McNaughton v. Circleville Board of Education

345 N.E.2d 649, 46 Ohio Misc. 12, 75 Ohio Op. 2d 47, 1974 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 201
CourtPickaway County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedDecember 16, 1974
DocketNo. 74-CI-519
StatusPublished

This text of 345 N.E.2d 649 (McNaughton v. Circleville Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pickaway County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McNaughton v. Circleville Board of Education, 345 N.E.2d 649, 46 Ohio Misc. 12, 75 Ohio Op. 2d 47, 1974 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 201 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1974).

Opinion

Cline, J.

The facts as presented by the plaintiffs together with those facts stipulated to be true may he summarized as follows:

[13]*13The plaintiffs are six students of Circleville High School and members of the Stooge Club which is a club officially recognized by the high school and with Mr. Law-horn, the assigned advisor. The constitution of the club required that all meetings of the club be held on school property at the call of the president of the club. The constitution of the club had no provision for initiation or hazing.

On the eleventh of November, 1974, several members of the Stooge Club including the plaintiffs held an initiation and hazing of the new members at the home of Scott Bowman where the initiates were struck with belts, made to eat onion, and some initiates were required to rub tabasco sauce on the faces of fellow initiates. One of the initiates had the tabasco sauce rubbed in his eye and was taken to the hospital and treated. The meeting was not called by the President and was not officially announced at school. Mr. Lawhom, the club advisor, was not notified nor was he present at the initiation.

On the following day the parents of two of the initiates complained to the school principal by the telephone and recounted some of the events that occurred at the initiation.

The principal, Mr. Paul Sarchet, thereafter notified on November 12, 1974, each student to appear at his office where he was inquired of as to the truth of whether he was an active participant in the initiation and hazing held off school property. Each of the plaintiffs admitted to having been present at the initiation and taking some part in the initiation and hazing of new members of the club and admitted to his part in striking of students with belts or assisting in requiring initiates to place tabasco sauce on the face of fellow initiates and requiring initiates to eat onions.

Thereupon, on the 12th of November, 1974, each plaintiff was suspended for 3 days from school and the parents of each plaintiff except one, who was not available by telephone, were called by telephone and notified that the students would be coming home from school. A letter was written notifying the parents of the suspension and was deposited in the mail the same day.

A meeting of the Athletic Board, which was made up of the Superintendent, the Principal, and several of the [14]*14coaches, was held on Friday, November 15, 1974 and the Athletic Board voted to suspend the plaintiffs from any athletic activity for forty (40) days. The forty-day suspension is automatic upon a student’s being suspended for any period. Several of the parents of the plaintiffs were present at 1 he Athletic Board meeting where the events of the previous days were discussed and the action taken. Thereafter, the plaintiffs filed this action to enjoin the school from further enforcement of the suspension of athletic activities for the following reasons:

“Said disciplinary action is arbitrary and unreasonable as applied to plaintiffs for the following reasons:' (a) Defendants failed to notify or otherwise apprise plaintiffs of the consequences of indulging in the activities engaged at the meeting of November 17, 1974, said activities being previously condoned, sanctioned, and encouraged by defendants; (b) That persons other than plaintiffs were present at this meeting engaging in the same or similar conduct, without receiving any disciplinary action from defendants; (c) That the application of said disciplinary action does not apply equally to all plaintiffs; (d) That the same or similar activities have occurred since the inception of the Stooge Club without disciplinary action having been taken or warning by defendants or their predecessors.
“Wherefore, Plaintiffs pray the court for a temporary and permanent order restraining and enjoining defendants from enforcing disciplinary action taken against plaintiffs; from taking any further disciplinary action in the future; and for an order requiring defendants to expunge and delete any reference to such disciplinary action from plaintiffs’ school records.”

The plaintiffs offered evidence that initiation proceedings had taken place during the past preceding years and claim that the action of the school officials in now enforcing the ban on such activities is arbitrary and capricious as to the plaintiff.

The plaintiffs in this proceeding admitted having taken part in the initiation but that their appearance before the principal did not amount to a hearing and that due process was not accorded.

[15]*15At the close of the plaintiffs’ case, the defendants moved this court to dismiss the action of the plaintiffs.

The legality of the suspension is governed by R. 0. 3313.66 together with court decisions affecting that section. The constitutionality of that section has been raised before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals for the United States, and for purposes of this hearing must be accepted as valid.

R. C. 3313.66.

“The superintendent of schools of a city or exempted village, the executive head of a local school district, or the principal of a public school may suspend a pupil from school for not more than ten days. Such superintendent or executive head may expel a pupil from school. Such superintendent, executive head, or principal shall within twenty-four hours after the time of expulsion or suspension, notify the parent or guardian of the child, and the clerk of the board of education in writing of such expulsion, or suspension, including the reasons therefor. The pupil or the parent, or guardian, or custodian of a pupil so expelled may appeal such action to the hoard of education at any meeting of the board and shall be permitted to be heard against the expulsion. At the request of the pupil, or his parent, guardian, custodian, or attorney, the board may hold the hearing in executive session but may act upon the expulsion only at a public meeting. The board may, by a majority vote of its full membership, reinstate such pupil. No pupil shall be suspended or expelled from any school beyond the current semester.”

The rights of a student are discussed in Lopes v. Williams (1973), 372 F. Supp. 1279, which sets out the rules of due process as applied to an expulsion from school where the safety of the school either as to persons or property is involved. This case, however does not involve the safety of persons or property at the time the action was taken but may be considered to affect the health of students at a future time.

“Since the decision in Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education (5th Cir. 1961), 294 F. 2d 150, the lower federal courts have without exception recognized that a student has the due process right to notice and hearing prior [16]*16to expulsion or suspension from school for a substantial period of time. Woods v. Wright (5th Cir. 1964), 334 F. 2d 369; . . . Norton v. Discipline Committee of East Tennessee State University (6th Cir. 1969), 419 F. 2d 195, 200, . . . Although suspension from school for a short period of time as opposed to a lengthy suspension or expulsion is a lesser interference with the right to education, the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment still clouds the student. Tate v. Board of Education of Jonesboro Arkansas, 453 F. 2d at 979, supra-, ...

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
345 N.E.2d 649, 46 Ohio Misc. 12, 75 Ohio Op. 2d 47, 1974 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcnaughton-v-circleville-board-of-education-ohctcomplpickaw-1974.