Dr. James E. Shaw

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SCHOOL'Z IN
An Advice Column to Help Increase: (1) Awareness of the Welfare and Safety Needs of Children; and (2) Parents’ Knowledge About School Policies
by James E. Shaw, Ph.D. (“Dr. Jim”)

Dr. James E. Shaw has been a public school teacher, counselor and administrator for over 25 years. He currently is a professor at El Camino Community College where he teaches law courses (“Administration of Justice: Juvenile Delinquency and Legal Procedures”) in the Police Sciences curriculum. Additionally, as Director of Child Welfare for the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (CA), he prosecuted parents and children in the Norwalk Superior Court’s Truancy Division. He is a favorite and frequent media guest and has appeared with his best-selling book, Jack and Jill, Why They Kill, on The Larry Elder Television Show, NBC Today Show, Good Morning America, O’Reilly Factor, MSNBC Live, CNN (where the book was described as “the smart answer for today’s troubled times”), FOX News, Court TV, and AP Radio. His book is the product of his four-year in-person/in-prison research on students—girls and boys—incarcerated in state prisons for having committed acts of murder and homicide.

He is also the author of the B.R.A.V.E. (“Be Resilient Avoid Violence Everywhere”) curriculum, a violence education and prevention program for middle and high school students. B.R.A.V.E. has been cited by the F.B.I./ATF Philadelphia Regional Office as an “…example of best community practices.” Dr. Shaw is a national Court-certified Expert Witness and is an associate member of the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California Gang Investigators’ Association, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Dr. Shaw is the recipient of the California State Legislature’s “Certificate of Recognition” for his research and writings on children and families. A much-in-demand national public speaker, he is represented by Jodi Solomon Speakers Bureau, Boston, Massachusetts. His written work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times. Commissioned by the government of Japan, he was a co-writer of the three-volume English instruction books for middle-schoolers, We Love English! As a subject, he has been featured in TRIAL magazine (published by American Association of Trial Lawyers), Seventeen magazine, and Newsweek magazine.

In light of the horrific and catastrophic “9/11” terrorist attack on America, and the nation’s around-the-clock efforts to improve and increase homeland security, this Blog aims to be as important an “educator” for families as their local school system is. “School Days” can give you—parents and families—choice and control in your school lives to replace chance and confusion. Most of the nation’s 120 million-plus public school students and their parents are ignorant of the various state and federal laws pertaining to school-age minors. Unfortunately, it is only when they are caught in the crushing grip of a law after committing a sanctionable (punishable) offense, that most students and, of course, their parents struggle to understand their predicament and their legal rights. Going to school in today’s America is a prospect often fraught with more chance than choice. Students and parents need not be caught up, unaware, about laws affecting them in areas where their ignorance may be viewed as no excuse.

This “School Dayz” advice column Blog will inform you about how various laws impact your school-age children and you. Our intent is to bring parents out of vast clouds of ignorance and into the vibrant light of knowledge and understanding.

1. Dear Dr. Jim:

What are your opinions about the Long Beach, California trial and judge’s decision about the tragic beatings of three white girls by a couple of dozen or more black youths spewing racial slurs and profanities? I am appalled that a 6-month jail term was given to the perpetrator who killed a shark last year at the Long Beach Aquarium and the only “sentence” the 10 youths on trial just received was “house arrest,” whatever that is. Am I missing something here?

Signed,

Missing Something

Dear Missing:

For starters, each of the youths found guilty ought to have been given harsh sentences consistent with the hate –crime enhancement added to their original charge of assault-and-battery-with-great-bodily-injury. Further, use of a Gang Expert Witness might have shown the perpetrators to be members of the “Baby Insane Crips,” a rumor that began pre-trial and still persists. A gang membership finding would automatically activate the S.T.E.P. (Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention) Act. If evidence showed the heinous acts to be part of a gang activity, then the state’s legal mandate of an automatic, non-negotiable 10-year prison term would have to be obeyed; that law cannot be subordinated or ignored, even by judicial preference. I did not follow the trial closely, so I do not know whether a Gang Expert was called in to testify. We have institutions called California Youth Authority juvenile prisons to house such out-of-control, animalistic-type youth. The California Youth Authority even has a “Violent Offenders” mandatory-attendance program for such youth. The Parole Board is so insistent that violent youths be rehabilitated and take responsibility for their heinous, social acts, that any CYA youth who misses his or her mandated program must explain, verbally, to the Parole Board why something else seemed to be more important. I spent many years inside the CYA conducting research on boys and girls incarcerated for committing murder and homicide. They were all extremely contrite, repentant, and in great fear of society’s view of them. One young female even asked me to reveal her name to the public, such was her self-loathing of the act of homicide in which she participated: the slaying of two elderly women. Like you, I am greatly saddened about the judge’s decision to simply send these criminally-inspired youths home. Essentially, they got a free ride for the extreme pain and great bodily injuries they afflicted. The judge has to take some responsibility for the eventuality that the responsibility and rehabilitation he hopes to inspire in these youths, by giving them such a huge break, could well never take place. Being given “house arrest” and returned to the community (instead of taken from it), they could very well view this gift as their well-earned reward and another plume for the “Baby Insane Crips” gang.

2. Dear Dr. Jim:

My two boys just got released from a juvenile hall in Downey. They said they had a great time, the food was bad, but they met some guys who were in the same gang they’re in, here at home. I’m a little worried that their arrest records will follow them and keep them from getting good jobs. They tell me that I’m thinking “back-in-the-day” and that in the 21st Century, every juvenile criminal’s record is sealed automatically, as soon as he turns eighteen. Who’s right…me or them?

Signed,

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Dear Between:

Your sons are hopelessly wrong. They appear to be duped by jailhouse trash talk. You say they both had a good time in juvenile hall, and that causes me concern. Why? They may likely violate their probation conditions ard get re-arrested, looking forward to another “good time.” You ought to feel bad that they feel good about their juvenile hall incarceration. Every juvenile who has been in trouble, must expend effort and finance to have his or her record sealed as soon as s/he becomes eligible to do so. When a record is sealed, all records of the juvenile’s arrest, detention, prosecution and conviction are physically sealed off and/or destroyed. This sealing process is not automatic and incarcerated juveniles ought not think that the “system “ automatically gives them this magnificent gift. No. Section 781 of the Welfare and Institutions Code has specific stipulations for the sealing of a juvenile delinquent’s record. My suggestion is that you consult with an attorney and find out what those stipulations are and what your sons must do to be considered eligible to have their juvenile records sealed. Before you do that, though, you might consider getting professional counseling for your sons, particularly gang awareness and intervention counseling.

3. Dear Dr. Jim:

My son’s teacher gave his class an assignment in which she invited them to express their feelings about the Columbine High School tragedy. She told this class of high-schoolers that expressing their feelings in an essay would make them feel better. She assured them that anything they wrote would be confidential and that there were no restrictions on what they could write. Well! My son praised the student-shooters at Columbine and suggested ways they might have brought about greater carnage. He ended his essay by saying he wished he was there and that Klebold and Harris, the student-shooters, would be his heroes for life. When his teacher read all that, she went ballistic and marched him by his ear right to the principal’s office and demanded that the principal expel him. What is that all about? Can she do that? The school has called me in for a parent conference next week. What can I do? What should I say? Help me.

Signed,
Expelled Over Free Speech

Dear Free Speech:

What took place as a result of your son’s essay is one of the after-effects of the horrific Columbine High School massacre of April 1999. “Columbine Syndrome” is a term occasionally used by the press to describe schools’ overreactions and frenzied efforts to prevent and suppress, through swift discipline measures, violent student behavior; this includes aggressively addressing students’ verbal threats, hate-speech, or glorification of violence. That is the place in American school history to which we have come. We simply cannot have another Columbine-like school disaster. However, the legal test for expulsion of a student is comprised of this three-legged stool: That student has to have committed an act that (1) disrupts the instructional process; (2) poses a continuing and harmful campus threat to the safety of himself or others; or (3) forms a pattern and practice of behavior against which previous means or attempts used by school authorities to correct such behavior have repeatedly failed or been unfeasible.

I see no legal grounds for the school to expel your son. Teachers in the United States cannot expel, no matter the nature of the act or the level of their anger toward it. Their role in this regard is limited to completing incident reports, including providing evidence, and being available as pertinent witnesses when called to disciplinary hearings. The legal responsibility for expelling a student rests solely with the school superintendent and the board of education. A student can be expelled only when a due process hearing is convened and a preponderance of evidence meets the three-point legal standard previously defined. Counseling, not expulsion, is needed here: for your son and his teacher. Teachers should never invite their students to express themselves in a kind of emotional free-fall and unguided manner following a tragedy like the Columbine event.

Your son’s essay was a product of his following the instructions given by his teacher. Further, nothing you have said indicates that he even made a threat; he glorified Klebold and Harris, something that bespeaks a different kind of problem. His teacher should have provided the students a specified format outlined on the chalkboard or given to them as a handout. If she had the foresight (through mentoring or other training) to advise her students to write condolence letters to some Colorado state representatives, the city’s (Littleton, CO) mayor and council members, or send Pen Pal correspondence to a given class at Columbine H.S., your son might have been regarded by her as outstanding instead of outrageous. Children who glorify violence are unhappy and suffering inside. Find out what is bothering your son. Try not to condemn, only to counsel and comfort, him. Gently, tell him why his essay provoked the response that it did. Rather than attack the teacher for breaking her promise of tolerating anything the students might care to write, tell your son that the First Amendment guarantees of free speech means that reasonable, responsible and safe speech is provided an arena for its free utterance.

4. Dear Dr. Jim:

My 5th-grade daughter was sent home for having a fingernail file in her folder. I was called at work and asked to pick her up from school. When I arrived, I was given something called a “Safe Schools Checklist” stapled to school district rules and regulations about weapons on campus. I almost fainted. A fingernail file is not a weapon. I don’t know why my daughter had it. She says she was using it at home and absent-mindedly put it in her backpack with her book. I believe her. She is not a bad girl and has never had a discipline problem before. She is on the Honor Roll. Are schools on some kind of roller-coaster ride with this school-safety thing?

Signed,

Mother of a 10-Year Old “Threat”

Dear Mother:

A fall-out of the past yet many dangerous events in our nation’s schools is the highly-restrictive policies instituted by school boards to protect and serve their communities. Schools are only as safe as the homes they serve. And since educators cannot make “house calls” to pry into the goings-on behind families’ closed doors, boards of education are left with the only option available: Legislate, legislate, legislate. Rules and regulations designed to provide the greatest good for the greatest number sometimes have practical consequences that are as unintended as they are unappreciated. Since alcohol is banned on school campuses, does that mean that teachers wearing cologne and perfume should be arrested? Absolutely not. Since drugs are also contraband, should teachers who bring prescriptive medicines to school, in order to follow their doctor’s regimen, be fired for possession of drugs? Of course not. Though it might not seem like it—especially since your daughter is the “victim” of school policy—rules are based on frequent and recent behavior. Had that behavior not occurred, there would not have been a rule written for it. Conversely, when unsafe school behaviors become nonexistent, then the rule may be regarded by your daughter’s school as no longer necessary. Attend school board and parent-teacher meetings and work to increase the safety of your daughter’s school by heightening parent awareness about behaviors that begin at home but are often expressed at school.

