Tag Archives: Suspension

“BUT IT WASN’T A REAL GUN”: WHEN YOU ARE ACCUSED OF BRINGING A WEAPON TO SCHOOL

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You and your friends love playing gags on each other. Today at school, you brought a squirt gun, and you thought it would be a riot to soak your best friend between classes. The squirt gun, while gray, looks too cheesy to be real, so you figure no one could possibly mistake it for a real gun, and besides, it only shoots water. But just as you take the squirt gun from your locker, school security pulls you aside. Next thing you know, you’re in the principal’s office facing expulsion.

What went wrong? What can you do?

With high profile school shootings in the news, schools have an understandable interest in maintaining school safety. The school feels it cannot be too careful in keeping weapons out of school. Besides that, the Gun-Free Schools Act requires any school receiving government aide to expel for at least one year any student determined to have brought a firearm to school.

But it was only a squirt gun, right? Nonetheless, under some the policy of some schools, even a look-alike weapon can result in disciplinary action.

If you find yourself in this situation, there is still hope. Maybe classifying your object as a “weapon” or “look alike” is too big of a stretch even under the school weapon policy. Maybe the school failed to follow proper procedure in disciplining you. Maybe you can still obtain a reduced sanction. An experienced attorney can help determine the best strategy to fight the charges. Besides evaluating your options, an attorney can help prevent you from digging yourself into a deeper hole by advising you not to talk about the case or to take down your Facebook or My Space page.

If you have questions about your situation, feel free to contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com for advice.

BUT I WASN’T AT SCHOOL: WHEN YOU ARE DISCIPLINED FOR SOMETHING YOU DID OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL GROUNDS

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You were at a party at your friend’s house, while his parents were out of town You were swigging on some beer having a blast, when someone took a picture. Next thing you know, someone emailed that picture to your high school principal, and now the school is threatening to suspend you.

How is that possible? What are your options?

The reality is that schools have a lot of leeway in disciplining someone for violating their rules, even if the student is off school grounds. If the event is somehow school sanctioned or initiated, like a parade or a club, you can be held responsible even though you weren’t at school. One important Supreme Court decision upheld the disclipline of an Alaska student for marching in a school parade with the sign “Bong Hits for Jesus.” The Supreme Court felt that since it was a school parade, the school had a valid interest in preventing the promotion of drug use. Therefore, the student did not have First Amendment rights and could be punished.

While usually there is some connection between the school and the student’s actions, that is not always the case. The party in the example above is not connected to the school in any way. However, some school officials take the position that once the picture is sent to them, the illegal drinking has come into the school and is now open to discipline. This can be true even when the person only sent the photo to get you in trouble.

The Glenbrook Powder Puff case is a locally famous example. At a “powder puff” football game, some seniors bullied junior students in several ways including kicking, beating and spraying them with animal urine. While the acts did not take place on school grounds nor at a school-sanctioned event, the district suspended the girls under its hazing policy.

If you should find yourself in one of these situations, the best thing to do is contact an attorney immediately for advice. Maybe there is some question about whether you actually committed the acts being disciplined. Or maybe the school has failed to follow its own discipline procedures. A careful review of school policy can sometimes yield a solid avenue for a defense. A skilled attorney can help you navigate through this minefield and help improve the outcome.