Slippery Rock School District v. A.B., A minor

No. 695 C.D. 2006

Facts of the Case

The Slippery Rock School District appealed an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County reversing the decision of the school board’s determination to expel A.B. from Slippery Rock Area Middle School.

On January 12, 2006, A.B., a sixth grade student at Slippery Rock MS , signed out to go to the bathroom at 8:42 a.m. She returned at 8:44 a.m., with a friend and carrying a bomb threat written on a piece of paper torn off of the corner of a notebook. She gave the bomb threat to the teacher who then contacted the principal, Joseph Raykie. The principal contacted the state police who came to investigate. During an extensive interview with A.B. where no one else was present, the troopers were able to have A.B. produce a written confession in which she admitted to writing a “bomb note” about two weeks earlier and giving it to a friend as a joke. A.B. denied having put the note in the bathroom. A.B. claimed that she did not recognize the note as her own hand writing, when handwriting comparisons found that the note was most likely written by A.B. A.B. was immediately suspended from school for 10 days for violating the School District’s policy 218.2, entitled “Terroristic Threats / Acts.”

Before the school board, principal Raykie testified that A.B. was a good student with no prior issues. A.B.’s father, who was also a police officer, claimed that the confession was coerced, and should be not used as evidence against her. The board found the evidence produced by the state troopers credible and found that the school district had shown by a preponderance of the evidence that A.B. wrote the note and placed it in the bathroom. The school district expelled A.B. for the remainder of the 2005-2006 school year with the possibly of re-admission in 2006-2007.

A.B. appealed this decision to the Court of Common Pleas, arguing that a preponderance of evidence did not exist that she placed the note in the bathroom, even if the note had been written by her. The court agreed, reasoning that while it had been established that she wrote the bomb note, it failed to establish proof that she placed the note in the bathroom, therefore removing any proof that she communicated a threat to commit violence. The court concluded that A.B. was not subject for dismissal under the school district’s “Terrorizing” code 218.2, and therefore ordered the school district to reinstate A.B. to the middle school immediately.

Decision of the Court

The Slippery Rock school District contended that it met the burden of proof by establishing a preponderance of the evidence that A.B. placed the note based on the circumstantial evidence. A.B. argued that circumstantial evidence alone was not enough to establish a preponderance of the evidence.

Basis for Decision

The court, led by Judge Dan Pellegrini, determined that circumstantial evidence is enough when sufficient facts are present. The judge referred to past cases such as The Commonwealth v. Robertson 874 A.2d 1200 1206 (Pa. Super. 2005) to support this finding. The judge found that based on the facts of the case stated above, it was reasonable for the Slippery Rock School Board to find substantial evidence upon which to determine the guilt of A.B. and was within its rights to expel her for the remainder of the school year.  The Court of Common Pleas decision was reversed and A. B.’ s suspension reinstated.

On the three judge panel, a second judge, Honorable Joseph F. McCloskey affirmed while the third, The Honorable Rochelle S. Friedman offered a dissenting opinion.

Provided by Jason S. Cicoria June 16, 2007