5. Dear Dr. Jim:

Our mayor wants to post the “Ten Commandments” on every school house door in our community. I like this idea and think it will be a forceful reminder to students about their responsibility for making and keeping our schools safer. But wouldn’t this be illegal, I mean, isn’t it kind of mixing church and state?

Signed,

Mixed Up

Dear Mixed Up:

Despite their causing a renewal of passion and fervor to get “back to the basics” by instituting moral education in our nation’s schools, school violence and homicide at our nation’s schools have not resulted in permanent returns to, say, the Bible as blueprint for human behavior. Courts in Texas, Kansas, and Ohio have struck down and ruled unconstitutional policies by those states’ boards of education that allowed and enabled the posting of biblical standards of behavior. You might wish to advise your mayor that a better and constitutionally lawful approach is simply to tack up the “Ten Commandments” side-by-side with the school district’s itemized behavior rules. At the top of the “Ten Commandments” place this heading: “History Then”; at the top of the school district’s behavior standards, this heading: “History Now.” Connect the two documents with a large-font typed paragraph of explanation: “The ‘Ten Commandments’ role in governing behavior has yielded to the state’s role in and rules for governing how you should act. Read both these documents and, for educational purposes, see if you can find, in the school district’s behavior standards, parallels in the historical ‘Ten Commandments. ’ ”

6. Dear Dr. Jim:

Recently, I overheard my 15 year-old daughter and five of her girlfriends talking around the swimming pool in our backyard. I wasn’t eavesdropping but they were loudly talking about a new law that allows pregnant minors to get abortions without parental consent. All of them, including my daughter, were really fascinated by the subject and talked about it all afternoon. Since hearing their remarks, I haven’t been able to sleep a full night. Is there really such a new law, or were these girls all wet?

Signed,

Can’t Sleep

Dear Can’t Sleep:

No, your daughter and her friends were not all wet. From your description, it sounds like they were talking about various states’ Supreme Court rulings striking down the Parental Consent Law for pregnant minors’ abortions. The reason the courts gave was that the old law violated young women’s rights to privacy. As a result of the new ruling, pregnant minors in some states can obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent or judge. However, there are still many other activities for which parents must give their consent and fill out reams of paperwork. For example: having any other kind of medical treatment—from treating a cat’s scratch to a hangnail; getting married; joining the armed forces; signing up for a YMCA or YWCA summer athletic program; body piercing; and (in many cities) being out after 10 p.m.

The nation’s minors perhaps feel especially proud of the longer list of activities for which they do not need parental consent. In addition to teenage abortions, minors in some states do not need parental consent to buy a car or get a driver’s license. In other states, if they are over 12 years old, they do not need consent to buy an airline ticket and fly anywhere in the world unaccompanied.

7. Dear Dr. Jim:

My son is 16 and facing school expulsion for throwing a brick through the window of the home of another kid on our street. The kid happens to be an African-American, my son is white and he and the other kid fight constantly at school. Because my son sometimes has a foul mouth and occasionally uses racial slurs when they battle, the principal of the school said his throwing the brick was serious, was racially-motivated and a hate incident. Then he called the police. Why? I am confused.

Signed,

Confused

Dear Confused:

Throughout the country there’s been lots of talk about the increase in crimes motivated by the hatred or dislike of others. Such crimes are called “hate crimes.” A hate crime is any crime committed against a person (or their property) because of their race, ethnicity, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender or sexual orientation. In some cases, threats and intimidation are enough to constitute a hate incident or crime. A growing percentage of hate crimes are being committed by kids. When prejudice is the principal reason or motive behind the violence, intimidation, or threat, the law makes the punishment for the crime more severe—just as what would happen if somebody uses a deadly weapon while committing a crime.

8. Dear Dr. Jim:

My daughter ditches school occasionally and was arrested for some things she did when she was hanging with her crowd (“crew,” in her lingo) recently. She has to appear in juvenile court. She laughed and said she wouldn’t show up. I am worried because I think being arrested is nothing to laugh off. Am I wrong?

Signed,

Nowhere Near Laughing

Dear Nowhere:

You are right. Your daughter may not know how fortunate she is or that the juvenile
justice system operates nationally on the premise that if children do something wrong, they
can be rehabilitated through intensive counseling, education, and guidance, whereas law
breaking adults might be less receptive to rehabilitative measures. Today, our juvenile
courts serve three distinctly different kinds of kids.

First, there are children who have committed an act that if done by an adult would be
considered criminal. These children are often called “delinquents.” Second, there are children who have committed status offenses: curfew and truancy violations, running away from home, and incorrigibility. If these offenses were committed by adults, they would not be considered illegal. Third, there are children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. In these circumstances, the court must decide who exactly is going to be responsible for the care of these children. The exception to these three primary categories are the children who are age 14 or older and have committed a very serious crime—murder, for example. Under these circumstances, the court, upon being petitioned by the district attorney’s office, can transfer a child from the juvenile justice system to the adult justice system.

9. Dear Dr. Jim:

I have two children, a boy and a girl, in high school. They dress in gang fashion but they are not gangbangers. As they say, “We’re bagging, not banging,” meaning they only wear the baggy clothes, not participate in gang-related anti-social activities. Even though there are lots of good kids like them at school, their principal is forcing every student on campus to wear a school uniform. Isn’t this unconstitutional, like a violation of the First Amendment or something?

Signed,

First Amendment Mom

Dear First Amendment Mom:

Schools around the country are trying to address the growing problem of gangs and gang members on campus by enforcing tough new restrictions on gang colors and/or gang dress. Recent federal legislation now gives public school officials more authority to ban gang-related apparel or require that students wear uniforms in schools. Rather than it being a First Amendment (freedom of expression) issue, legislators see it as something even more important: a matter of life or death. Schools nationwide are reporting a decline in violence and gang activity as a result of a decrease in the number of students victimized by gangs for wearing the “wrong colors.” Tell your children that it is better to be singled out by the school and made to wear uniforms than selected by a gang and made a victim of fatal fashion.

10. Dear Dr. Jim:

The other day I told my school counselor that I wanted to divorce my parents; they’re always on my case and I’m not happy living at home. My counselor tells me they’re just concerned and I’m lucky to have them. But I still want to get away from them. How does the emancipation process for minors work?

Signed,

Dreaming of Freedom

Dear Dreaming:

The notion that kids have the right to “divorce” their parents or seek emancipation without their permission is a myth. Kids cannot unilaterally divorce their parents and the emancipation process is complicated and requires, at minimum, a parent’s consent or passive acceptance in order for a court to approve it.

In some states, emancipation occurs automatically under certain circumstances. For example, as soon as a person turns 18 years of age (called “Age of Majority”), he or she legally becomes an adult and is emancipated. Also, when a minor gets married, she becomes emancipated from her parents. Emancipation also occurs when a minor joins the Armed Forces (as provided for in Federal Code Section 7002).

Other states even allow a minor to become emancipated if he or she petitions the courts. In such a case, a minor over the age of 14 but under the age of 18 must state that he would like to be emancipated and is willing to live separate and apart from his parents or guardian. However, he must be able to prove that this decision was made voluntarily and that his parents consented to his managing of his own financial affairs. The minor must explain to the court how much money he or she makes, and how future expenses will be addressed, including the cost of rent, clothes, food, and entertainment.

11. Dear Dr. Jim:

If schools are so free and public and democratic, why is it that teachers who want to give students a real choice between communism and democracy are hindered from doing so because they can’t advocate communism in the classroom?

Signed,

A Better Choice

Dear A Better Choice:

In every public school in the nation, teachers are expressly prohibited from advocating or teaching communism with the intent to indoctrinate or to inculcate in the mind of any pupil a preference for communism. However, state legislatures do permit the teaching of facts about communism. As the purpose of communism is to change, by force or other unconstitutional means, the democratic system by which the United States operates and to replace it with the totalitarian principles of Marx, Lenin, and Stalin, it is the intent of state legislatures to keep students correctly and accurately informed—to strengthen and assure patriotism for the United States, not undermine it.

12. Dear Dr. Jim:

Our daughter has won a number of beauty pageants and soon may be signed to work in the entertainment industry. While we are all excited for her, we don’t want her education to suffer. What are our responsibilities as adults for seeing that her education continues and what can we do now?

Signed,

Cautiously Excited

Dear Cautiously Excited:

Congratulations on two counts. First your daughter’s success and second, your concern that her education must not be abandoned. Since your daughter is a school-age minor, you must first secure a mandatory work permit from her school and have it properly signed by the school superintendent (or other appropriate administrator) and the proper entertainment industry person. Your school district will then contract with a person or firm licensed by your school district to educate children and to tutor your daughter while she is employed in the entertainment industry. A joint contract between the entertainment industry and the school district will require that all costs for educating your daughter, including those incurred in using an agency to search for a tutor, be borne by the entertainment industry. Caution: You, as the parent, must drive this process and make sure that all of its steps are correctly completed. If you would like further information, call a U.S. Department of Labor branch office in your area.

13. Dear Dr. Jim:

My son is 18 and does not wish to register for the draft. But he does want to finance his college education by applying for government loans and scholarships. A friend of his told him that none of his financial aid paperwork would be approved unless he first signed up for the draft. Please tell me what in tarnation the cottonpickin’ draft has to do with wanting to go to college.

Signed,

Feeling the Draft

Dear Feeling the Draft:

I must tell you that your son has a good friend who told him the truth. You see, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal assistance may be based on, and tied to, compliance with federal laws. The Court held (in Selective Service System v. Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, 1984) that a statute mandating draft registration as a prerequisite to federal aid did not violate the Fifth Amendment’s protection from self-incrimination since no student is compelled to apply for federal aid. Simply stated, your son’s application for federal aid was voluntary; it was not required—only draft registration was. By not registering for the draft, he placed himself in noncompliance and his application for financial aid in jeopardy. The Supreme Court’s ruling is that denial of aid based on the draft-registration requirement is not punishment (“incrimination”). The Court stated that if students wish to further their education at their country’s expense, they cannot expect the benefits and yet reject their fair share of governmental responsibility.

14. Dear Dr. Jim:

Aren’t suspended students supposed to have constitutional rights, too? My son was detained in the principal’s office for something he says he didn’t do. He thinks he’s going to be suspended for a few days. I don’t have a problem with that if it turns out that he did what he is accused of doing. But isn’t there some kind of law that compels them to provide him or me with some kind of explanation of what he is alleged to have done?

