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private school expulsion

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rumraisin

Guest
What is the name of your state? pa . my 15-yr old was recently expelled from a boarding school. the circumstances are as follows: there were several students who willfully chose to consume alcohol on campus. one of these students , upon returning from elsewhere on campus,casually offered my child a sip of an unidentified liquid from a plastic water bottle. my child took one sip and realized it was tainted with alcohol. the dorm parent smelled alcohol on her breath and a dean was summoned. the school reserves the right to test students, and a test would have proven that my child was not intoxicated, and that others were indeed intoxicated. the school did not obtain a test and while they cornered four students about drinking, my child was the only one who was interrogated, with four faculty members present. furthermore, the dorm parent admitted to me and my husband that the school suspected alcohol in the dorm. the school handbook states that the school reserves the right to search the dorms and a search would have yielded bottles of liquor stored in the room of a student who willfully drank that night. as parents we have the assurance the the school will provide a safe haven on campus. how could my child have anticipated that he/she would be offered a tainted drink? after a disciplinary council meeting, where my child told the truth and others implicated lied, three students were expelled. does my child have any rights on a private school campus or do they rule their own kingdom? is there hope to show my child that teliing the truth is the right thing to do? it is a terrible situation for our family to endure right now. any advice would be appreciated. contract violation by school? tort options? personal injury? discrimination?
 
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dorenephilpot

Guest
Check out your school's handbook for the handling of such incidents.

He violated the rules. He got busted. Is it fair? Maybe not. Is it legal? Yes, unless the school didn't follow it's own procedures for such incidents.

If your child is a regular education student (not a special education student), then the school can pretty much expel him for whatever reason they want, as long as they follow their own handbook and the laws in regard to notice and procedure.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here.
 

stephenk

Senior Member
here is the problem. your daughter did more than just sip the drink. just sipping would not result in a smell of alcohol on her breath when she later spoke with the dorm parent. did the dean also smell the alcohol on her breath?

The fact she told the truth(?) about only sipping the drink does not invalidate her punishment. I am sure the school has a zero tolerance policy for alcohol and drugs. Your daughter is 15, not even close for arguing she maybe old enough to drink.

Telling the truth does not mean she gets out of being punished. It just means the next school she goes to will know she drank alcohol and confessed. Better for her than the others who will have on their records that they lied about the drinking.
 

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