Can a school suspend a student because of someone overhearing something?

Question

Can a school suspend a student because a teacher said they overheard a student say "someone needs to take a bat up against her head"? A counselor reported that a teacher told her that he overheard my son say this and suspended my son from school. To begin with the school said my son never said the counselors name but now they have changed it to include her name (to cover their bases). My question is can they suspend my son on hear say or is it assumed that hear say can be wrong? My son also has ADD and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Social disorder and has an IEP (individual Education Plan) in effect. He is also on disability for these conditions. There also has been no meeting for this suspension even though the principal is trying to say there has been because I stood out in the front office and spoke to him for a few minutes when I was called to come pick him up from school.

Answer 1

Your son is coming up against the "zero tolerance" rule, but I think a suspension without talking to you is absurd. Kids say this stuff all the time and don't mean it. Heck, I say stuff like that sometimes and don't mean it.

A lot of what happens depends on the individuals employed at the school. I once had student who drew pictures of AK 47's and mass murder and  when I would take them to the principal, he just didn't care. Then the other day, I saw a counselor go freako over a drawing of a kid shooting another kid. It might behoove you to change schools if you can.

Other than that, you need to call for an IEP meeting immediately to make sure your son is receiving the accommodations and modifications to his programming that cover this type of offense. You may also want to look to see if his placement is correct. Even if nothing changes, you will have the appropriate audience for your complaints.

You must remain calm when you deal with school officials or you will get nowhere fast. Remember that these folks are solidly middle class and making a scene offends and scares them. They may deal with you, but keeping them on your side is beneficial to your son.

Also, there are two places to look for answers to how your son should be treated. One is your Procedural Safeguards that you were given at the IEP meeting and the other is the Wright's Law website that deals with many IEP issues.

Finally, while I agree that what happened to your son is an over reaction on the part of the counselor, it might behoove you to tell your son not to make any more comments like that.

Answer 2

You can request that a meeting is called, and by law they have to meet with you. If there is not a behavior plan in place for your son, you need to request that one is made. The school may be partially wrong on this by not having a meeting, but it is important that you let your son know his behavior was unacceptable. No matter what his disability, if he says "someone needs to take a bat up against her head" he should be punished to some extent. This is not appropriate behavior and you should not be condoning his actions. As a special education teacher, I teach my students about controlling their emotions, and that muttering under your breath or talking to yourself out loud counts the same as saying it to someone. If someone hears you, you are going to get in trouble. No child should make that remark about anyone. Think about it in another way. If a student made a similar remark about your son even if a teacher just overheard him make it, would you want them to ignore it?  Use this as an opportunity to work out your difficulties with the school and teaching your son to make good choices. It is all about the choices we make. If we choose to say threatening things to people when we are angry, then we choose to face the consequences. Good Luck

Answer 3

Well, they should not be covering up parts of the suspension.  Well, they can suspend your kid because of the 0 tolerence rule, even if he has ADD and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Social disorder and has an IEP because it can still pose as a threat.  You shouldnt worry about it too much but maybe make noe of some of the cover-up.

Answer 4

Yes, they can. Since he is under an IEP, once you get to about 10 days of suspension you'll need a Manifestation Determination meeting, to be sure the disability is not causing the suspensions & he is appropriately placed in school.

Otherwise, these things happen, sometimes. Don't be too upset about it.

Answer 5

no they can not.

Answer 6

I'm so sorry.  My son was expelled in his senior year of high school and I was a teacher there.  Sometimes things happen that is out of our control.  People knew about things that were happening with our son and never told us.  He wrote a letter about something that happened to him in junior high.  The school used it against him.  He went on to get his GED and didn't let it set him back.  My point is this:  "THEY" can do anything they want.  Short of getting a lawyer and fighting this through the courts, "YOU" don't have a say in what happens once they make these decisions.  Fair, no.  Reality, yes.  Once again, I'm sorry.  I went through all the emotions of a death.  Don't let this consume you and your family.  See if you can get him into another school away from these people who obviously have more delight in punishing students than "searching out the whole matter".  Sure taught me to be sure to get the entire story and not just want someone told me or what I read.  Like Paul Harvey, get the REST of the story.  Probably you cannot even know the name of the person (teacher) who made the accusations because of the privacy act.  That stupid act has caused more heartache and pain than any violation of privacy.

Keep your head up.  At the same time, don't get caught up in fighting battles for your son that don't need to be faught.  You cannot go to your son's defence for the rest of his life.

Answer 7

If they think the safety of teachers or other kids are at risk they can suspend him. Despite his emotional problems your son should not get special treatment when it comes to safety.

Answer 8

The first thing to do is to look at the behavior plan that is part of your IEP. It should clearly spell out what the steps would be for punishment of your child and list which infractions would trigger each punishment.  You should also read over the copy of your parent/student rights you recieve every year when a new IEP is sent home to be approved.  If you don't have a copy, go to the school and get one...they must provide it.