Signed,

In Suspense

Dear In Suspense:

You are right. The “explanation” you feel owed is called “due process.” In Goss v. Lopez (1975), the United States Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional rights of suspended students to due process through notice and hearing. What that means is that students facing temporary suspension from public schools have a property and liberty interest that qualify for protection under the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. The property interest is their education; the liberty interest, their personal freedom to pursue that education. When a state chooses to extend the right of an education to students, that state cannot then withdraw that right on grounds of misconduct, without fundamentally fair procedures to determine whether misconduct has occurred. Students faced with such potential losses of liberty must not only be given oral or written notice of the charges against them but also must be given the opportunity at a hearing to present their version of what happened.

15. Dear Dr. Jim:

My daughter was suspended for what the principal said was “lewd and indecent speech.” We firmly believe that by suspending her, the school was punishing her for exercising her freedom of speech. Are we right? We want to sue the school.

Signed,

Free Speech Now

Dear Free Speech Now:

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that students may be disciplined for engaging in lewd or indecent speech. The Court even upheld the suspension of a student whose use of sexual innuendo was said to have violated legitimate standards of civil and mature conduct. The Court observed that such standards would be difficult to convey in a school which tolerated the “lewd, indecent and offensive”

speech and conduct which the student in this case exhibited (Bethel School District v. Fraser, 1986).

16. Dear Dr. Jim:

My 8 year-old son is already an avid reader, so we happily go our separate ways whenever we visit our local city library. On our last visit, though, after I finished browsing through the “New Arrivals” section, I noticed him totally absorbed in front of a computer monitor. Curious, I walked closer to see what had arrested his attention. I was surprised to see that he was on an Internet web site and shocked to see what he was reading: the screen was filled with hard-core gutter language describing various sexual acts. When I saw the bemused expression on my son’s face, I realized he was fascinated by what he was reading. Aren’t librarians supposed to monitor and restrict what kids in their libraries see on computers?

Signed,

For Censorship

Dear For Censorship:

Your local library might be one of the many around the nation that does not support censoring of computer material in any way. An increasing number of libraries are taking the position that it is the responsibility of parents to monitor their children’s use of computers. That probably does not make you feel better, especially in light of the fact that some children are at the library “surfing the ’net” and playing in smut on a regular basis—often by themselves, with no parent inside the library at all. However, as a result of the Supreme Court’s recent nullification of the Communications Decency Act and thereby protecting free expression over the Internet, most libraries are trying to educate parents on the best ways to use the Internet with their children so that parents can decide for themselves what they want their children to see or not see.

17. Dear Dr. Jim:

A teacher at my daughter’s high school says she found my daughter and another girl smoking in the girls’ rest room. The teacher took the girls to the assistant principal’s office and my daughter’s friend admitted she had been smoking in the rest room. My daughter denied smoking there and said she didn’t smoke, period. The assistant principal then asked her to come into his private office. He opened her purse and found a pack of cigarettes. He claims that as he reached for them, he noticed loose cigarette papers, so he searched the whole purse and found marijuana, a pipe, empty plastic bags, several one dollar bills, and list of “people who owe me money.” Immediately, he called the police. I am so angry that my daughter was treated like that. They had no right to search her purse. This is America, isn’t it?

Signed,

Treated Like a Common Thug

Dear Treated:

For starters, I must tell you that as a result of the police being involved in this drug-possession-for-purpose-of-sale case, your daughter will have to appear in Juvenile Court. There, because of the evidence found in her purse, she could be adjudged delinquent. Did the principal have a right to search her purse? Yes. Were her constitutional rights violated? No. The Supreme Court has ruled that under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, searches of students by school officials need not adhere to the strict standard of “probable cause” imposed upon law enforcement officers. Instead, the legality of the searches will depend upon the “reasonableness” of the search in light of all the circumstances. When called to testify, the assistant principal can testify that his searching the entire purse was a reasonable action based on his spotting the loose cigarette papers, used for rolling marijuana cigarettes.

It is impossible to predict how the court will decide your daughter’s case. However, you should be prepared for the possibility that she may be fined and placed on probation. If she has been arrested before for this same offense, the court may mandate that she be incarcerated in a juvenile hall or probation camp. The court can even question, and make a determination about, your fitness and suitability as a parent and take action that it deems necessary. So, as you can see, your daughter’s possession of marijuana is no laughing matter. Whether or not the court orders her incarcerated, you should obtain professional counseling for her, something the court may require as well, as a condition for placing her on probation and returning her home to you.

18. Dear Dr. Jim:

Recently, my 14 year-old son was arrested in the mall by a police officer for truancy. He’s been given a court date and, according to the citation, his father and I have to appear with him. The court date is about three weeks away but already we have learned that almost all of the so-called “truants” who have been picked up so far are black and hispanic youth. Isn’t there a law somewhere that makes an arrest illegal if too many of the arrestees are of the same racial or ethnic background? And, therefore, shouldn’t my son be released and not have to go to court because the system is prejudiced and, in fact, deliberately targeted him?

Signed,

Watching for Prejudice

Dear Watching:

Truancy and juvenile crime, during daylight hours, are widespread problems facing many of the nation’s cities and school districts. A growing number of cities and counties are enacting daytime truancy (also called “daytime loitering”) ordinances to curb loitering by juveniles in public places during school hours. When a police officer finds a juvenile in a public place instead of at school, that juvenile must give an account to the officer as to why he or she is not in school. Most school districts in counties with daytime truancy ordinances issue identifying badges or equivalents to their students. Imprinted on these is the student’s name, a photo of him/her, name of the school and school district, and other pertinent information.

The issuance of special identification badges and cards works to help school-age minors by reducing the chances of their being falsely cited, arrested, or otherwise detained when a police officer sees them in a public place during school hours. In your letter, you do not state whether your son was wearing his badge when he was “arrested.” In most cities, police are citing truants and ordering them to court. They usually do not arrest them unless there are other compelling reasons warranting that an arrest be made on the spot. Badges or other identifiers are issued to all students, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or national origin. All school-age minors are to be in school during school hours.

19. Dear Dr. Jim:

I have three children, all teenagers. Recently, my neighbor told me he heard that more companies are now asking high school graduates to show more than a diploma. They want to see excellent grades as well. It infuriated me to hear this. What are employers doing putting their noses into education and trying to establish standards for schools?

Signed,

Furious

Dear Furious:

Yes, the high school transcript, formerly an all-but-forgotten artifact, is now popular reading for many employers. In the summer of 1997, IBM announced that it would begin checking the transcripts of new hires at plants in six states. IBM wants grades to be used as one of many factors in deciding whom to hire. Rather than seethe about business sticking its nose into education, try to appreciate the plus side. Studies show a strong correlation between high school attendance and grades, and subsequent job performance. By the time graduates with no college are in their 30’s, those who got “B” grades in high school earn an average $6,000 more a year than those who got “D” grades, according to John Bishop, chairman of human resources studies at Cornell University. With your three teenagers, that $6,000 could become a whopping $18,000 more in earnings per year. Such earnings are a potent reason to encourage your children to get good grades.

20. Dear Dr. Jim:

The principal of my son’s school called my husband and me to let us know that our son was detained in his office for most of the day for “verbal challenges and threatening behavior” toward his teacher. Because of his threatening language, the teacher feared that our son would assault her; so she ordered him out. At home, we teach our son to be assertive and not to back down from anybody if he thinks he is right. We went to the school to pick him up and, as were leaving the principal’s office, another boy who was passing by saw my son and accused him of “messing with my art project.” They began yelling at each other and my son punched the boy in the mouth. The principal called us all back into his office and issued a formal suspension to my son. He is not to return to school for 5 days. We are furious. All he was doing was protecting himself. Now he’s the victim of double jeopardy. I feel he is being targeted.

Signed,

Double Jeopardy

Dear Double Jeopardy:

The principal was well within the parameters of school policy to discipline your son for his unacceptable behaviors. Repeated discipline of the same student for acts committed on school grounds is lawful. Your son’s dangerous behavior violated some basic school rules. Try not to think of him as a victim of the system and see him for what he is: a misguided boy who does not know how to handle his anger and thinks physical assaults are the answer. I strongly urge you to seek family counseling. Without it, his behavior will only worsen. The terrible message he seems to be getting at home is that rage and physical combativeness are okay. The only “double jeopardy” here is the danger that your son—and his parents’ “assertive” home training—pose to others.

21. Dear Dr. Jim:

One of those TV tabloid shows reported that there’s a study linking kids’ late school starts to bad behavior later. I’m worried. All three of my kids started school a year or so late and are older than the other kids in their classes. Does that mean they’ll turn out to be juvenile delinquents?

Signed,

Worried

Dear Worried:

The TV program you were watching was probably referring to the October 1997 issue of the journal Pediatrics in which it was reported that children who started school when they were a year or more older than their classmates were 70 percent more likely to display extreme behavioral problems. Although the study did not explore the causes of such greater risks, teachers and child psychologists have long believed that youngsters who are “out of sync” with classmates—even if that means just looking older—are more likely to be troubled teens.

My advice to you is not to worry. Not every child who starts school late is a behavior risk. Monitor your children’s academic progress and social behavior closely. Since you know they are in the risk category, you can begin some early prevention work now by meeting regularly with their teachers, participating on parent committees, counseling your children about their behavior and the standards the school expects, and sitting with them as they do their homework. Your involvement in their lives is the best support you can give them, no matter what their ages are.

22. Dear Dr. Jim:

In my community, when school lets out, lots of children become unsupervised until their parents get home from work. Needless to say, this puts these youngsters in jeopardy. They desperately need a safe place to play or do homework, preferably right on campus. As this happens every day of the school year, I am really concerned. What can I do to help make things better for these kids?

Signed,

It’s Time to Rescue

Dear It’s Time:

You might start by presenting your views on this important issue to your school district’s board of education. Perhaps there are funds that the members of the school board can authorize to create the safe after-school program you have in mind. You might make an identical presentation to your local city or town council, specifically stating what you have in mind, what you need to make it happen, and how much it will cost. Next, write to your state representatives and tell them the problem and your proposal for resolving it, such as the creation of legislation to fund such after-school programs.

Some states do have legislation that pays for before-school and after-school programs for poor children whose parents either work or attend job training as they make the transition from welfare to work. Some bills specifically identify the funding targets as the working poor and other families that qualify on the basis of low income for free school lunches. The ideal program would provide a safe haven, develop and improve reading, math and computer skills and reduce vandalism between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., the peak hours of juvenile crime nationwide.

You’ve certainly identified a problem that, if properly addressed, could be resolved with the bonus being a sharp reduction in the number of children on the street, restless, unsupervised, and looking for “something” to do.

23. Dear Dr. Jim:

My husband and I have three healthy, active, handsome and very popular teenage boys whom we would like to see go to college and do marvelous things with their lives. It seems like, at the high school they attend, allegations of sexual harassment just keep climbing from year to year. We feel terrible since we know most of the kids allegedly involved. All were arrested, shamed, and saw their hopes and dreams evaporate. It’s reached the point where we’re now fearful that our own sons could be caught up in this problem. What can we do?

