|
Pupil's expulsion appeal denied
Bob Bauder, Times Staff
BEAVER - A Beaver County judge has dismissed an appeal filed by the mother of a 13-year-old South Side Area School District pupil who was expelled earlier this year after admitting to having oral sex with another pupil on a school bus.
The mother appealed the June 12 expulsion to county court. She alleged the district violated her daughter's constitutional rights and was not clear in its written policies that oral sex on a bus was unacceptable behavior.
Judge George E. James disagreed, ruling that the expulsion was legal and was supported by substantial evidence. James upheld the disciplinary action and denied the appeal.
School administrators suspended the girl and a seventh-grade male classmate, also 13, for 10 days on May 19 after several other pupils reported that the pair had oral sex that day on a bus while returning from a field trip to Independence Marsh in Independence Township.
The Times is not identifying the children or their parents because of the nature of the case.
Both children admitted to middle school Principal Thomas Ralston that they had consensual oral sex on the bus in front of other pupils.
During an expulsion hearing June 2 before the school board, the girl said her behavior was the result of peer pressure.
According to a transcript of the proceedings, the girl said that before leaving the marsh, she and another girl had discussed performing oral sex on the boy, and the other girl said they should do it.
"She said because she thought it would be cool and she thought all of her friends would look up to us," the girl told the board.
On the bus, the second girl tried to get a second boy to let her fondle him, the expelled girl said.
Meanwhile, the girl who was expelled was sitting next to the first boy. She said several other boys sitting around them began egging them on, one calling them chicken and other names, and another saying he wanted to see some action.
"Then I looked at (the boy) and said, 'Well, what are we supposed to do?' and he said we were going to lose our friends if we didn't," the girl said.
Neither the bus driver nor two chaperones noticed what was going on. Administrators learned of the incident after several pupils told a guidance counselor, who reported it to Ralston.
When confronted by Ralston, the girl and boy were remorseful and ashamed about what happened. Prior to the incident, neither child had been disciplined at school.
Both were expelled until Oct. 29. They were offered admission to the school district's alternative-education program and can be reinstated to mainstream classes as long as they comply with the conditions of their expulsion.
They also have to be examined by the school's student assistance team to determine whether they should be referred to the county's mental health agency for counseling. If they are referred, they must complete the counseling. They also are banned from all school functions during the expulsion.
Phone calls placed Tuesday from The Times to the parents of both children; Kurt Winter, the attorney for the girl's mother; and Diane Z. Buchanan, an attorney for the school board, were not returned.
|
Threaded Mode