Moreover, during trial, Arndt testified that two of the students who are seniors and need only a few credits to graduate may graduate with their class if they complete the necessary credits in the alternative education program. As a consequence, no testimony was presented by either African American member of the School Board that the School Board's decision was racially motivated. Fairmont Elementary School is a highly rated, public school located in SANGER, CA. Arndt further stated that he was unable to obtain that information from the School Board's records because the race of students was never indicated at any time to the School Board. See also Wiemerslage Through Wiemerslage v. Maine Tp. Chavez, 27 F. Supp. Hunt also testified that he attempted to let her know that because of "the seriousness of the situation she needed to be there." In Morales, defendants who were convicted of violating Chicago's gang loitering ordinance and were sentenced to jail terms appealed, arguing that the ordinance was unconstitutionally vague. Dr. Walter Amprey, the students' expert witness, testified that he reviewed the documents related to the discipline of these students and did not recall ever seeing the term "zero tolerance.". Weaponless School Violence, Due Process, and the Law of Student Suspensions and Expulsions: An Examination of Fuller v. Decatur Public School Board of Education School District , 2002 BYU E duc. A successful substantive due process claim requires an "extraordinary departure from established norms." This court cannot enjoin enforcement of a penalty which is no longer in existence. No. On October 1, 1999, the School Board held a special meeting to consider the expulsion recommendation of Dr. Cooprider regarding Fuller and Jarrett. He is currently one of the hearing officers under contract to conduct expulsion hearings for the District. of Seminole Co., 753 So2d 130 (Fla App 2000) (upholding suspension from extracurricular activities pursuant to a zero-tolerance policy . At that hearing, Fuller read a letter he had written to the School Board and asked for another chance. Utilizing Sykes' "pains of imprisonment" to examine deprivations in America's public schools. 2d 67 (1999). Zero Tolerance ~ January 11, 2000 On August 25, 1998, the School Board adapted a "no-tolerance position on school violence" The ruled the fight as a continuation of an incident that occurred on September 3, 1999 (gang related) These gangs are well-known in the Seventh Circuit, as many of our opinions, see United States v. Hoover, 246 F.3d 1054 (7th Cir.2001) (The Gangster Disciples, a large and vicious street gang), and Goka v. Bobbitt, 862 F.2d 646 (7th Cir.1988) (The Notorious Vice Lords), for example, discuss their activities. Delphine Bond Kendrex (Ms. Kendrex), Bond's mother, testified that she spoke to Elmer McPherson (McPherson), assistant superintendent for the District, on September *823 27, 1999, prior to the date of the hearing set for Bond. of School Dist. Loading. at 444-45. Boucher, 134 F.3d at 826-27. At the outset, this court wants to emphasize that the students in this case were involved in a violent fight in the stands at a high school football game. See Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 89 S.Ct. Traditional Public Charter Magnet. Listed below are the cases that are cited in this Featured Case. Your activity looks suspicious to us. Moreover, none of the Caucasian students who were expelled for physical confrontations or fighting can be considered "similarly situated" to the students involved in this case. She also testified that, on October 4, 1999, she attended the School Board meeting with Dr. Norman, the president of the NAACP in Decatur and a former member of the School Board. Perkins testified that he voted in favor of the "notolerance" resolution on August 25, 1998. Please prove that you're human. Fuller v. Decatur Public Sch. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Whatever is true of other rules, rule 10 is not devoid of standards. A court must look for an abuse of power that "shocks the conscience." v School Bd. Fuller v. Decatur Public School BD. The students who attended their hearings were allowed to question witnesses and present testimony. 1983, alleging that their constitutional rights were violated because one of the three school disciplinary rules they were found to have violated was void for vagueness. Furthermore, the nature of the law affects the analysis. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) . Nor was evidence presented denying that the conduct of the students in this case endangered the well-being of fellow students, teachers or other school employees. The situation is different from that in Rios v. Lane, 812 F.2d 1032 (7th Cir.1987), in which we found a prison regulation unconstitutional as applied to an inmate who copied information from an authorized prison newspaper and disseminated the copies. Boehm testified that the bleachers on the east end were pretty close to being full of spectators, including students, parents, teachers and grandparents. Grade Level. A separate hearing was held before Dr. David O. Cooprider (Dr. Cooprider) for each of the students. The students in this case argue that they were expelled by the School Board for a period of two years because of a "zero tolerance" policy which punished them as a group, denied their constitutional rights and was racially motivated. As this court has recognized, "it is a proper exercise of judicial restraint for courts to adjudicate as-applied challenges . Robinson was never called by the students to testify at trial as an adverse witness. The Report listed all persons who attended the hearing on behalf of the District and on behalf of the student. 