Signed,

Fearing The Worst

Dear Fearing the Worst:

You’re right. From the beaches of Honolulu to the banks of the Hudson River, allegations of sexual harassment on the school yard have increased dramatically. As you state, it is a serious problem. But rather than see your sons as eventually being “caught up” in this ugly mess as though they are choiceless and defenseless, know that their best protection—for themselves and, especially, others toward whom they might direct their attentions—is the guidance you and your husband provide for them at home. Tell them that it is wrong to use sexually lewd comments and gestures, vulgarity and insults in class, in the hallways, at lunch and on the playground, and, further, to victimize another person by touching, fondling, or grabbing their body parts.

The federal government, besieged by educators from around the country, published new guidelines on how to deal with complaints of sexual harassment. You can obtain this booklet from a large city library or by writing directly to the U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. Talk to your sons constantly. Find out what’s going on with them and ask their opinions. Gain their trust. Sincere and open discussions about this and other sexual topics at home are the kind of support they will need.. As a parent, you are to be commended for your proactive attitude. It looks like your sons’ high school could have used more parents like you.

24. Dear Dr. Jim:

I have a daughter who has been sent to Teen Court for the offenses she committed. This is the first I’ve heard of Teen Court. What is it and what powers does it have?

Signed,

Ignorant

Dear Ignorant:

Teen Court is for first-time offenders only. It is a formal proceeding in which juvenile offenders are judged and sentenced by their peers. These peers play the roles of Juror, Defense Attorney, Clerk, Bailiff, Prosecuting Attorney, and Teen Court Coordinator. Their “verdict” is turned over to a real judge who has final decision and can, of course, overrule theirs. Usually conducted in a classroom or auditorium specifically dedicated for it at a school, Teen Court is increasing in national popularity for a host of reasons: (1) its proven success in states across the nation show it can reduce the crime rate of teenagers; (2) teenagers learn from their mistakes because of early intervention; (3) Teen Court is cost efficient; (4) parents and guardians must be involved in the process; (5) Teen Court allows young people to get involved within the community; (6) Teen Court wipes clean the juvenile court record of first time offenders; (7) there is confidential handling of cases; (8) the program is totally voluntary; (9) the program makes teens accountable for their actions; and (10) Teen Court helps youth develop a healthy attitude toward authority. Communities using Teen Court as a part of their youth crime prevention program consistently report that 90 percent or more of the defendants who complete the sentence are never re-arrested.

25. Dear Dr. Jim:

I am a student at a performing arts high school. It’s a school that was built specifically for gifted and talented students. I want to be a playwright. My problem is, my counselor and my parents keep hassling me because I don’t have a “C” average. And so, I can’t participate in extra-curricular activities because of my grades. I don’t think that’s fair. Why does a performing arts high school force such a requirement on its students when, if you really think about it, performing arts are sort of like extra-curricular activities themselves?

Signed,

Not Performing Well

Dear Not Performing:

Performing Arts is a serious academic and professional discipline, not a plaything and definitely not, as you state, “sort of like extra-curricular activities.” Your problem is your lack of respect for this important field. Performing artists—playwrights, actors, musicians, and graphic artists—are perhaps the most demanding people in the world. The successful and famous ones demand the utmost of themselves in meeting and exceeding the standard. Fine and applied arts comprise your entire school curriculum and are the sole reason you’re attending a school for the performing arts. Since you are not performing well, you need to talk to your counselor and your parents. Despite your talents, perhaps your interests have changed. If so, you should change schools as well.

26. Dear Dr. Jim:

My husband and I are in the process of getting a divorce. We have an 8-year old daughter. With our lawyers, we have signed the settlement order and custody of our daughter is all spelled out very clearly. The problem is her school: they
won’t honor the settlement order and let my boyfriend pick her up from school. I work the PM shift, from 3 to 11, and can’t pick her up. The school said something about “Judge’s signature is missing.” Well, they almost cost me my job. I had to take off work, go to the school where I found my boyfriend yelling at the principal and my daughter looking like she wanted to just disappear. I put in for vacation time so I could pick her up the rest of the week, since the school won’t budge. Tell me what is going on. Please!

Signed,

Losing My Job and My Mind

Dear Losing:

A settlement order minus the judge’s signature is suspect. Any court document that uses the word “order” in its title must be signed by the judge of that court, in order to be valid. It will not allow your boyfriend to pick up your daughter from school. Since you have parental custody, you can simply go to the school on your “vacation” day and ask one of the clerks for an “Emergency Card.” Fill the card out and write in the names of the persons (either family or friends) whom you wish to authorize to pick up your daughter and/or who are to be called by telephone in case she has an emergency at school. As long as you have custody, you can write in the names of anybody you want on the “Emergency Card.” The school retains this card in its file and the information on it in its database.

27. Dear Dr. Jim:

I work at a large high school and occasionally come across what I think are fraudulent documents that a parent is trying to pass off as “court orders.” Some look pretty genuine but I’m not always sure. I don’t like being a pain when people are at the counter waiting for approval, but, worse, I hate being duped. How can I get better at spotting real legal documents from fake ones?

Signed,

Tired of Being Had

Dear Tired:

You are so very right. When somebody is presenting a legal document to you, you need to be instantly able to detect whether the document is official and enforceable or a fake. Here are some suggestions for interpreting legal documents. If you are being presented a court order or decree, look for a court stamp, usually in the upper left hand corner of the first page of the order. Next,
look for the judge’s signature. If the document has neither court stamp nor judge’s signature, it is not official. Moreover, both of these elements must appear. The judge’s signature may be a stamped signature since the judge normally signs the original and the clerk stamps his/her signature on copies of the order.

If you are uncertain about the authenticity of an order, ask the person presenting the order to obtain a certified copy of the order. If this person is under a time pressure, you might be able to verify authenticity of the order by calling the clerk of the court and asking whether such a court order exists, although the clerk would not be able to read the language of the order to you over the telephone.

You may also contact the general counsel for your school district, if you have doubts about the authenticity of a court document. The following are “red flags” that should raise doubts or concerns: no court stamp; no judge’s signature; rude or pushy person attempting to have you ignore the lack of these necessary elements; out of state order; and the person does not want you to contact others to determine the authenticity of the document (e.g., the child’s dad does not want you to call the child’s mother to find out if the order is authentic). Maintain your skepticism. It is your skepticism and insistence on verification that will protect countless children.

28. Dear Dr. Jim:

I am the president of the school board in my city. At our meeting a few weeks ago, we made an error in judgment that has come back to haunt us. That meeting was actually a hearing to determine whether to re-admit a student into our district who came before us seeking re-admission. He had just been released from a juvenile prison, after having served 3 years of a 5-year sentence for assaulting another student on campus with a baseball bat. Despite the severity of the assault and injuries to the other student’s head and face, we voted to re-admit the student offender standing before us. Our reasoning was that the state must have had good cause to release him 24 months early and place him on parole. If his behavior in prison earned him early release, then we felt we could count on his continued good behavior once he returned to school in our district.

However, in the weeks since his return, he has threatened students, teachers, extorted money, and become truant and involved in gang activity. Although he has not yet committed any assaults, we know it’s just a matter of time. We have a spring dance coming up and we don’t want him there because wherever he goes, his gang “homeboys” follow. Can we prohibit him from attending? What if he shows up anyway? His mother has threatened to sue us if we stop him.

Signed,

Biting Our Nails

Dear Biting:

You are at the mercy of a loose cannon that will soon explode. The negative behaviors this student is exhibiting are just preludes to more serious ones. Something has to be done now to protect others from this bad actor. But first: you were under no policy or legal mandate to re-admit this student. You should not have let yourself be gulled by his early release from juvenile prison. Instead, you should have been candid with your reservations, if you had them: “We appreciate the turnaround in your behavior that the state prison system is rewarding you for, but we are not convinced that it will last, based on your crime on our campus and your behaviors prior to it.” The reason boards of education have re-admittance hearings is to hear all sides of a critical issue and provide a venue for airing opinions, showing cause, offering proof, and citing evidence of eligibility or ineligibility for re-admission to the schools they operate.

When a student is re-admitted into a school district, he or she has all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto that any other student has. To deny him the opportunity to attend the spring dance would be prejudicial: you would be foreclosing “privileges thereto” that any other student has. If he engages in undesirable behavior at the dance, you can, of course, eject him. But at this late date, there are only two effective courses of action you can take to remove him from your midst. First, in the future you can document (and cite him) for his improper behaviors so that he can be expelled from the district. You should have been doing this all along; if you had, he would not now be the royal pain that he is. Second, you can immediately call his parole officer and make a formal complaint. Be thorough and report all his bad behavior that has occurred since his return. The fact that he is a continuing threat to others is actionable; that is, the court can act on this evidence by ruling that he has violated the terms of his parole and remanding him to the custody of the juvenile prison…again.

29. Dear Dr. Jim:

I am “fit to be tied,” an expression my grandfather often used, meaning shaking with anger. My seven-year old was suspended by our school district for playing “chemist” and bringing his “creation” to show-and-tell his classmates at his elementary school. His teacher and principal thanked him by suspending him for a week. He didn’t bring anything combustible, or poisonous, or even dangerous. His “offense” was bringing a prepared mixture with two drops of wine in it. Specifically, his potion contained leaf juice, dirt, some Kool-Aid, and—the most disgusting of all—two drops of wine. The wine violated the district’s rules prohibiting alcohol on campus. For Heaven’s sakes! This was a science project. The wine was in such miniscule amounts, it wasn’t even detectable, nor was it drinkable. We’re almost ready to get out of town as a result of this, but it seems like everywhere you look, public school administrators are acting like dictators. What’s the answer?

Signed,

Holding My Breath

Dear Holding:

Your son’s concoction certainly showed a scientific flair. It’s unfortunate that the school responded by suspending him. Had he not revealed the contents of his project, he might have evaded the punishment. However, we teach our children to tell the truth and he did. It seems that alcohol, even for use in scientific experiments, simply has no place in your school district. That being the case, one must wonder if your district is firing its teachers for having, in their desks, hand lotion, since it too has alcohol. Are custodians being fired for using cleaning fluids that contain alcohol? What about the alcohol in the after shave and cologne worn by the principals’ and the superintendent? If your district’s rule on alcohol were equally (just as thoughtlessly) applied to everybody, then look out for a major shake-up of personnel. Perhaps the new order will be more tolerant and understanding of children, such as your son, who show marked initiative and creativity.

Unfortunately, your son’s encounter with a rigid disciplinary system that is both inhumane and devoid of common sense isn’t a warped feature belonging solely to your district. Across the country a first-grader has been suspended for having a souvenir one-inch pen knife (county fair issue) in his backpack; a second-grader for kissing a classmate on the grounds it was “sexual harassment”; a first-grader for bringing a one-inch rubber G.I. Joe gun to school on the grounds it was a “weapon”; a kindergartner for bringing a turn-of-the-century gun, minus its hammer and trigger, to the classroom; and a high school honor student for taking Midol, as it was deemed a “drug.”

