ascertain current school officials' authority over students as it was defined by the Burger Court
