lorraineg57
Junior Member
First off, I'm in Pennsylvania.
Hey all,
Hope someone can help me out here.
My son who is 18 is due to graduate June 10. I got home from work early yesterday and he comes bopping in at 1:30 in the afternoon. Seems he got suspended for for three days for being "involved" in a food fight in the cafeteria. He got suspended by one of the two vice principals. It just so happened that I was waiting for a call from the other VP at the school. Scott's been talking about dropping out all year and this other VP who I'll call VP2 really took Scott under his wing and encouraged him to stick it out and graduate and I was just waiting for him to call me back because I wanted to make sure that he was passing all his classes, etc. So, VP2 calls me back and I mention that I want to know what happened with the food fight. He proceeds to tell me that 8 or 9 kids got 10 days suspension, their parents were called and had to come get them for starting the food fight. I said "Well, no one called me." He says "That's because it didn't concern you". I said "Well then why did Scott get 3 days out?"
He had no idea that Scott had been sent home or was involved in any way.
Scott says he admitted to VP1 that he threw food (along with half the cafeteria) and that's when he got suspended for 3 days and sent home. He wasn't even sitting with his friends when all this started, he was sitting at his girlfriends table. Scott also said that VP1 said something about having to go to a "hearing" at the school.
Flash forward to today. We get a certified letter in the mail stating that he's being disciplined for "complete disregard of school regulations" with 3 days suspension and they're considering "further disciplinary action". We have to attend a "hearing" at the school where he's allowed to present witnesses on his behalf.
I have no idea what we're supposed to "defend" him against as no one has told me exactly what he's supposedly done. Legally, don't they have to tell him in writing? Well, "complete disregard of school regulations" is pretty broad, don't you think?
They've already dealt with the kids that started it. It's my understanding that they usually have a hearing when it's a 10 day suspension, not 3 days. I thought they'd already decided on his part in it (throwing food) and doled out his punishment, the 3 days. I don't understand how they can now make him go to a hearing to decide his punishment? And if he's to have a hearing to decide whether "further action" should be taken, shouldn't he have not gotten the 3 days? From what I've found online, if he's to have a hearing for a 10 day suspension, he should be allowed to attend classes until the hearing? It seems to me like they're kind of trying him twice for the same offense?
The school is telling me I can get all my questions answered at the hearing...well, isn't that a little "after the fact"? He'll be done with the 3 day suspension by then. You can ask fellow students to testify on your behalf, but the school requires that those students parents be present. How the heck am I supposed to expect these parents to miss work because my son needs their kid to testify on his behalf?
Also, apparently almost half the cafeteria was throwing food. One kid threw a food tray and didn't get any disciplinary action.
Can anyone offer any wisdom here?
This is a school district BTW that suspended over 40 kids earlier this year for wearing Tshirts that said "***** Area Penitentiary". It was in the local paper and everything.
Lorraine
Hey all,
Hope someone can help me out here.
My son who is 18 is due to graduate June 10. I got home from work early yesterday and he comes bopping in at 1:30 in the afternoon. Seems he got suspended for for three days for being "involved" in a food fight in the cafeteria. He got suspended by one of the two vice principals. It just so happened that I was waiting for a call from the other VP at the school. Scott's been talking about dropping out all year and this other VP who I'll call VP2 really took Scott under his wing and encouraged him to stick it out and graduate and I was just waiting for him to call me back because I wanted to make sure that he was passing all his classes, etc. So, VP2 calls me back and I mention that I want to know what happened with the food fight. He proceeds to tell me that 8 or 9 kids got 10 days suspension, their parents were called and had to come get them for starting the food fight. I said "Well, no one called me." He says "That's because it didn't concern you". I said "Well then why did Scott get 3 days out?"
He had no idea that Scott had been sent home or was involved in any way.
Scott says he admitted to VP1 that he threw food (along with half the cafeteria) and that's when he got suspended for 3 days and sent home. He wasn't even sitting with his friends when all this started, he was sitting at his girlfriends table. Scott also said that VP1 said something about having to go to a "hearing" at the school.
Flash forward to today. We get a certified letter in the mail stating that he's being disciplined for "complete disregard of school regulations" with 3 days suspension and they're considering "further disciplinary action". We have to attend a "hearing" at the school where he's allowed to present witnesses on his behalf.
I have no idea what we're supposed to "defend" him against as no one has told me exactly what he's supposedly done. Legally, don't they have to tell him in writing? Well, "complete disregard of school regulations" is pretty broad, don't you think?
They've already dealt with the kids that started it. It's my understanding that they usually have a hearing when it's a 10 day suspension, not 3 days. I thought they'd already decided on his part in it (throwing food) and doled out his punishment, the 3 days. I don't understand how they can now make him go to a hearing to decide his punishment? And if he's to have a hearing to decide whether "further action" should be taken, shouldn't he have not gotten the 3 days? From what I've found online, if he's to have a hearing for a 10 day suspension, he should be allowed to attend classes until the hearing? It seems to me like they're kind of trying him twice for the same offense?
The school is telling me I can get all my questions answered at the hearing...well, isn't that a little "after the fact"? He'll be done with the 3 day suspension by then. You can ask fellow students to testify on your behalf, but the school requires that those students parents be present. How the heck am I supposed to expect these parents to miss work because my son needs their kid to testify on his behalf?
Also, apparently almost half the cafeteria was throwing food. One kid threw a food tray and didn't get any disciplinary action.
Can anyone offer any wisdom here?
This is a school district BTW that suspended over 40 kids earlier this year for wearing Tshirts that said "***** Area Penitentiary". It was in the local paper and everything.
Lorraine