Believe it or not, but much of our society is turning to laws and regulations to solve every problem. Schools are in the forefront of this wave and many have “zero tolerance” policies designed to address the most serious offenses. However, in their cast-in-concrete application, some schools simply make no exceptions. In fact, many school administrators are attuned to public opinion,
and, rather than thinking through and solving problems, they are more eager to show a strong administrative reaction and thus stave off any uproar and calm public opinion.

The answer is in balance and discretion. Being weighted down with rules and sanctions only fosters resentment against those who govern. Such loss of respect we cannot afford. It will cost us the opportunity to teach our children the true role and importance of government. It is much better to teach them how to think about and respond to the ills of society rather than throw the book at them for their inadvertent missteps. In a profession that constantly needs good teachers and administrators, do we want our children loathing and avoiding the field or, worse, growing up to be just like the repressive administrators whose idiotic rules pass for good governance? If not, then we must pursue only those policies that are truly in the best interests of children and not just adults.

30. Dear Dr. Jim:

I am a teacher and was attacked by a student who “went off” on me. After he got through slapping and biting me, the principal decided to expel him. In gratitude and with a sense of relief, I agreed. However, the student’s parents are challenging us. Their defense: We should have known their son had an emotional problem and should have been placed in special education instead of regular education classes such as mine. But what really frosts me is their allegation that his not being in a special education program actually contributed to his destructive behavior in general and his assault on me in particular. I was so shocked and hurt, I walked out of his expulsion hearing without waiting for the results. Are these parents bozos or am I the one who’s gone bonkers?

Signed,

Questioning My Sanity

Dear Questioning:

Your question unearths some critical issues. Nationwide, an increasing number of parents, aware of and bolstered by recent changes in federal law, are trying to block their children’s expulsions by alleging that the school system failed them. In their defense, school district administrators say the rules for placing students in special education programs are being abused or incorrectly applied. In June 1997, President Clinton signed an updated version of the benchmark 1975 legislation that guaranteed public education to children with disabilities. Called the “Individuals With Disabilities Education Act,” or IDEA, the revised legislation includes provisions that allow able-bodied students to contest disciplinary actions by arguing that an offense committed on campus was related to an emotional or physical condition that the school failed to detect or otherwise recognize.

Many school administrators are not completely comfortable with the IDEA and say that the new provisions make schools more vulnerable to unfounded claims, forcing them to spend extravagant sums to fight them. In contradiction, parents and special education advocates say that the needs of students with learning and emotional disabilities go undetected too often.

31. Dear Dr. Jim:

I am a parent with two girls and two boys, all in elementary school. My state wants to expand the number of same-sex public school classrooms and is justifying this goal by saying that separate is equal (and okay), as long as its just genders that are separated. State leaders believe that separating the genders will solve problems like teachers paying more attention to boys, boys’ aggressive and boorish behavior in class, and boys refusing to vote for girls in leadership positions. While this may be legal, it strikes me as somewhat backward. Why can’t girls and boys be educated together—especially in public schools?

Signed,

Are We Going Backwards or Forwards?

Dear Are We Going:

Excellent question. Equality is not equality unless it exists on the same playing field. Being the “best girl” will never be the same as being the “best,” if the genders are separated at school. To many, such segregation is so backward it’s primitive. We really ought to look forward and focus on the realities of the business world. There, the playing field is still largely male-dominated at higher levels of the corporate ladder. Separating girls from boys in school serves only to exaggerate rather than balance existing gender differences, because girls will be deprived of the necessary opportunities to learn to compete with boys and, as adults, to be confident and successful as females and leaders in the business world. Probably the best approach and one that will give taxpayers the best return on their dollars is, instead, to redirect same-sex classroom funds toward programs designed to increase teacher awareness of gender-different treatment programs.

32. Dear Dr. Jim:

I’m a high school counselor and I’ve repeatedly tried to counsel a student who “plays” at committing suicide in front of the study body on the campus. Her parents accuse me of being “uptight and too worried” about her and they seem to have no clue that some of the stuff she’s done—slashing her wrists with manicure tools, going for days without eating, running across the school parking lot into automobile traffic on the street, and being rushed to the emergency hospital to have drugs pumped from her stomach—indicates she needs professional psychological help. She’s “played” at suicide 8 times this year. Her parents hung up the phone on me when I called them about her last attempt and requested an emergency meeting with them. I’d like the school to expel her. Other kids are afraid of her and I fear that one day she will really kill herself. What can I do without being forced into court by her parents and charged with denying her her civil liberties?

Signed,

In Agony

Dear In Agony:

You are witnessing theater in the absurd. As you imply, this student is in psychic and emotional pain. She needs intensive therapy and guidance and all the family support that can be mustered. That her parents manifest such disinterest shows how dysfunctional and incompetent the family is. All states have provisions for expelling public school students who pose a danger to themselves and others. If you have observed her behaviors and have written documentation of her past suicide attempts, as well as your efforts to counsel her and advise her parents, you need to call the local Child Protective Services (CPS) agency and make an oral report about her. Then, within 24-36 hours, send CPS a complete, written report. My worry is that if you make expulsion of her your objective, her parents may further punish her. Your getting CPS involved could well lead to an investigation of the home for what clearly seems to be child abuse.

33. Dear Dr. Jim:

My daughter is facing expulsion for assaulting and choking a blind teacher, whose classroom she walked in, to confront another girl who had been teasing her about her hair. I’m furious because none of the school’s so-called witnesses, who supposedly saw it all, dated or signed their written accounts of the alleged assault. What makes matters worse is that the teacher himself refuses to make a report or let anybody write one for him. The police department was supposedly called, yet none of the school administrators can explain why they don’t have the police report in their possession. Can they expel my daughter on such weak “evidence”? How can I get a lawyer to make sure this doesn’t happen?

Signed,

I Can’t Believe This

Dear I Can’t Believe:

If what you say is true, you can appeal the school district’s expulsion of your daughter at the county (or other regional equivalent) office of education, whose Board of Education members oversee the operations of school districts. They are a higher authority and may take a dim view of how the school district appears to be treating your daughter. In that case, they would vote to nullify the district’s expulsion order and return your daughter to her school. To have a county office of education hear your daughter’s case, you must call or write directly to the county office of education’s director of child welfare and attendance and state why you feel the county should intervene. You will then be given a date on which to make your presentation (argument) to the county Board of Education, or you can bring an attorney to represent you. Call your local Bar Association for attorneys who specialize in public school law. If you are still unsatisfied, you can contact the U.S. Office of Civil Rights that serves your area.

34. Dear Dr. Jim:

As newly-elected president of the school board in my community, I’m worried about the sexual harassment lawsuits that have been filed against several school districts throughout the country by parents reacting to the alleged abuse and harassment of their children by other students at school. I don’t want our district to be hit by a sexual harassment lawsuit. That could empty our treasury. So, at our next board meeting I’m going to propose purchasing sexual harassment insurance. Do you think this is a good idea?

Signed,

Thinking Ahead

Dear Thinking Ahead:

In the private sector, sales of sexual harassment insurance are skyrocketing, as a result of some high-profile court cases that have sent corporate America scurrying for coverage. Some corporations are spending as much as $100,000 a year in premiums for “employment-practices liability” insurance. This is the kind of policy that covers sexual harassment and other employment-related lawsuits. Your school district may already have such insurance. I suggest you ask your superintendent to find out exactly what kinds of events, behaviors, and circumstances are covered under your school district’s present insurance plan. Really, though, you should worry less about whether your school district has sexual harassment insurance and concentrate more on ways to educate your students on what constitutes sexual harassment and why it is just as wrong as vandalism or stealing or making threats. Educating your students about sexual harassment is the best way to eliminate it, not blindly trusting in your insurance plan.

35. Dear Dr. Jim:

I’m a high school English teacher and was ordered by my principal to write, in my class roster, the name of a student who was never in my class and whom I never even met. I did what the principal asked. He then took the roster and wrote an “A” in the grade column for that student, explaining that the student was on “home study.” I told the principal I was not comfortable with what he just did. He looked at me and said, “I’ll handle everything. Just keep him in your roster.” Every time I pick up the roster, I start shaking. I am a teacher but I feel like:

A Cheater

Dear Cheater:

You could work within the system and contact your union representative and report your principal. Then you could tell your assistant superintendent of instruction what you were ordered by the principal to do. Both reporting acts establish you as a “whistle-blower.” Depending on whether the principal is investigated and reprimanded, you may need the services of an attorney to protect your career interests, even though federal law prohibits employers retaliating against a “whistle-blower.” Securing legal counsel puts you outside the system but only such legal counsel can guide you through any murky waters and protect your status as whistle-blower, reducing the likelihood of your being blamed as a co-perpetrator of fraud by a panicked principal and other administrators. If you or your lawyer report your principal to the district attorney, you may be asked to further “cooperate” with the principal for a finite period of time (as he may give you more “home-study” students), in order to gather sufficient evidence against him. Creating phantom students—either fictional students or real students on rosters but never really in class—and receiving state instructional dollars for them is a crime (fraud) in most states and, like larceny and embezzlement, carries severe penalties for violators.

36. Dear Dr. Jim:

I’m a teacher who took a five-year leave from my big-city school district to help start an independent charter school that’s free of meddling bureaucrats and Medieval rules. At our charter school we govern our own finances, design our own curricula, but are free from the control freaks who run the district of which we are still a part. I’m worried because this year my five-year leave of absence will end. I have to decide whether to quit my district permanently or just up and leave the charter I love so much. I don’t even want to think about it. What can I do?

Signed,

Big Time Decision

Dear Big Time:

You and other charter school teachers in your similar situation face a most difficult choice between your cherished school and financial security. If you choose to stay with your dream school, you will be giving up seniority, tenure, and the lifetime health benefits. Although you are free of many bureaucratic restrictions that often encumber district-operated public schools, don’t forget one important thing: Charter schools in their fifth year of operation are usually given “five-year reviews” by their governing districts. These critical appraisals are done for the sole purpose of deciding whether to keep the charter school open or to close it. Most charter schools would be inferior and ineffective without the brave and visionary teachers who helped found them. Yet you need to think about your overall career. While you are happy at the charter school, is your career in suspense or sizzling and soaring? The bureaucracy you fled may yet hold the best hopes for protecting and enhancing your career. The charter school may be a dream for you now, but if you stay there you will place in jeopardy your district tenure, seniority, and health benefits—and turn your future into a nightmare.

37. Dear Dr. Jim:

Local sheriff deputies pounded on our front door at 6:00 a.m. recently and ordered us to let them inside. They accused our two sons of ditching school and being gang members, and told us we better use parent resources in the community to help keep our boys in school or we could face criminal charges or even jail. Needless to say, we almost fainted out when the deputies finally left. Our boys made sure they went to school that day, too. But isn’t a parent’s home their castle? What the Sam Hill is this about? Can police just pound on your door at dawn, without a warrant, and scare the living daylights out of you?

