Texarkana Independent School District v. Lewis

470 S.W.2d 727, 1971 Tex. App. LEXIS 2398
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 7, 1971
Docket8070
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 470 S.W.2d 727 (Texarkana Independent School District v. Lewis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texarkana Independent School District v. Lewis, 470 S.W.2d 727, 1971 Tex. App. LEXIS 2398 (Tex. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinions

RAY, Justice.

This is an appeal by the Texarkana Independent School District from a judgment granting a permanent injunction in a class action enjoining the school district from suspending or expelling appellees and all other persons in the same class from the Texas High School at Texarkana, Texas, for past or future violations of regulations [730]*730promulgated by the Board of Trustees concerning disruptive behavior. This suit was brought in the trial court as a class action by the parents as next friends of eight students who were expelled and all others similarly situated. The case was tried before the court without a jury. Seventy-six students had been expelled by the Board of Trustees for the remainder of the Spring Semester of 1971 for alleged disruptive activities at the Senior High School. The Trial Court found basically the following:

1. That the suit was properly brought as a class action;
2. That procedural due process was not followed by school officials in that:
. (a) the students were not given written notice of the charges against them;
(b) the students were not allowed sufficient time to prepare their defense;
(c) the students were not notified of their right of counsel; and
(d) the students were not notified of their right to have a record made of the evidence introduced at the hearing before the Principals.

The Trial Court further found that procedural due process was not followed by the Board of Trustees for each of the preceding reasons plus an additional finding by the Court that the Board of Trustees continued to hear evidence during its deliberations at a time when the students and parents were not present.

The Trial Court found further that the guidelines concerning disruptive activity adopted by the Board of Trustees and furnished to each individual student were vague and indefinite and in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and therefore null and void.

The Court granted a permanent injunction against appellants, enjoining them from suspending any students from attendance at Texarkana Senior High School in Texarkana for the balance of the Spring Semester, and from in any way interfering with appellees’ attendance at the school at any time in the future until appellant school district adopted a method of holding and conducting hearings in connection with suspensions or expulsions which furnishes to the student or students involved procedural due process, both before the Principals and the Board of Trustees. The Court set out the following method for holding and conducting the hearings as guides for procedural due process:

“(a) that written notice be given to the' student involved and to his parents in adequate time for them to prepare for the hearing;
(b) that a specific statement of the offense charged against the student be set out in the notice;
(c) that the student shall be informed in the written notice that he has the right to be represented by counsel at all hearings;
(d) that the student be informed in the said written notice that he may make a record at his own expense of the evidence introduced at the hearing, if he desires;
(e) that all testimony received either by the School Principals or by the Board of Trustees shall be introduced in the presence of the student; his parents and counsel, if they desire to be present, with the right of the student, his parents and counsel to cross-examine.”

The appellants were further enjoined from' suspending or expelling students until such time as appellants had adopted positive and definite guidelines for the discipline of students attending schools within the Texarkana Independent School District, and required copies of the guidelines to be furnished to each student with directions that guidelines be read by the student and delivered by the student to his parents.

[731]*731This appeal by the school district and its officials is predicated upon four points of error which are as follows:

“First, that the Court erred in holding that the Appellant did not accord the plaintiffs procedural due process in the investigation and hearing of a matter involving disruptive activities at the school.
“Second, that in the investigation of a disruptive activity in which 212 students of a senior high school were involved in vandalism and in fighting between the black and white races on the school grounds during school hours, procedural due process does not require the fixed, mechanical, legalistic steps outlined by the trial court; and the Court was in error in enjoining the defendants in the future from suspending or expelling any student for misconduct until and unless the defendants have followed a method of procedure in accordance with the listed mechanical and legalistic steps fixed by the Court.
“Third, the Court erred in holding that the guidelines by the school concerning disruptive activities were unconstitutionally vague and indefinite.
“Fourth, the Court erred in granting a class action judgment.”

The facts in this case are complex and lengthy, but basically the Board of Trustees of Texas High School had adopted a statement of policy concerning disruptive activities in October of 1969, following a previous disturbance at the school. Disruptive activities were categorized in the statement of policy as being major disruptive activities and minor disruptive activities. Major disruptive behavior carried a penalty of suspension for the remainder of the semester and failing grades in each of the courses in which the student was enrolled. The first category is defined as follows:

“Major disruptive behavior shall be interpreted to include any activity or action by any student that interferes with the normal routine operation of the school program, such as:
1. Demonstration;
2. Sit-ins;
3. Group violence;
4. Desecration of the American flag.”

Minor disruptive behavior carrying a suspension from school for five days for the first offense and permanent suspension for the second offense was defined as follows :

“Minor disruptive behavior shall be interpreted to include any activity that interferes with routine operation of the school program, such as:
1. Disrespect or disobedience of school personnel;
2. Leaving class without permission;
3. Blocking corridors or hallways;
4. Harassment of students through name calling;
5. Use of vulgar or profane language.”

It was agreed and stipulated that appel-lees had been furnished a copy of appellants’ statement of policy outlined above.

The chronology of events pertinent to this case are as follows:

1.

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

Related

University of Texas Medical School at Houston v. Than
874 S.W.2d 839 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)
Toungate v. Bastrop Independent School District
842 S.W.2d 823 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1992)
University of Houston v. Sabeti
676 S.W.2d 685 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1984)
New Braunfels Independent School District v. Armke
658 S.W.2d 330 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1983)
Diggles v. Corsicana Independent School District
529 F. Supp. 169 (N.D. Texas, 1981)
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Texas Attorney General Reports, 1980
Opinion No.
Texas Attorney General Reports, 1980
Galveston Independent School District v. Boothe
590 S.W.2d 553 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1979)
Fisher v. Burkburnett Independent School District
419 F. Supp. 1200 (N.D. Texas, 1976)
Southwest Water Services, Inc. v. Cope
531 S.W.2d 873 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1975)
Bell Ex Rel. Henderson v. Lone Oak Independent School District
507 S.W.2d 636 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)
Egner v. Texas City Independent School District
338 F. Supp. 931 (S.D. Texas, 1972)
Texarkana Independent School District v. Lewis
470 S.W.2d 727 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
470 S.W.2d 727, 1971 Tex. App. LEXIS 2398, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texarkana-independent-school-district-v-lewis-texapp-1971.