School suspension
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Anonymous
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I have been at this conference as a staff member. The suspension and recommendation for expulsion are "protocol" for having a weapon in school. The conference will be serious and somber, but my experience was that everyone wanted what was best for the child, as well as wanted to be sure everyone involved recognized this was a serious offense. I do not think you need an attorney - however an advocate who is used to dealing with the school system might be useful.
Were the police called? Was there any legal action taken? Is this the first time your son has been in serious trouble at school? If the police were not called, or did not take any action separate from the school system and this is not a "pattern" of behavior you will likely be able to resolve the issue w/o going to an alternative school, or at worse case, only doing so for the remainder of the school year. Although the suspension and recommendation for expulsion are the basic guidelines for principals for any offense involving a weapon, the outcomes of the conferences do vary greatly. Also, anything in the school system takes time and there is always an opportunity to appeal, so a decision at this conference does not have to be final. If you can take an advocate, great, can be an educational advocate, does not have to be a lawyer, if not, just go, be honest, and respectful. Instruct your son to answer the questions honestly and calmly. If given the opportunity, have him tell why what he did was wrong and how he would handle a similar situation in the future. If there are legal charges in regard to this as well I'd definitely consult a lawyer to at least discuss what should or should not be discussed here. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and your son. |
Anonymous
| Wow. This is just. wow. I am trying to think of a circumstance were it would be justifiable for a kid to EVER bring a knife and brandish it to threaten another kid. I can't. Even if the other kid was a known bully, I would want your kid gone and never allowed back if he was at school with my kid. Do you keep guns in your house? If yes, please get your kid into counseling and get the guns out of your house before he goes on a killing spree. What school is this? |
Anonymous
You are overreacting without knowing more. |
Anonymous
Although on some level I agree, what do you expect the next step to be for a 14 year old?? I'm not suggesting bringing a knife to school or threatening someone is okay, should be accepted, or shouldn't be dealt with seriously. However, the child is 14 years old. Should he just be kicked out of school and into the streets? How will that solve the problem? The school is dealing with it and hearing the entire story. Consequences will be given and a plan will be made for the child, hopefully to continue his education somewhere/some way and move forward to being a productive, educated, member of society who learned a valuable lesson as a 14 year old. Don't get me wrong, I want to school system to deal with this in a serious manner and I don't want kids with knives at school with my kids. I don't think students who have shown dangerous behavior should be allowed to remain in school, especially repeat offenders. However, we don't know the full story here. What we know is a concerned parent posted and asked for advice about going to a conference. She/he did not try to defend DS or slam the school system, just asking for advice. The OP does not deserve to be beaten up, she/he admits what DS did was wrong and is looking for help moving forward. |
Anonymous
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Why did he do it? Something's obviously going on that compelled him to find a knife, take it to school and threaten another student with it.
I think his education is secondary here. Deal with whatever is going on in his life/mind that caused this to happen. Anyone who deliberately brings a weapon to school probably isn't focused on learning. |
Anonymous
What in this post is "offensive"? This is just procedural information. It happens with ANY kid that has an IEP AND is suspended for 10 days. It's called a manifestation determination review. PP, stop sock puppeting and dial it back. |
Anonymous
Calm down. OP wasn't excusing the behavior, she just wants advice about how to proceed. You clearly have an overactive imagination. Chill. |
Anonymous
| I don't think you should fight the expulsion. Let him be sent to an alternative school with his brethren. I would not want your violently-inclined child around mine at school. |
Anonymous
| I had a friend in high school who did something similar. He had no other history of violence so he was expelled but allowed to go to another regular public school in the county. It depends on the severity of the incident. But, OP, an alternative school could be a great option. Most are not run like prisons - some offer flexible hours and treat the kids more like adults. Some kids really do well in those type of settings. |
Anonymous
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OP,
Ignore the angry irrational people. They have no clue that this happens all the time because it is not published anywhere. It is kept as private as possible but kids talk. This may seem like the end of the world for you but teenagers make mistakes. I have not dealt wih this before but my H does with his job, so has my brother with his kids and my neighbor with her son. In MoCo he is going to get a 10 day suspension if this is the 1st offense. He will be required to do some psychiatric evaluation at shady grove or suburban and some classes. If there is a police report you probably should get a lawyer. Worse case scenario suspension till the end of the year, which is in a few weeks with an alternate form or education. That is only if you son has had multiple issues. But he is a Freshman so the principal probably has not had many issues and issues from middle school do not pass on necessarily to high school unless ther is a poiice report or it is part of an IEP. It is sad and I am sorry this happened. You will want to start counseling as soon as possible. BTW, this means a few meetings with a counselor to see if lots of counseling is needed or if this was a momentary lapse of reason. |
Anonymous
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FWIW, my brother brought a knife to school in 8th grade and was suspended for threatening someone with it. Mind you, this was 25 years ago, so he got maybe a week's suspension - nowadays, schools are much more reactionary about such things.
My brother was a good kid. He was being bullied and he was scared shitless. He brought the knife to threaten the bully to leave him alone. My parents had no idea; to this day, I doubt they do. They grounded him for ages and labeled him a bad kid. He was nothing of the kind; he just was no good at communicating what he needed with words. I tried to intervene for him, but it rarely worked. Please get your son some counseling, whatever happens. |