Many schools have adapted a zero tolerance for any threats of physical violence against other students or adults.  This is the first time I have heard of a school suspending someone simply because a teacher overheard a passing conversation, but many schools are on high alert because of the press that the shootings in VA brought about.  Still, the school must follow the behavior plan as it is laid out for your son in his IEP.  If he does not have one (which he should) immediately request a meeting to add such a plan to his IEP.  I would recommend letters from any therapists and mental health professionals he is currently working with that explain his conditions and how he can be effectively disciplined if the need arises.  If he is not working with anyone, I would strongly recommend you find someone, as thier input may prove neccessary.

Next you need to find out what the school policy is for suspending students in general.  You mention that there is supposed to be a meeting..most official meetings will have signed documents to support it.  Simply speaking with a parent for a moment or two would not meet these criteria.  Look at the school or district rules on what must occur for a student to be suspended and the procedures for notifiying the parents.

I would also contact the special ed offices of the district to let them know what occured and what you are planning to do.  If you meet much resistance, I would suggest looking for a lawyer and, if you have proof the school violated it's own rules or policies, possibly the ACLU.

Answer 9

Just me,

Yes. They may issue a suspension based on the report of the staff member. The situation might be different if the report came from a student. In this case, it came from a certified staff member who witnessed the statement being made.

Now that your child has been suspended, you may request an IEP meeting to review the behavior plan that they have in place for your child to make sure they are implementing the IEP (behavior plan) correctly.

The district is limited in how many days they can suspend a special needs child and are usually interested in options other than out of school suspension. You might want to look into that and ask the district to consider other disciplinary options for your child as they attempt to educate your child in the least restrictive environment. Usually they can't suspend a child for more than 10 days out of school per year.

However, if your child continues to display these kinds of behaviors, the school may call an IEP and discuss a more appropriate placement for your child that is outside of the regular school. If they feel that his safety and the safety of staff and students is in jeopardy, they might choose to change his current placement.

Answer 10

Sorry but with all the things happening in schools today they need to do something to cover there own. For example Columbine, Utah mall, ext. Not that this would have happened but I'm sure it's part of the reason. Hear say evidence from A teacher in the schools eyes is word enough. Sorry again times have changed.

Answer 11

Nowhere do you indicate whether or not you asked your son if he did say what he is accused of, or anything similar to it, or if he answered in the positive. That you purposefully excluded this and then attempt to place him in the light of being a victim by pointing out his disadvantages makes me suspicious. You also don't mention any other problems with things he may have said and done on previous occasions, all of which would be additional factors for how they reacted to this incident.

To answer your question, if they had good reason to believe he did say it then he can be suspended.

Edit: And again you avoid the issue of whether or not he really did say it, giving credence to any suspicion that he did. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." A line from William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

Edit 2: I fail to understand your hearsay argument. Here you leave out information as well, leaving us to assume while making your negative comments about assuming. You wish us to assume through omission that the teacher was never contacted after the counselor gave her report. Is that true? Because this is the only way it becomes hearsay even remotely in the manner you write of. It would be hearsay anyway even if the teacher had reported it directly to the principal, because the principal wasn't there when the incident occurred. So he is receiving information secondhand either way. If the teacher did give a telling of the incident to the principal, then no more than the normal amount of hearsay occurred.

And if your son did say something similar to what he is being accused of, then he is guilty. So you are simply trying to go by the reasoning of "if they can't prove you did it then you get to get away with it" or "it's okay to do anything as long as you don't get caught". Really, is this the lesson you want your son to take with him into life?

Sorry if you have a problem with my answer and don't like it. I'm not trying to pick on you, I am merely attempting to approach this in a logical manner.

Answer 12

i said. "that teacher is a" b-word

i got suspended for 2 days.

im sure if i would have told someone they would have gone to the school and gave them a piece of their mind.

its ridiculous.

but, you cant suspend him because he never threatened anyone.theres no rule about what you can or cant say to yuor friends.

Answer 13

Yes, they can suspend your son. And that's not "hear-say" b/c the teacher heard it directly from your son.

Just b/c he has issues does not give him a free pass on bad behavior.

Answer 14

Are you saying the school teacher and counsler are picking on your kid? especially with the problems he has? Do you also believe they would jepordize their jobs over it? Were you there? they can suspend him and should. Thats what would happen back in your day when you went to school. I would tend to believe the teacher. Who would you believe if you were a impartial judge..I am glad he is getting help...good luck to you and him

Answer 15

YES he made a threat...their is no tolerance for violence and nor should their be.  The teacher pretty much has authority and whether or not you think your son said it he probally did and the teachers word will always be taken over any students. Maybe their was a meeting you just were not their. With all the school shootings and things going on lately they have to take every comment seriously. And really..your son nor anyone should say those things ever.

Answer 16

i would certainly hope so. I hope to god you are learning that there is no tolerance for violence or threats of violence in schools. Your son is lucky the police are not involved.