BALANCING STUDENT RIGHTS

The stir around high school protesters is all about student rights. No
doubt about that. But not necessarily in the way you might think.

The Supreme Court has ruled that one student right trumps all others
when it comes to schools - the right to a safe and productive learning
environment. A student's right to free expression ends as soon as it
becomes a disruption to learning or promotes illegal activity. Here's
how those rights clashed in Oak Harbor.

The protest and the issues surrounding it have many sides. At its core
is a story about the sale and distribution of illegal drugs. Offshoots
of that event include whether the school district has the right to
discipline students for illegal activity occurring off campus and
whether all students were treated equally.

The issue then took a left turn. The protests morphed into whether
students have a right to stage a protest in school. Can protesters be
suspended because they were disruptive and refused to go to class? Can
students be sent home for wearing a T-shirt with a message of protest?

The answer to all of these questions begins with a drug deal. Four
students were expelled for their interactions which resulted in
marijuana being brought into the high school. Money exchanged hands.
The students involved each signed statements admitting to their roles.
Three more students were suspended for minor roles not involving the
sale or purchase of the marijuana.

Each of the students involved were treated according to the district's
"exceptional misconduct" policy. This policy identifies five acts that
can lead to suspension or expulsion: 1) insubordination or extreme
disrespect; 2) possession of drugs; 3) sale of drugs; 4) intimidation
or assault; and 5) committing a criminal act. The policy spells out
the range of discipline for each incident and, in certain cases,
expulsion is the only choice.

Some students argue that a violation must occur on school property in
order for the school to enforce discipline. That is not true. For
example, no one would expect school officials to let a fistfight take
place simply because it's across the street and off school property.
As long as illegal activity or disruptive behavior touches the school
in a significant way, such as drugs coming onto campus, school
officials can get involved.

The student protest originated with issues of drugs and discipline
before it took on a life of its own. For many, it's now about the
right of protest itself.

It started with a small group of students protesting the expulsion of
one of the students involved in the drug deal. They were suspended for
refusing to go to classes and behaving in a disruptive manner. Later
that day, other students were asked to remove T-shirts that promoted
the freedom of one of the students involved in the drug deal. If
students refused to remove the T-shirts, they were sent home.

The school's concern was prompted by credible reports from students
that protesters were planning to disrupt a Veterans Day assembly
scheduled for that afternoon. Given the disruptions earlier in the
day, those reports had to be taken seriously.

The focus of school officials was to maintain a safe learning
environment. In this case, students who worked hard to organize the
Veterans Day assembly and students who wanted to attend that event had
a right to hold the assembly unimpeded.

Today, students continue to wear clothing in subtle protest. That's
acceptable. On that first day, at that time, after the unacceptable
disruptions earlier in the day, it was not.

Student rights are very important in any school. But you must remember
those rights are a balance. Protesting on a street corner holding
signs is a well-accepted practice. Acting belligerent in school and
refusing to go to class is not. Passing around a petition or educating
others about civil liberties is acceptable. Supporting illegal
activities is not.

Did school officials miss a good learning opportunity for everyone
involved? Maybe. Right-to-privacy laws complicated the matter, making
it impossible to respond to most questions with direct answers.

Yet, everyone learned from this. The learning opportunity is not over.