What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
arizona
a friend of mine was using the computer at our school. He was using the public account and found another student's essay. as a joke, my friend made various changes to the essay and then printed it out. he brought it to lunch and showed it to me. after sharing a few laughs about it i wrote down some additional changes that i thought would be funny as well.
obviously this is the classic tasteless joke gone wrong scenario.
another student found out what was going on and took the essay to the Vice Principal. Later in the day i was called out of class and she confronted me about the essay. i told her that i knew nothing about it. she asked me for a handwriting sample and i gave it to her. i was sure to write differently than i normally do. and she sent me back to class.
i was absent the next day. but the friend who printed out the essay told me that he was confronted in the principals office about the essay. he told me:
"I told them i found the paper in the computer lab behind my computer and it was already written on. I thought it was funny so i showed it to you. Then the principle pulled out some assignments from class. one of yours and one of mine. He told me 'I think I know who it was.' and i said i didn't do it and then he said 'Oh i know you didn't do it. But i think you know who did.' and i said 'nope.' Then he asked me if i was sticking to my story and i told him yes. he said 'whats on the line for you here?' so i said 'graduation.' and he said 'Yup.' so i said 'You can't keep me from graduating just because i don't know who did it.' and the principal said 'No. But you took it from the computer lab and that's stealing and i can suspend you for that.' Then he said 'This investigation isn't over. I'll have consequences for one of you if not both of you tomorrow.'"
So, i guess my question is, what can the administration do at this point? Can my schoolmate indeed be suspended for stealing? Or is he just trying to intimidate him?
arizona
a friend of mine was using the computer at our school. He was using the public account and found another student's essay. as a joke, my friend made various changes to the essay and then printed it out. he brought it to lunch and showed it to me. after sharing a few laughs about it i wrote down some additional changes that i thought would be funny as well.
obviously this is the classic tasteless joke gone wrong scenario.
another student found out what was going on and took the essay to the Vice Principal. Later in the day i was called out of class and she confronted me about the essay. i told her that i knew nothing about it. she asked me for a handwriting sample and i gave it to her. i was sure to write differently than i normally do. and she sent me back to class.
i was absent the next day. but the friend who printed out the essay told me that he was confronted in the principals office about the essay. he told me:
"I told them i found the paper in the computer lab behind my computer and it was already written on. I thought it was funny so i showed it to you. Then the principle pulled out some assignments from class. one of yours and one of mine. He told me 'I think I know who it was.' and i said i didn't do it and then he said 'Oh i know you didn't do it. But i think you know who did.' and i said 'nope.' Then he asked me if i was sticking to my story and i told him yes. he said 'whats on the line for you here?' so i said 'graduation.' and he said 'Yup.' so i said 'You can't keep me from graduating just because i don't know who did it.' and the principal said 'No. But you took it from the computer lab and that's stealing and i can suspend you for that.' Then he said 'This investigation isn't over. I'll have consequences for one of you if not both of you tomorrow.'"
So, i guess my question is, what can the administration do at this point? Can my schoolmate indeed be suspended for stealing? Or is he just trying to intimidate him?