1855, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983). The United States Supreme Court has stated: The Seventh Circuit recently noted that the Supreme Court "`has repeatedly emphasized the need for affirming the comprehensive authority of the States and of school officials, consistent with fundamental constitutional safeguards, to prescribe and control conduct in the schools.'" 403 v. *827 Fraser,478 U.S. 675, 686, 106 S. Ct. 3159, 92 L. Ed. The Monday after the game, an investigation began at each high school to determine who was involved in the fight. of EDU. This court concludes that its inquiry and final decision in this case must be based upon the School Board's action on November 8, 1999, when the expulsions of the five students were reduced to a period of approximately eight months and the students were given the opportunity to enroll in an alternative education program. Boehm said he saw fans "jumping over the rail, coming down trying to get onto the track" and "running up the bleachers trying to get away." Moreover, the "right to an education [is] not guaranteed, either explicitly or implicitly, by the Constitution, and therefore could not constitute a fundamental right." In addition, gang membership seems not to implicate the right of association: in Morales, the Chicago ordinance's impact on the social contact between gang members and others does not impair the First Amendment right of association that our cases have recognized. 119 S.Ct. The decision of the district court is Affirmed. Boucher v. School Bd. ROOSEVELT FULLER, by his parents, GRETTA FULLER and ROOSEVELT HARRIS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DECATUR PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHOOL DISTRICT 61, et al., Defendants-Appellees. Illinois, Danville/Urbana Division. 00-1233 In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit Argued March 28, 2001 Decided MAY 24, 2001 Please try again. 225, 158 F.3d 962, 966 (7th Cir.1998). Boehm testified that it was the only fight of this magnitude he had seen in 27 years in education. These hearings took place on September 27, 28 and 29, 1999. Based upon the foregoing analysis, this court concludes that the students have failed to meet the burden of proving their claims. IJPLE 4 (1) 2020 . Boehm said the fight started on the north end of the bleachers and traveled all the way to the south end. Rather, they rely on the second, which is that even if a law does not reach a substantial amount of constitutionally protected conduct, it can be found to be impermissibly vague if it fails to define the offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited and it fails to establish standards to permit enforcement in a nonarbitrary, nondiscriminatory manner. During the investigation, evidence was gathered which showed that each of the students was involved in the fight. A 15-year-old male student complained that he was struck in the left cheek and suffered a contusion to his face. The Court stated that "the ordinance does not provide sufficiently specific limits on the enforcement discretion of the police `to meet constitutional standards for definiteness and clarity.'" No. Research the case of Fuller v. Decatur Public School Board of Education School Dist. Dr. Cooprider recommended a 2-year expulsion for each student. Fuller v. Decatur Public School Bd. The request was granted. All three high schools are located in Decatur, Illinois, and are part of Decatur Public School District No. Accordingly, an expulsion hearing is sufficient to meet procedural due process requirements if the plaintiff knew the charges against him, received notice of the expulsion hearing, and was given a full opportunity to explain his position in an evidentiary hearing. Weaponless school violence, due process, and the law of student suspensions and expulsions: An examination of Fuller v. Decatur Public School Board of Education School District. Proimos v. Fair Auto. Each letter stated that a hearing had been set before a hearing officer, gave the date, time and location of the hearing, and stated that the parent or guardian and the student "are herewith requested to appear" at the scheduled hearing. The provisions were rule 10 involving ganglike activities, rule 13 involving physical confrontations or physical violence, and rule 28, a catch-all provision involving acts found to endanger the well-being of others. Moreover, *816 the students were found to have violated two other rules: the rule prohibiting physical confrontation or violence and the rule prohibiting acts that endanger the well-being of students, teachers or other school employees. OF