Jeremy Hurd

Education Law

Assignment 4

3-1-04

Scenario 4 (Weapons and Zero Tolerance)

I think that I would respond to the school board member’s request like this:

“I understand that the student did not intend to bring the firearm to school and that the father had made a mistake in letting his son drive the vehicle to school, however, since you have notified me of the weapon, I must investigate this immediately.  If the firearm is located within the vehicle, due to our zero tolerance policy regarding this issue, I can not allow the student to return the vehicle or weapon to the father.  I am aware that the students intent was not to bring the weapon to school on purpose, but under SDCL 13-27-7, the student is in possession of the firearm and must be charged with a Class 1 Misdemeanor.  It is unfortunate that this had to happen, and I am glad that this situation was reported.  The responsibility of this incident fall upon the shoulders of the father sending his son to school with the weapon, knowing well in advance the implications of this action.  I must follow the statutes as outlined by the state and will follow procedure regarding this issue.  I will place a call to the father and schedule a meeting with the son and father to go over the policies regarding this issue and what I must do legally regarding this issue.  I am sorry, it would not be right for me to treat this student different from any other student in the school.  Do you have any other questions for me?”

Giving this type of response not only will insure that the school board member understands my obligations and the rules that have been broken, but will also allow me to talk to the parent and son about the rules so that it will not happen again.  Under the statutes, I must charge the students with a Class 1 Misdemeanor and follow the procedures outlined for me.

Scenario 5 (Control of Students)

 As stated in your notes and in the SDCL 13-32-1 and 13-32-2, school personnel may use reasonable force to keep order, protect students, school property, and themselves.  In this case the teacher was acting to use reasonable force to control a fight.  While trying to break them up, accidental force was initiated thought the teacher did not use that force to break up the fight.  Given that the teacher has disciplinary authority over the students from 32-1, and that the force that was used was both reasonable and necessary to control the fight, the teacher would not be in trouble for the accidental force used in this situation.

Scenario 6 (Search and Seizure)

This particular situation is very similar to the New Jersey v T.L.O. case.  The student was brought to me after a staff member had believed to have seen a pipe used for illegal drug use.  Under this case and due to the fact that there is sufficient evidence that there is reasonable cause to believe that the search will reveal evidence of a violation of a school rule or law, I would be within my legal rights to search this student for the paraphernalia, even if the student refused.  If the student admits that they were wrong and provides the evidence, the student has admitted guilt and the asking of that evidence would not be a violation either.  I would address the student and tell them what the teacher had seen.  I would then ask them if they had a pipe in their pocket.  If the student refused, I would explain to the student that under these circumstances, that I would have a right to search them for it unless they were to show exactly what was in their pocket.  If the pockets reveal an illegal pipe, I would be able to call the authorities and have them deal with the student regarding the law.  If the student revealed that it was something else that was not illegal, than I would offer an apology to the student and send the student on their way.

Scenario 7 (Rules)

The meaning of the statute is to have the school board of each district to assist administrators in suspensions in where a students due process is challenged for any suspension which results in more than 10 days of suspension of school, if requested by a parent.  Everyday suspensions can be administered by principals in a school for violations of school rules.  If a student brings a firearm to school and is given 15 days suspension for it, the parent could challenge the due process of the action and the school board would be involved in making sure that the correct procedure was followed.  It seems as if the statute also gives school board members the power to suspend students that they see involved in illegal activities either at the school, on school grounds, or at a school sponsored event.  The must also report these incident to authorities when they need to.  This is what I interpreted from this statute.