In the 1974 case Goss v. Lopez, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of students' due process rights, stating that public school students facing suspensions have property and liberty interests that qualify for Fourteenth Amendment protection. The case was initiated by nine Ohio high school students who were suspended from school without a hearing, violating their right to due process under law as per the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The court held in a 5-4 decision that even though education is not a fundamental right under the constitution, it is still subject to certain procedural protections when state action threatens to deprive individuals of such an important possession or interest.

In the dissenting opinion for Goss v. Lopez, Justice Powell argued that the majority's decision to require due process hearings in school suspension cases was an overreach of judicial authority into a realm better suited for local and state educational authorities. He contended that such disciplinary matters should be left to professional educators who are more equipped with firsthand knowledge and experience than courts. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential negative impacts on classroom discipline if students could challenge suspensions through formal hearings, potentially undermining teachers' authority and disrupting education environments. Additionally, Justice Powell questioned whether short-term suspensions truly constituted significant deprivations of liberty or property requiring constitutional protection under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause as determined by the majority ruling.