Good News Wednesday: Naughty Kids Belong in School

Posted June 15, 2011 in Your Family & The Law by Arthur Buono
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It’s a double your pleasure day because we’ve got not one but two good news items. First, a Pennsylvania court has reinstated a kindergartner who was expelled for touching his teacher’s thighs. But that’s not all.

     
  • Lawyer to six-year-old: "We’re going to court!"
  • High school kids have free hand in lampooning faculty and staff
  • Lawsuits needed where common sense, good manners lacking
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Lessons in Litigation for the K-12 Set

In the federal 3rd Circuit at least, students can’t be disciplined for anything they say or write off school grounds and time. Students are free to write lewd, disgusting parodies of principals and teachers and flog them on Facebook or other social networks. This, indeed, is a victory for free speech and students’ rights to disrespect authority figures. It’s also a knock on 365/24/7 school conduct codes.

The six-year-old touched his teacher’s thighs after learning her legs hurt. He said he wanted to make it feel better. We all know children that age lie a lot. Maybe he really did try to grope her. He’d previously been accused of touching a little girl’s booty and stepping on classmates’ shoelaces.

You can take these rulings two ways. It’s wonderful we have a justice system that permits students who’ve been wronged to have their day in court. Kids, after all, belong in school. It’s tragic and a colossal waste of court resources that six-year-olds who touch teachers’ thighs and high school students who make fun of principals play out their fate one notch below the Supreme Court. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.

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