Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for December 8, 2006 STUDENT FIGHTS SUSPENSION

Was the suspension for simulated drug use or for refusing to be an "undercover narc"? Let the courts decide!

From the WVGazette.com website...

Student sues over 10-day suspension

By Andrew Clevenger
Staff writer

Followup story: Teen returns to school

Kids across America are warned to stay away from “nose candy” in anti-drug campaigns. But a Kanawha County student is fighting his suspension for pretending to put actual candy up his nose.

According to a lawsuit filed in Kanawha Circuit Court Monday, a student-athlete at Sissonville High School was given Smarties candy as a reward for good academic performance. In front of his teacher and fellow classmates, the student pretended to put one of the small candy discs up his nose. Another student used his cell phone to record video of the incident.

Principal Calvin McKinney, who is named as a defendant along with the Kanawha County school board, allegedly called the plaintiff into his office and confronted him about the incident.

“The plaintiff informed ... McKinney ... that at no time did he possess any drug or did he claim to possess any drug,” according to the suit.

Still, McKinney then threatened to suspend the student — identified in the lawsuit only by his initials — unless he joined McKinney’s “Narc Program” and went undercover to find real drug users at the school, according to the suit.

“The [student] was told that he was to ‘hang around the bathroom’ and the school parking lot,” the suit states.

McKinney’s investigation into the incident confirmed that the student was telling the truth about the Smarties candy, according to the suit.

“The plaintiff was informed that even though it was, in fact, just candy ... McKinney needed another ‘Narc’ for his program and that if the student would not agree to enter said Narc Program that he would be suspended,” the suit reads.

After the student and his parents met with school officials and the student refused to cooperate with McKinney’s proposal, he received a 10-day suspension, according to the suit.

McKinney allegedly told the family that his “Narc Program” had been in effect for several years, and this was an opportunity to get a good student to go undercover.

The suit contends that McKinney usually uses the threat of suspension to force students who may be suffering academically to become a part of the “Narc Program.”

As a result of the suspension, which began Friday, the student missed a meeting with recruiters who had visited the school to discuss a scholarship opportunity, the suit contends.

The suit seeks an injunction against the school board and unspecified monetary damages for emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and the loss of a potential scholarship. It contends that requiring the student to seek out potential drug users could put the student in danger.

School board attorney Jim Withrow could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

From the WVGazette.com website...

Sissonville student suspended in candy incident

By Andrew Clevenger
Staff writer

A Sissonville High School student suspended for pretending to snort candy as if it were cocaine was back in school on Wednesday after his lawsuit was settled out of court. Both sides agreed to settle on Tuesday. They confirmed that a financial settlement was not part of the agreement.

The lawsuit alleged that the student was suspended after refusing to participate in Principal Calvin McKinney’s so-called “narc program.”

On Wednesday, McKinney denied having such a program. He said he asked the student to tell him if the student happened to see any other students involved with drugs. In exchange, the principal said he would call off the student’s suspension.

School officials said they became aware of the student’s behavior last week, when an upset parent showed them video recorded on her son’s cell phone.

In the video, the student appears to snort a line of powder — which the student later said was a ground-up Smarties candy given to him in class by his teacher for good academic performance — off a desk, said several school officials who had seen the recording.

According to Kanawha County school policy, students are prohibited from having drugs or drug look-alikes.

“A student will not possess or distribute any substance which the student represents to be a controlled substance,” the rule reads.

Assistant Principal David Reaser said the recommended punishment for the student’s infraction — since pretending to do drugs is treated the same as actually doing them — is a 10-day suspension and a mandatory drug-awareness class.

McKinney said he made the suggestion as an alternative to a suspension, which would keep the student out of the classroom for an extended period.

“Being the softie that I am, I didn’t want to suspend him for 10 days,” McKinney said. So he told the student to let him know if he saw any drugs in the school, much as he routinely asks members of student council to tell someone if they see any drug activity.

He said he had made similar offers maybe five times during his 20-plus years as a school administrator.

“When they don’t inform us, we don’t call them back and suspend them,” Reaser said.

McKinney said the conflict arose when the boy’s father balked at the suggestion that his son inform on his fellow students. McKinney said he, Reaser and assistant Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Joseph Godish met with the boy and his parents on Thursday and tried to defuse the situation.

According to McKinney, the boy’s parents said they didn’t think the school’s position was fair, and would contact school board attorney Jim Withrow.

McKinney said at the end of the day, he contacted Withrow, who said he had not heard from the family. McKinney then imposed a five-day suspension, which he had reduced at the recommendation of Kanawha County schools superintendent Ron Duerring.

Withrow said Wednesday the case had been resolved.

“Mr. McKinney agreed that he would not in the future request students to provide information in lieu of some other disciplinary action,” Withrow said.

He said all school officials expect students to report any wrongdoing they happen to witness.

“We encourage students to report other students if they have weapons or drugs,” he said, adding that most weapons found in schools are confiscated after being reported by students.

Michael Ranson, the family’s attorney, said his clients are satisfied with the resolution.

McKinney said the agreement included a three-day suspension, plus a day and a half of community service.

“I was using it as an alternative to suspension,” McKinney said. “I won’t do that anymore.”

He said he had never used the word “narc,” and he certainly doesn’t have a policy that rewards students for informing on their fellow students. He does routinely ask students to report any drug activity they see, he said.

“I’m in charge of having a safe school,” McKinney said. “I do everything I can to have a safe school.”