Constitutional Law

Wash. high school student suspended for going off-script

By By The Associated Press

EDMONDS, Wash. — An Edmonds high school student running for student government has been suspended for swapping a school-approved speech for one that had not been seen by school administrators.

When sophomore Pascal Cloutier went live on the school?s television channel Feb. 7, he urged students not to vote in the elections, saying that student government has no real power and its members are just "puppets of the teachers."

The Herald newspaper in Everett reported that Cloutier knew that giving an unapproved speech would get him disqualified as a candidate. But he said he didn't expect to get suspended for a day and a half as well.

His parents were told he was suspended for disrupting the education process. They are appealing the suspension.

Priya Sinha, Pascal?s mother, said her son?s act of civil disobedience didn't warrant the punishment.

John Dekker, assistant executive director of the Washington Association of School Administrators, told the newspaper that student speeches need to conform to guidelines set by the schools because administrators must maintain a positive environment for students.

?We certainly honor the First Amendment, but we also know that with that freedom comes some responsibility,? he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The newspaper also reported that administrators told Pascal?s parents that students were arguing after his speech and talking about it.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on February 14, 2011 (boomark / email).