In re Appeal of Suspension of Huffer from Circleville High School

546 N.E.2d 1308, 47 Ohio St. 3d 12, 1989 Ohio LEXIS 298
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 22, 1989
DocketNo. 88-1397
StatusPublished
Cited by75 cases

This text of 546 N.E.2d 1308 (In re Appeal of Suspension of Huffer from Circleville High School) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Appeal of Suspension of Huffer from Circleville High School, 546 N.E.2d 1308, 47 Ohio St. 3d 12, 1989 Ohio LEXIS 298 (Ohio 1989).

Opinions

Douglas, J.

I

The first issue before us is whether this case is moot since Huffer has graduated from high school.

In State, ex rel. The Repository, v. Unger (1986), 28 Ohio St. 3d 418, 420, 28 OBR 472, 474, 504 N.E. 2d 37, 39, we held that a case is not moot if the issues are “ ‘ “ ‘capable of repetition, yet evading review.’ ” ’ ”

Likewise, if a case involves a matter of public or great general interest, the court is vested with the jurisdiction to hear the appeal, even though the case is moot. Franchise Developers, Inc. v. Cincinnati (1987), 30 Ohio St. 3d 28, 30 OBR 33, 505 N.E. 2d 966.5

The issue of the authority of local school boards to make rules and regulations is of “great general interest.” The issue before us is certainly “capable of repetition,” yet it may “evade review,” since students who challenge school board rules generally graduate before the case winds its way through the court system. For these reasons, we decide this issue of school board authority.

II

Ohio has a rich tradition of local control of its public school districts. Section 3, Article VI of the Ohio Constitution states that “[provision shall be made by law for the organization, administration and control of the public school system of the state * * * provided, that each school district * * * shall have the power by referendum vote to determine for itself * * * the organization of the district board of education, and provision shall be made by law for the exercise of this power by such school districts.” (Emphasis added.)

R.C. 3313.20 provides, in pertinent part, that “[t]he board of education shall make such rules as are necessary for * * * the government of its * * * pupils of its schools * * *.” R.C. 3313.47 declares, in part, that “[e]ach * * * local board of education shall have the management and control of all the public schools * * * in its respective district. * * *”

Ohio courts have spoken of the broad power of Ohio’s boards of education based upon earlier versions of these statutes.

Brannon v. Bd. of Edn. (1919), 99 Ohio St. 369, 124 N.E. 235, in paragraph two of the syllabus, held that “[a] court has no authority to control the discretion vested in a board of education by the statutes of this state, or to substitute its judgment for the judgment of such board, upon any questions it is authorized by law to determine * * *.” In Brannon, supra, [15]*15in paragraph three of the syllabus, the court found that “[a] court will not restrain a board of education from carrying into effect its determination of any question within its discretion, except for an abuse of discretion or for fraud or collusion * * *.” (Emphasis added.)

In Greco v. Roper (1945), 145 Ohio St. 243, 30 O.O. 473, 61 N.E. 2d 307, paragraph one of the syllabus, we held that “* * * a board of education is charged with the management and control of the public schools in its district and is vested with authority to make such rules and regulations as it deems necessary for its government * * * ."

The United States Supreme Court in Bd. of Edn. of Rogers v. McCluskey (1982), 458 U.S. 966, held that the trial court must defer to the board of education’s reasonable interpretation of its rule on mandatory suspension of students “under the influence of drugs.”

In Wood v. Strickland (1975), 420 U.S. 308, 326, the court found that federal courts should not substitute their judgment for school administrators’ decisions, since the system of public education in this country rests upon the discretion and judgment of school administrators and school board members. Thus, the United States Supreme Court and Ohio courts have established that school boards have wide discretion in adopting rules and regulations for governing schools.

In this case, the Circleville Board of Education adopted Policy No. 622, which states that “[t]he Circleville Board of Education has defined * * * policies addressing substance use * * * to respond * * * to problem behaviors occurring in the school setting. * * * A student shall not knowingly * * * use, transmit, apply or be under the influencet[fn.] of any * * * alcoholic beverage * * *. It is recognized that the determination of the school authorities may be distinct and separate from any determination of the courts.”

The footnote to the above passage states:

“Under the influence is defined as manifesting signs of chemical misuse such as staggering, reddened eyes, odor of chemicals, nervousness, restlessness, falling asleep/dozing in class, memory loss, abusive language or any other behavior not normal for the particular pupil.” (Emphasis added.)

Appellant argues that the school board, with its broad statutory grant of authority, adopted Policy No. 622 to combat the growing epidemic of alcohol and drug abuse plaguing young people today and that the rióle is reasonably connected with the school board’s responsibility of preventing such abuse in the school setting.

A school board certainly has the right to prohibit students’ use of drugs and alcohol in the school setting.6 We are all aware of the current drug and alcohol crisis and the need to educate young people as to the hazards of substance abuse. If a school board cannot establish a rule to stop the use of drugs and alcohol among its students absent the students’ becoming disruptive, then the school administrators will be helpless to enforce and maintain discipline in our schools. Such a restriction would simply be unreasonable.

Appellee argues, however, that the [16]*16board of education abused its discretion when it adopted Policy No. 622, which defines “under the influence” as exhibiting the odor of chemicals, reddened eyes, restlessness, nervousness, etc. Appellee asserts that the presence of one of these symptoms does not mandate that a student is “under the influence.”

We agree that a student who has one of these symptoms is not necessarily “under the influence” of alcohol or drugs. However, these symptoms are a starting point in any investigation by a school administrator. During an investigation, the administrator must uncover further corroborating evidence of the use of alcohol or drugs to find a student “under the influence.” This is exactly what happened here. The assistant coach smelled alcohol on Huffer’s breath and notified the head coach. The head coach questioned Huffer about whether he had been drinking alcohol and Huffer admitted drinking beer before attending wrestling practice. Thus, the board’s list of symptoms served as indicia of when a student was “under the influence” and aided in the detection of alcohol use by the student. The board’s rule reasonably regulates the use of intoxicating beverages by students in the school setting. This is a matter of proper concern for a school board. The board did not abuse its discretion when it adopted the rule.

III

Appellee further argues that Policy No. 622 is overbroad. Both the trial court and the court of appeals found the policy overbroad, but failed to articulate any standard in reaching that conclusion.

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Bluebook (online)
546 N.E.2d 1308, 47 Ohio St. 3d 12, 1989 Ohio LEXIS 298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-appeal-of-suspension-of-huffer-from-circleville-high-school-ohio-1989.