PARENTS CHALLENGE DISCIPLINE POLICY

Two Lawsuits Filed Against School Board And Superintendent

The parents of two suspended King George County High School students
are suing the School Board and superintendent over a new disciplinary
policy that extended their original punishments.

The separate lawsuits filed by parents Linda Davis and Januari Rhodes
both claim officials mishandled disciplinary procedures for their
sons' suspensions and did not give them a chance to properly defend
their children.

The lawsuits say officials violated the King George High students'
right to a public education by denying them due process.

Davis' lawsuit says her son was in a car with other students on
school property while marijuana was in the vehicle. She claims her
son was neither in possession nor under the influence of the illegal
drug.

That lawsuit says that after her son was suspended for 10 days, he
was further suspended and directed to appear before a three-member
school disciplinary committee that didn't yet exist.

It further alleges the School Board violated its own procedures by
not having Davis' son appear before the board rather than the
committee, and did not allow him to prepare or present a fair defense.

Linda Davis' attorney, William Shields, said Friday that the School
Board can't take away education "without due process" and the
question in this case is, "What is the due process?"

In her lawsuit, Rhodes claims her son went through a similar
situation after setting off firecrackers on school property. Among
other claims, she said he was suspended, then told to appear before
the disciplinary committee before there was one. She also claims he
was not allowed to prepare or present a fair defense.

"We find it rather interesting that our Founding Fathers realized it
was necessary to have checks and balances and an appeals process,"
Rhodes said Friday. " The extent of punishment and the lack of
education is over the top."

Both lawsuits ask for the reversal of the committee decisions,
injunctions on the suspensions, reinstatement into school and
hearings before the School Board. Among other requests, they also ask
to have the students' disciplinary records cleared of the incidents.

According to School Board minutes, the board approved the creation of
discipline committee procedures on April 9.

Davis' and Rhodes' lawsuits say their sons' incidents occurred before
April 9.

According to the lawsuits, both students were scheduled to appear
before the committee prior to the School Board's approving the panel
and procedures.

The lawsuits claim that the scheduling, and a lack of information
about the new committee, prevented each from having a fair hearing.
Each say their sons have no right to an appeal under the committee's
rulings.

School Board Chairman Dennis Paulsen read a statement regarding the
Davis lawsuit yesterday after the board met in closed session to discuss it.

Paulsen said the School Board has complete confidence in the
competence of the the administrative staff and the discipline
committee. He said the process and procedures used for violations of
the code of conduct were the same used by the School Board's
disciplinary hearings.

"It is regretful that a parent brought this suit and is requiring the
county to incur legal costs in order to preserve the integrity of
what is a firm but compassionate disciplinary process," Paulsen said.
"The safety of all of our students has always been utmost in the
concerns of this School Board."