Signed,

Still Shaking

Dear Still Shaking:

It sounds like you’re describing one of the new district attorney/law enforcement collaborations designed to prod parents into taking more responsibility for the supervision and control of their children’s school truancy and other behaviors, particularly gang activities. I don’t doubt the dawn visit scared the “daylights” out of you, for it is the key element in an aggressive attempt to prevent juvenile crime by directly pressuring parents to control their offspring. This tactic is supported by laws in some states that mandate “reasonable care and supervision of children.” Youth truancy and crime are considered unreasonable. In some cities, armed deputies surround homes before entering, and drug-sniffing dogs are led through the areas. Such aggressive police activity is targeted at areas inundated with crime, drugs, and gangs. While most communities acknowledge the need, drastic though it seems, to do something about the youth whose behavior plagues themselves and their communities, parents of these youths admit to feeling attacked by the sudden swarm of “police presence” and feeling like prisoners in their own homes. You’re right. Parents’ homes are their castles. However, the community should not be regarded as home-and-castle to your children who are habitually truant and committing crimes in it.

38. Dear Dr. Jim:

My son is highly opinionated and has the vocabulary to match. He is pleasant by nature but has a forceful personality and seems to be continually rubbing some of his teachers the wrong way. Constantly, he comes home with behavior reports, detention slips, and suspension notices—all based on his unwillingness to be quiet and non-argumentative. He challenges these penalties and insists on a school hearing to air his views, and so far he has won every case. He does not defy authority, use profanity or make threats. He just talks, talks, talks. One teacher who “lost” to my son at the last hearing, threatened to get him expelled. My son isn’t worried in the least. But I am. Who’s right here, my son or his teachers?

Signed,

Mother of a Future Lawyer

Dear Mother:

It sounds like your son is very bright, highly articulate, and impatient to practice law. However, you should counsel him to save his arguments and energy for other, more worthwhile pursuits. Teachers are in school to teach, not to be tripped up by “back-talk,” or mowed down in a cannonade of words. Your son’s sole responsibility is to receive an education. However, it seems like his teachers are getting one instead. So long as his verbal behavior is not defiant, threatening, disruptive, or an invasion of the rights of others, then he cannot legally be expelled. The teacher’s alleged threat to expel is empty yet shows he is at the end of his wits and nerves as far as your son is concerned.

Nevertheless, judicial recognition of students’ free speech rights came with the landmark United States Supreme Court ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist. (1969) 393 U.S. 503 [21 L.Ed.2d 731, 89 S.Ct. 733]. In this case, which involved students wearing black arm bands to protest the war in Vietnam, the court recognized that school officials generally had comprehensive authority to prescribe and control conduct in the schools, but this authority did not extend to administrative censorship of public school students’ nondisruptive expression. In the language of the court, students did not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the school house gate.” While your son may be a pain, he ought not to be used as a pawn in a good-riddance move by intolerant teachers.

39. Dear Dr. Jim:

An FBI agent showed up at our school and asked to see the file on one of our elementary students. He explained that he suspected the student’s parents were involved in a major drug-selling operation. He needed the student’s file to see what other adults were listed on the “School Emergency Card” inside the file so he would have more names and addresses for surveillance purposes. For some reason, I did not feel good about his being there; so I told him I could not let him see the file. He left but said that he’d be back. Isn’t the FBI supposed to call first, like other law enforcement agencies, before just dropping in? Or are they above all that? I’ve been the principal here for 20 years and I have to tell you, this agent’s visit unnerved me and my staff. Did I do the right thing by refusing his request? What should I do when he comes back?

Signed,

Waiting and Shaking

Dear Waiting and Shaking:

For starters, and to ease your mind and make you feel better, you did the right thing. The FBI agent’s visit and his request pose problems. Law enforcement agencies have a right to investigate pupils’ records but only if (1) the investigating agency has forwarded a request to the school district for pupil record information, in general, and then identified the designated officer who will be the liaison for a particular case; (2) the pupil is the subject of the investigation, i.e., he or she is considered a suspect; (3) the pupil whose records are being investigated is in danger, such as having been kidnapped and enrolled in that school; (4) any request made by telephone or in person, is supported by a letter confirming the request for pupil record information; and (5) the law enforcement agency ensures that at no time will any information obtained from the file be disclosed or used for any purpose other than to assist in the investigation of suspected criminal conduct.

You state the agent desired to go through the student’s files, not because the student was in danger or the subject of the investigation, but apparently only to treasure hunt and find out where to locate others connected to the student—adult relatives and friends—in order to conduct surveillance on them. The agent was attempting to use the student as a wedge to get to the adults he really wanted. In the future, in addition to sending such a person away from the premises, tell them they will have to get a court order to come back. A return visit would be “welcome” only under those specific terms.

40. Dear Dr. Jim:

I am an administrator in a school district where a growing number of parents are demanding a basic Bible course in all our schools. Our school board firmly believes in separation of church and state, so the course has never been approved. Yet, about 25% of our parents want such a course. How are other districts around the country, faced with similar parent demands, responding?

Signed,

No Bible Thumper

Dear No Bible:

The solid borders that once separated church and state seem, in some states, to be crumbling. In January 1998, a federal judge ruled that a Bible course could begin in the high schools of a public school district in Lee County, Florida. The course, covering the Old Testament, has been the subject of a lawsuit by church-state separatists. It was one of two courses under judicial review. The other, a New Testament course, was questioned by the judge because it includes teachings on miracles and the Resurrection, making it difficult to teach as secular history, the requirement for bringing a Bible class into a public school. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution mandates that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Hence, a religion or Bible course in the public schools must be taught as history, and not be designed to indoctrinate or hold up any faiths in ridicule or condemnation.

This issue is far from over, especially when one sees the cast of characters that gathered to stage their struggle over this Florida schools Bible case. People for the American Way, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Florida law firm of Steel Hector & Davis sued the school district on behalf of parents and other county residents. The American Center for Law and Justice, an organization founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, represented the school board. As developments in this case will likely have implications for your school district, you may wish to watch these Florida events closely.

41. Dear Dr. Jim:

I’m a school administrator in a district that seems to attract more than its share of media attention. Frankly, we would like to restrict the press’ access to our students. Can we require written parental permission before allowing members of the news media to interview students?

Signed,

Not Mad About the Media

Dear Not Mad:

Students, just like other members of the general population, have a federal constitutional right to freedom of speech. A student may express his or her opinion on school premises, with certain limitations. Therefore, prior written parental permission granting members of the press access to interview students may not be required. However, as a school administrator you may require members of the news media to follow reasonable conditions while they are on school grounds in order to prevent interference with the orderly educational activities of the schools in your district. These conditions may restrict news media representatives in the same manner that access by members of the general public may be limited. In other words, you may require registration, accompaniment by a staff member while on school grounds, and denial of permission to enter classes that are in session. Members of the news media, as well as members of the general public, may be asked to leave it if reasonably appears to school officials that such persons are committing acts likely to interfere with the peaceful conduct of the school’s educational activities.

42. Dear Dr. Jim:

What’s happening with the SAT and other assessment tests? Two of my children (twins) start college next year and I heard the SAT is a barrier to minority enrollment at colleges and universities and ought to be stopped. Has it been?

Signed,

No Barriers Please



Dear No Barriers Please:

No. Universities throughout the country are still using the SAT as a college-readiness assessment measure. In the eye of the storm surrounding the continuing affirmative action debate is the issue of whether the SAT is biased against racial minorities. Backers of affirmative action have fought stridently against the validity of the SAT and other merit standards. Richard Seymour of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, states that standardized tests widely used for college admissions and employment are an “engine for the exclusion of minorities.” What fails to get mentioned in this molten issue is that blacks and other minorities need to continue to develop ways and means for mastering the SAT, not mowing it down. The Harlem Boys Choir, Marva Collins’ effective educational strategies in poor Chicago schools, and Jaime Escalante’s teaching methods for training barrio students to enter into nation’s premier universities are but a few of the kinds of grass-roots success stories that can happen anywhere.

I disagree that standardized tests are an “engine” used to exclude minorities. The reason this argument is so illogical is that those who make it a point to prepare for whatever standardized test serves as the eligibility criterion not only successfully gain entrance to the college or university but get an official assessment of how really good they are. When the Harlem Boys Choir understood their choirmaster was preparing them to succeed in life, they met the test and made the grade; when Marva Collins’ students surprised themselves by memorizing whole passages from Shakespeare and understanding complex math theorems, the standardized test was welcomed; and when East Los Angeles barrio high-schoolers stayed after school for extra help and got up early on Saturdays to get more of the same from their teacher Jaime Escalante, they had achieved the standard long before they were officially tested.

Tests do not create disparities in students’ ability and performance; they simply measure them. Beware of those who say they want to destroy the standard to improve your chances at success. Is it really success if you have no way of measuring how much you know or how good you really are? The real barriers to success are the misguided individuals who rail against standards and cry for their removal. Countless minorities have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics and other fields, often attaining superstar status for meeting the prevailing standards and setting new ones. One of the best gifts you can give your twins is to show them how to succeed in life by focusing on achieving the standard. They will gain something that nobody will ever be able to take away. In the process, they may even create new standards. We must have standards. But if we don’t apply the same standards to all students, then we’ll have students with low and high standards. If standards are not equal, then equal opportunity will be impossible.
# # #

“IMPERSONAL” Q & A FORMAT

43. Remote Control Discipline

Q: In the past, there’s been talk about sending the growing number of hardcore, lawbreaking youths to juvenile boot camps. What is the status of that plan?

A: Believe it or not, but despite intense media coverage on juvenile crime, its statistics have declined. An increasing adolescent population means that arrests
for crime increase as well. As a result, many lawmakers simply want to abandon rehabilitative approaches. For nearly two decades, progressively younger teenagers have been treated as adult criminals. Boot camps for adolescents is one of the latest proposals to capture the fascination of certain politicians and the frightened public they serve. Opponents of boot camps, however, protest that banishing wayward, lawbreaking juveniles to remote mountainous, uninhabitable locales will neither reduce crime nor bring down prison costs. Some critics, like Paul DeMuro, a consultant in Montclair, New Jersey, decry the juvenile deaths in already-operating boot camps. In his report on juvenile boot camps, DeMuro draws attention to the use of military discipline to disguise staff mistreatment particularly of minority youth, and the absence of follow-up supports when youth return to their communities. He predicts a surge in the number of adult court referrals since youth who do not complete boot camps, or are re-arrested after their release, will no longer be eligible for the juvenile court.