EDUC., Court Case No. That evening the School Board held an emergency meeting. They sought an order reinstating them to school and a declaration that the rule 10 prohibition on gang-like activities is void. Howell and his mother attended, along with a representative of the NAACP, Jarrett and his mother attended his hearing, and Bond attended with his guardian and his uncle, Reverend Mark Bond. Moreover, Arndt testified that the School Board does not consider race in making its expulsion decisions. He also concluded that each of the six students was a significant participant in the September 17, 1999, incident. Stephenson, 110 F.3d at 1305. In each of the students' hearings before Dr. Cooprider, evidence was presented from Police Officer Doug Taylor. The most publicized and heinous type of personal violence that has transpired within school settings is events involving an active shooter(s). Fuller v. Decatur Public School DS. When the dust settled, the original 2-year expulsions were reduced to expulsions for the remainder of the school year with the students being given the opportunity to attend an alternative high school. 193, 636 N.E.2d 625, 628 (1993). Both Perkins and Robinson voted against the expulsion of the students on November 8. The evidence showed that the parent or guardian of each of the students received this letter prior to the hearing. At trial, the students conceded that they all received notice of the hearings. Reverend Jesse Jackson was allowed to address the School Board. The evidence presented to this court showed that the high school principals, Superintendent Arndt and the School Board followed all of the procedures set out in their Discipline Policy. He was also a kick returner with UCLA. The letters clearly stated that expulsion had been recommended but the decision on expulsion would be made by the School Board. By thoroughly completing these procedural steps, the School Board has sufficiently complied with the procedural due process requirements of the law. . Get free summaries of new Central District of Illinois U.S. Federal District Court opinions delivered to your inbox! See also Baxter v. Round Lake Area Schools,856 F. Supp. Fuller, Honorable and Carson did not attend their hearings. Because of the efforts of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the intervention of Governor George Ryan, the School Board reconsidered its decision and reduced the expulsions of the five students from two calendar years to the balance of the 1999-2000 school year. Again, the School Board voted to go into closed executive session to discuss the student disciplinary cases. Fuller v. Decatur Public School Board. Also, the students claimed the School Board did not listen to the tape of the hearings before Dr. Cooprider, look at the exhibits presented to the hearing officer, or request evidence from the students' files prior to voting on the expulsions. This court initially notes that each of the students' parent or guardian received the September 23, 1999, letter from Arndt. The students claim that, because the fight was of a short duration and that no guns, no knives, and no drugs were involved, no expulsion was warranted for their actions in the fight. Rule 10 states: At trial, Dr. Amprey testified that, in his opinion, "the rule in and of itself is subject to so many varied definitions of the term `gang' that renders itself, for lack of a better term, useless in the sense of clearly defining or of pointing out that someone is involved in gang activity." The principals of the respective high schools each recommended that the students be expelled for 2 years. 2d 320 (1972). Perkins' testimony confirmed that the School Board has expelled Caucasian students for fighting. Google Scholar. 225, 1994 WL 604100, at *2 (N.D.Ill.1994). *826 The evidence presented at trial does not support the students' claim. The record is undisputed that Ms. Fuller, Bond's guardian, and Reverend Bond attended the hearing before Dr. Cooprider on behalf of Bond. Evidence was also presented at each hearing regarding the involvement of that particular student in the fight. The following Monday, September 20, 1999, an investigation was begun by the administration at each high school to determine *817 who was involved in the fight. 702. Illinois | January 11, 2000 Free Legal Research for Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere www.anylaw.com ORDER On November 30, 1999, Plaintiffs Roosevelt Fuller, Gregory Howell,Terence Jarrett, Errol Bond, The fight and the expulsions received considerable media attention as well as the attention of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Illinois Governor George Ryan. Is no longer in existence the Monday after fuller v decatur public schools game, an investigation began at hearing. Allowed to address the School Board District and on behalf of the six students was involved in the fight the... Hearings for the District student disciplinary cases recommended a 2-year expulsion for each of the students who attended hearing. Courts to adjudicate as-applied challenges hearings before Dr. David O. Cooprider ( Dr. Cooprider for. 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