Law Blog - School: Guilty until proven innocent

I like what Anna and Tiger said regarding the microcosmic representation of society within a school system. The students are essentially
the governed, while the administration and teachers work collectively as the government. There is a simple explanation for why students
are guilty until proven innocent. It is because our school system is not a democracy, but rather an oligarchy. In this oligarchy, there are no
checks and balances, namely any system of judicial review. The courts were developed in democratic nations to essentially prevent them
from reverting to an oligarchy. Without courts to check the power of the governments, the governments would be able to exercise law in
a way most beneficial to them. And the most expedient method would be to assume someone "guilty until innocent."

Our surprise at this concept is rooted in our familiarity with a justice system which purports the opposite. However, in many other countries,
the system of law dictates that the onus is on the accused to prove his own innocence. So for those people, the way justice is brought about
in our school system would seem natural.

Although I agree with Tiger's comment in that strict liability makes sense for acts of truancy to be processed using reverse onus for the sake
of expediency, I believe that expediency cannot outweigh fairness. Students accept the reverse onus, and often try to prove their innocence.
However, they are denied their right to an impartial judge or jury. Can anyone else see the inherent one-sided-ness of having a person who
acts as JUDGE AND PROSECUTOR? So in order to preserve fairness and also maintain expediency, it is my view that a student jury be set up for
cases of relative weight - such as decisions regarding expulsion, suspension, and cheating.

In the United States, many schools have a jury of peers called the Honor Code Committee, wherein 7-8 students sit on a board with 2-3 teachers.
Major disciplinary decisions are undertaken by this de jure "court." I am currently trying to propose this idea to the Vancouver School Board, is
there anyone who thinks this may be beneficial to keeping our education fair and democratic?