Expulsion Based on Student's Arrest Unconstitutional, Says Court
by
Joseph C. Maya on Apr. 26, 2017
Other Education Civil & Human Rights Constitutional Law Civil & Human Rights Civil Rights
Summary: Blog post on the constitutionality of expelling a student for being arrested off of school grounds.
If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .
In the case of Packer v. Thomaston Board of Education, a student requested a temporary injunction against the board of education that alleged a violation of his constitutional rights for his wrongful expulsion from school. In law, an injunction is a court order that keeps a person or organization from beginning or continuing an action threatening or invading the rights of another. An injunction can also be used to compel a party to carry out a specific action. In the case at hand, the student requests the court restrain the school board’s ability to expel him from school.
The student was expelled as a result of his arrest, off school grounds, when police discovered two ounces of marijuana in his car. Connecticut law provided that a board had the power to expel any pupil whose conduct off school grounds was in violation of school policy and seriously disruptive to the school’s educational process.
The court found this law to be unconstitutional, because it did not adequately explain to an ordinary person exactly was permitted and prohibited under the law. There was no standard for when a board’s expulsion was appropriate. As a result of this law’s vagueness, the school board had made several unfounded conclusions in their determination of the student’s expulsion. “A review of the transcript of the hearing reveals little if anything, but hearsay, innuendo and suspicion” said the court. “There is no testimony regarding disruption of the educational process except that some teachers talked about the arrest. Even were the statute to pass constitutional muster, there is no evidence in this record to support the board’s action.”
If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.
Source: Packer v. Thomaston Bd. Of Educ., 1998 Conn. Super. LEXIS 65 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1998)