Dale Parent, a senior analyst at ABT Associates in Massachusetts, stresses that juvenile boot camps cannot save money unless they have hundreds of beds and the stay is limited to three months—which prospect, obviously, would make the programs meaningless. Currently, David Altschuler, a professor and researcher at Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, is conducting a long-term study of aftercare for juveniles leaving secure facilities. He emphasizes that juvenile boot camps are limited to “shock incarceration” and reduce costs only by shifting the aftercare burden to overloaded probation and parole officers. With the annual cost of incarcerating one adolescent pegged at somewhere around $42,000, and the annual cost of attending Harvard University at around $37,000, education is still the cheapest “bargain” for turning around wayward youth and making them society’s contributors rather than its carrions.

44. Guns and Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Q: It seems that, in today’s public schools, the kids who pack guns outnumber those who don’t. What are the real facts behind this frightening social picture?

A: According to the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (founded by former Reagan aide James Brady and his wife Sarah), the statistics painting this social picture are these: Metropolitan Life reports that 22 percent of boys have carried weapons to school; only 4 percent of girls claim to have done so; in a nationwide profile of juvenile gun possession and use, 70 percent of students who said they carried a gun, said they did so for protection; a survey of 11th grade students revealed that more than 50 percent of male youths perceived handguns to be easily accessible; in a national survey of students in grades 6 to 12, 59 percent indicated that they knew where to get a gun if they wanted one, and two-thirds said they could get a gun in 24 hours; in a nationwide profile of juvenile gun possession and use, 53 percent of students who said they carried a gun, said they obtained the gun from family and 37 percent obtained the gun “off the street”; five percent of secondary school students say they have threatened someone, in or around school, with a knife or gun; among one state’s male teens responding to a statewide survey, nearly one in 20 teenage boys reported carrying a handgun or other gun within the month preceding the survey; the major reasons students believe weapons are carried is to impress friends/be accepted (66%), for self-esteem/to feel important (56%), and for self-defense to and from school (49%); in a survey of students attending high schools in high crime areas, 35 percent reported carrying firearms regularly; every day in America, 15 children ages 19 and under are killed in gun homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings; one in six parents say they know a child who accidentally shot himself or herself with a gun; gunshot wounds are the second leading cause of death for all people aged 10-34; an estimated 1.2 million elementary-aged, latch-key children have access to guns in their homes; guns are the leading method used by teenagers to commit suicide; and polio killed 3,152 adults and children in 1952 compared to a total of 5,326 people under the age of 19 killed by guns today.

45. Student Caring for Ill, Aging Adult Across Town Can’t Attend School There

Q: Why do school districts refuse to grant attendance permits to students whose residence is outside the school attendance area but who live temporarily with an infirmed, aging adult inside the attendance area, who needs them to cook, clean, shop, and perform other chores?

A: Education is a business. Every student’s head carries a price tag. Some state legislatures base their apportionment of funds to school districts on the student’s average-daily-attendance; others use a “positive attendance accounting” formula, driven by the student’s actual attendance. There are other attendance-driven formulae for funding the education of students. A student whose legal residence is in “School District A”, but who is living temporarily in “School Attendance B” (for whatever reason), is considered absent from his/her home (legal) school district, thereby depriving it of the state monies apportioned for his/her education. As long as s/he is not attending school (“B” denies his/her request for an attendance permit while “A” dutifully records his/her mounting absences) s/he runs the risk of being considered truant, a violation of states’ “compulsory education” laws.

School districts do not admit and enroll out-of-area students whose reason for wanting to attend is that they “live” in the school attendance area since they provide care to one of the area’s ill or incapacitated adults. Minors must be supervised and their health, safety and well-being has to be safeguarded by responsible adults. It would be extremely difficult for an infirmed, aging adult, who can no longer attend to her own needs, to properly supervise and care for a minor. A number of school districts might view this scenario as a child-exploitation case violating federal child labor laws.

Perhaps it is feasible for the minor’s parent(s) to move in with him/her and thus establish residency. The district would advise parents on the types of residency documentation it accepts, e.g., rent deposit receipts and/or rent receipts themselves, security deposit receipts, utility bills in their own names, etc. Some districts will accept real estate escrow papers, while others view them as not being “solid” verification of actual residence, only of “intent.” Moving in as a family with the elderly adult (and documenting the new residence in an approved manner) could be a “win-win”—legal and providing benefits for all concerned.

46. Behind the Field

Q: With growing public distrust of public education and concern about the U.S. lagging behind other countries’ educational achievement scores, doesn’t the government have a plan to get education back on track, like it has a plan for balancing the budget and providing for the national defense?

A: In response to the “Government Performance and Results Act,” the United States Department of Education has prepared a strategic plan for 1998-2002. The plan was submitted to Congress on September 30, 1997 and describes the Department’s mission, goals, objectives, and strategies for achieving the objectives. It also includes performance indicators that will provide feedback on the national progress. The President, Secretary of Education Richard Riley and senior Education Department officials have developed seven priorities based on the “Call to Action” issued by President Clinton in his State of the Union Address over a year ago, on February 4, 1997. These seven priorities are for all students in the United States. They are: (1) All students will read independently and well by the end of 3rd grade; (2) All students will master challenging mathematics, including the foundations of algebra and geometry, by the end of 8th grade;(3) By 18 years of age, all students will be prepared for and able to afford college; (4) All states and schools will have challenging and clear standards of achievement and accountability for all children, and effective strategies for reaching those standards; (5) There will be a talented, dedicated and well-prepared teacher in every classroom; (6) Every classroom will be connected to the Internet by the year 2000 and all students will be technologically literate; (7) Every school will be strong, safe, drug-free and disciplined.

For a copy of the strategic plan, write to the United States Department of Education, Washington, D. C. 20202. Ask for the “Education Strategic Plan, 1998-2002.” Read it and try to visualize a role for yourself in helping to bring about its goals. Perhaps you can volunteer at your local school for committees or tasks that interest you and will allow you to demonstrate your talents. The plan is bold, ambitious but certainly achievable. And active participation by anybody and everybody concerned about public education in this country will make the accomplishment of its star-high goals easier. Why not volunteer to serve at your local school? You might surprise yourself and learn something: That trust in education can be restored when a spirit of service and willing hands are the “tools” for fixing the problems and helping to reach the goals.

47. More Guns For School Police Versus More Police

Q: Why do some of the country’s school police officers feel they are “outgunned”?

A: The job of protecting students, staff and school property has become increasingly complex for school police. Protecting and securing a campus is a far cry from simply showing up, walking around, chatting about the last game, and smiling. In the view of many school police officials, the rise of gangs and guns has made many campuses as hostile and dangerous as the streets. Some school police officers are now asking for shotguns. Shotguns are viewed as more powerful and intimidating weapons than the nine-millimeter pistols many police wear. Critics of proposals to increase school officers’ firepower ask: under what circumstances would lethal shotguns, with their broad non-selective shot pattern, make schoolchildren safer? School police chiefs as yet have offered no persuasive answer to this question or evidence that a compelling need exists. School officers are often forced to respond to late night burglar alarms or drive-by shootings on and off campus. Many of them insist that they are both outgunned and sometimes outmanned.

The risk of injury to innocent bystanders and the potential cost of lawsuits to school districts ought to give school board members pause before they approve such a plan. Some school district police chiefs, however, argue that the psychological benefits to their staffs are more important considerations. Wesley Mitchell, police chief of the behemoth Los Angeles Unified School District, insists that the increased confidence the shotguns would give officers would pay off in better police work in life-or-death situations. He also believes that the shorter range of a shotgun blast poses less danger than handguns to innocent bystanders. Undoubtedly, he and some other school police chiefs across the nation believe that enough desperate and dangerous situations, as well as the students who create them, now exist on school campuses to warrant the use of shotguns.

Despite the psychological benefits some school officers may derive from increasing their artillery to include shotguns, we as a society cannot afford to be blind to the fact that schools and the areas around them are frequently crowded with children. The unthinkable could happen: One badly-aimed or accidental or hurried shotgun blast could maim several students. Further, police cars are sometimes targets for law violators who view their contents as “prizes.” Shotguns seen in the often-unlocked vehicles of school officers could be an overpowering temptation that some students simply would not even try to resist, whether as a lark or on a dare or due to a need to prove something. The arguments for employing shotguns on school campuses fail to pose enough situations in which their use would be the only reasonable means. Advocates have not even named a school district that considers shotguns as having “answered” problems that plagued them previously. A school ought to be a place that calls for the least possible use of police force for any given situation. We should not forget that.

48. Students Not Properly Placed Are Immune to Expulsion

Q: Can a school district expel a special education student if that student was inappropriately placed when he engaged in his misconduct and if the district failed to conduct a pre-expulsion assessment of him?

A: In a word, no. Special education students enjoy federal protections designed to equalize or enhance—in relation to “regular” education students—the educational services provided them,. Federal law (“Individuals With Disabilities Education Act,” or IDEA) compels school districts to conduct an appropriate pre-expulsion assessment of any student exhibiting behavior for which the penalty is expulsion. Assessment should include not only the diagnoses and reports of credentialed school psychologists and measurements of an array of the student’s skills, but also school districts need to assess special education students’ attentional problems. For this, appropriate assessments should include assessing attention-deficit disorders (ADD) and attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).

Pre-expulsion assessments are extremely important. Failure to conduct them renders null and void a school district’s grounds for expelling a special education student. Federal law mandates that a “manifestation determination” be shown via such assessments. It could be that a special education student’s misconduct was a manifestation of his disability—the reason he was in special education in the first place. If pre-expulsion assessments show that there is no link between his disability and his misconduct, then the district’s expulsion order has more merit.

All special education students should be given an assessment to determine where, precisely, their learning and other disorders lay. Then, an individual education
plan (IEP) that addresses these disorders should be developed. Finally, the student should be placed in an appropriate program that is based solely on addressing the disorders or behavioral difficulties revealed by the assessment. It is risky to enroll special education students without first giving them an assessment and the benefit of an IEP meeting. This is known as “inappropriate placement” and can be the grounds for (1) lawsuits against the school district by parents of special education students; and (2) compensatory education fees being awarded the student, by a court holding the school district liable for any educational services the student missed if the days in which he did not receive those services exceeded the 10-day limit prescribed by law. Due process hearings requested by parents of special education students are often held because such parents feel the school district failed to consider and address the special needs of their children. If the due process hearing shows this to be true, then the expulsion will be overturned and the district ordered to re-enroll the student.

49. Court Ruling Giving Biological Parent Only Educational Rights Must Be Obeyed

Q: What response are school personnel to make when a student’s biological father shows up at school and bullies everybody, shouting his demand to take his daughter with him, claiming he’s due in court next week and will soon have the judge’s order awarding him physical custody of her. This father has only educational rights; ironically, it is the foster father who has custody rights.

A: In far too many post-divorce cases, one or the other parent, frustrated and embittered, will try to force school personnel to bend to his or her will and even violate a court custody order. In divorce cases where a school-age minor is involved, the school where the minor attends must have a copy of the court’s custody order in the minor’s file; moreover, there must be an updated “Emergency Card” showing who is to pick up the minor in case of emergency. Only those listed on this card by the parent who has physical custody may pick up the child. A parent who has been awarded educational rights only, by the court, is limited to obtaining only information about the child’s grades and academic progress. The school is not permitted to allow him to have physical contact with the child, and cannot give him the child’s home address, the location of the child’s classes, or even disclose whether the child is in school that day.

