A Virginia Beach judge has ruled in favor of a student suspended from St. John the Apostle Catholic School. The suspension followed the student’s belated decision to report his classmate who showed him a bullet. Judge Vivian Henderson deemed the suspension unconscionable, calling it a dangerous precedent for the enforcement of school safety measures. The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed by the student’s mother, Jennifer Wigand, who argued that the school’s actions were unwarranted and detrimental to her son’s academic future.
In September, A.W., Wigand’s son, received a one-and-a-half day suspension. This punishment was in line with the duration assigned to the student who had brought the bullet to school. As per Wigand, this punishment was an infraction on her contract with the school. She claimed that A.W. warranted more lenient punishment. Instead of being sent home as zero tolerance dictated, he should have received detention or another type of in-school discipline.
The violation took place as A.W. was getting ready to take a standardized exam. One of her classmates pulled out the bullet to show A.W. After completing his exam, it took him over two hours to eventually report this to Principal Anderson. Wigand’s representative, Tim Anderson, criticized the school’s decision, arguing that it was an unfair response and that A.W. became an “unfortunate victim” of circumstances.
The school’s decision “was meant to set a pretty high and bright line for safety,” Anderson said. He noted that above all, they were trying to educate A.W. on the value of reporting incidents right away. He did call the entire situation “appalling” and said the reasons given for Mullin’s suspension make no sense.
Judge Henderson was sympathetic to these concerns in her ruling. She asked us to consider the obstacles students encounter when forced to pivot between unclear cut-throat expectations. “Especially in an environment where younger and younger kids are being forced to make adult-like decisions without clear boundaries or parameters,” she remarked.
This last point was crucial, as Wigand’s representative emphasized the potential long-term impact of the suspension on A.W.’s academic career. He emphasized that A.W. will now need to say “yes” to questions about his conduct for decades. This situation raised questions about school policies and about how students are treated in disciplinary matters concerning serious incidents.
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