A parent who disturbs the peace of the school office, shouts demands and makes threats must be treated like any other person who intrudes and disturbs the peace. Both school security and the local police must be called and a statement explaining precisely what the parent did must be made. In many school districts, before calling the police, school personnel first warn the offending parent that he is in violation of prevailing penal codes or local ordinances. When officers arrive, school personnel give them the penal code number and its title (e.g., “Disruptive presence at schools,” CA Penal Code Section 626.8). Sometimes school personnel become confused by the demands of a biological parent (especially when the parent, in friendlier times, was well-known and -liked) and think that since he IS the blood parent, his demands must be met. Divorce court rulings, however, often make such parent’s attempts illegal. Most divorced parents, embittered though they may be, fully understand the court order. And speaking of foster parent custody: It is common for courts to award custody of a child to a foster parent or, if there are unfit or missing parents, to a social services agency.

50. Bloodshot Eyes and Silly Behavior Justify Student’s Drug Exam

Q: Is it rumor or is it real that a student who simply looks and acts like a druggie now risks being tested for drugs?

A: Yes, it’s really possible. A federal appeals court has ruled that a high school student who was tested for drugs at school because his eyes were bloodshot and dilated, and he exhibited giddy, unruly behavior, was not treated harshly or even improperly. Despite the fact that the drug test showed no drugs in his system, the court dismissed the student’s lawsuit against the school district, stressing that the administrator who ordered the exam acted reasonably because she is a certified drug counselor and the student’s symptoms and behavior suggested possible drug use. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard the student’s case and ruled that his having been subjected to an impromptu “medical assessment” by the school nurse did not violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects individuals from unreasonable searches. Specifically, the court stated, “The medical assessment was reasonably calculated to uncover further evidence of the suspected drug use,” in its November 4, 1997 ruling (Bridgman v. New Trier High School District No. 203 (97-1412).

49. Bake Sales Are Tasty But Don’t Always Cook Up Enough Money

Q: Can parents develop private foundations that fund everything a local school needs, from repairs to salary increases for teachers?

A: Yes. Well-conceived private charities, while being no substitute for the school district’s solid tax base, do have the potential for providing far more financial support for schools than can be realized from the folksy yet frugal bake sale. When parents set up nonprofit organizations called “local education foundations,” public schools can then use them to tap private funds. A clear advantage that local education foundations have over the traditional bake sale is that they can focus on the business and corporate sectors where the deep pockets are. Thus a powerful new source of funds for the school district can be established and, in certain cases, the groundwork can be laid for school bond and tax campaigns, since corporate donors are often very influential and politically well-connected.

While the objectives of bake sales and booster clubs are usually restricted to specific student activities, such as athletics or large-scale music programs, educational foundations, by contrast, exist solely to create wealth for schools. The money can be used to fortify the general fund of the school district or build an endowment. The school district, through its educational foundation, can even receive “in-kind” professional services. For example, a local hospital would be able to donate the services of one or more of its full-time nurses for selected schools within the district. If you’re tired of bake sales, communicate your distaste to any member of your school district’s board of education. Insist that they ask the school district’s general counsel to look into the feasibility and appropriateness of setting up a local, private education foundation to attract new sources of funds and broaden the district’s financial base. As a result, your school district could soon be a new home for major donations, in the forms of bequests and outright donations from private individuals, businesses and corporations.

51. Speaking and Writing About Persons With Disabilities

Q: Are there any suggested guidelines for referring to students with disabilities?

A: Positive language makes any student, including disabled students, feel good about themselves. So, when speaking or writing about students with disabilities, remember to put the person first. They are living, breathing human beings. That should be your frame of reference. The Disability Group publishes the following recommendations for use when referring to students with disabilities:

(1) Be accurate in describing disabilities. For example, a student who had polio and experiences after effects years later has a post-polio disability, not a disease. A student with a disability should never be referred to as a “patient” or “case” unless his relationship with his doctor is the subject.
(2) Emphasize abilities, not limitations. For example, say “uses a wheelchair” or “walks with crutches” rather than “confined to a wheelchair, is wheelchair-bound, or is crippled.” Similarly, avoid the use of inappropriate emotional descriptors such as “unfortunate” or “pitiful.”
(3) Unless a student’s disability is the focal point of a story, place the emphasis on the individual, not on her disability. A disability is only one facet of the person and her life. In all cases, keep the person’s disability in proper perspective; do not unduly magnify its importance.
(4) Portray successful people with disabilities as successful people, not as superhumans. Overstating the achievements of people with disabilities suggests that they are exceptions and most others with disabilities are not competent or are incapable of outstanding achievements in their own fields.
(5) When writing about people with disabilities, consider the broader implications of how quality-of-life issues like accessible transportation, housing, affordable health care, employment opportunities and discrimination impact a large and growing segment of the U.S. population.
(6) When in doubt, always ask the person with the disability! The person with a disability is your best source for information.

52. Student Whose Car Was Searched Off-Campus by School Security Expelled

Q: Can a school district legally expel a student if security personnel find a weapon in his car and if the car is parked off-campus, a couple of blocks away?

A: Yes, a school district can expel such a student. In one high school, a student whose eye-witness account of a fight on campus was corroborating evidence that resulted in the expulsion of three other students, soon began receiving threats. As a result, he started carrying a five-inch “buck knife” (the school district alternated between using this term and “hunting knife”) in his car, which he parked off-campus because his parking permit had expired. One afternoon, a parent called the principal and claimed she saw this student sitting in another student’s car holding a gun. When later confronted by the principal and security personnel and asked if he had been sitting in the car with the other student, as observed, he said “yes.” When asked if he had been holding a gun while in the car, he replied “no.” The principal then said, “So, since you weren’t holding a gun, then you wouldn’t mind if we search your car, would you?” The student said he had no objections to his car being searched and told the principal, “Just so you know, I do have a knife in the trunk.”

After the principal found the knife in his car, the student was summarily expelled for violating state law mandating expulsion of any student who “Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished any firearm, knife.” The parents of the student and his attorney were persuaded by the district and its general counsel that (1) the student’s vehicle, being under his control, was his chosen means for “possessing” the knife; (2) although the vehicle was parked off-campus, it was deliberately parked very close to his first period class and thus provided ready accessibility to the knife; (3) the off-campus location served his and other students’ alternative parking needs, furthering rather than foiling his intent and purpose—to be at school; and (4) in combination, all these elements combine to paint a telling picture of a student who desired to be in ready possession of that hunting knife.

53. School Districts Can Now Call Cops to Cope With Unruly Special Ed Students

Q: Can schools call law enforcement officers on disabled students whose misconduct disrupts the class?

A: Yes. The U.S. Congress has given its blessings for school districts to avoid special education due process procedures by filing criminal charges against disabled students whose serious misconduct disrupts the instructional environment. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) became federal law on June 4, 1997. Since then, schools (including those in Massachusetts and Florida) have filed criminal complaints against special education students for allegedly battering others and causing havoc in the school environment. The modernized law says that nothing in IDEA prohibits a public agency, that is, a school, from summoning police to report a crime committed by a child with a disability. This provision overturns a federal court decision, Morgan v. Chris L. (95-6561), that said referrals to juvenile justice authorities represents a change in placement requiring prior notice to the parents.

With Morgan v. Chris thus nullified, educators in some cases are using the new statute as an additional tool for coping with classroom disruptions caused by unmanageable students. By calling in law enforcement personnel, school officials avoid the formerly-mandatory due process behavior assessments necessary for ordering expulsions. However, the IDEA requires schools to transmit special education and disciplinary records to “appropriate authorities” when filing criminal charges. In an ideal situation, a law enforcement agency would have a professional on staff, like a psychologist, experienced in evaluating the transmitted records to see if they had any bearing on the case. School districts failing to supply such records could risk being sued by the child’s parent(s) for violation of civil rights.

54. The Adolescent Road to Adult Criminal Court

Q: How Is It That Some Students Are Referred to Criminal Court While Others Are Not?

A: Every state in the country has provisions that allow juveniles to be tried as adults in criminal court under certain circumstances. A juvenile’s case can be transferred to criminal court for trial in one of three ways: judicial waiver, prosecutorial discretion, or statutory exclusion from juvenile court jurisdiction. In any state, one, two, or all three transfer mechanisms may be in place. In all states except Nebraska and New York, juvenile court judges may waive jurisdiction over a case and transfer it to criminal court. Such action is usually in response to a request by the prosecutor. Alabama permits judicial waiver for any delinquency case involving a juvenile age 14 or older. Connecticut permits waiver of juveniles age 14 or older charged with certain felonies if they have been previously adjudicated delinquent.

In many states, statutes limit judicial waiver by age, offense, or offense history. Often, statutory criteria such as the juvenile’s amenability to treatment is also be considered. Some states allow prosecutorial discretion: Prosecutors are given the authority to file certain juvenile cases in either juvenile or criminal court under concurrent jurisdiction statutes. Thus, original jurisdiction can be shared by both criminal and juvenile courts. Prosecutorial discretion is typically limited by age and offense criteria. Often concurrent jurisdiction is limited to charges of serious, violent, or repeat crimes. Statutory exclusion occurs by legislatures transferring large numbers of young offenders to criminal court by statutorily excluding them from juvenile court jurisdiction. Large numbers of youth under age 18 are often tried as adults in the 11 states (CT, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MD, NY, OK, VT) where the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction is lower than 18. Many states exclude certain serious offenses from juvenile court jurisdiction. Some also exclude juveniles who have been previously waived or convicted in criminal court. State laws typically also set age limits for excluded offenses. The serious offense most often excluded is murder.

55. States Rescue Schools But Not Their Educational Programs

Q: Does a state’s ability to rescue a financially-ailing school district signal a correspondent improvement in the educational program?

A: Not necessarily. The takeover of school districts by their state departments of education seems to be a popular strategy. Moreover, close oversight of financially- hemorrhaging school districts by the state usually yields bottom-line results. Typically, a state will set up a management panel to control all of a financially-troubled school district’s financial decisions. Having failed to improve and sustain the district’s financial health and thereby lending credence to the state’s perception about its incompetence, the local school board is immediately prohibited by the state from making important decisions.

Once a school district’s money woes are cleared up, the common public assumption is that the educational program will also get back on track, if it, like the district’s finances, was derailed. However, takeover of a school district and subsequent student improvement in grades and assessment measurements are not necessarily related events. States that take over financially-troubled school districts do so solely for financial reasons, not educational reasons. As far as states are concerned, it is public moneys that drive the educational process, not vice versa. A public that clamors for better classroom outcomes, after expressing its delight when the state restores a district’s financial health, should put pressure on its local board of education to make the schools perform better academically. School board members are voted into office and they can just as easily be voted out for failing to provide satisfactory results.