Steve Haas and Justin Haas v. West Shore School District

No.  550 C.D. 2006 (Pa. Comwlth., 2006)

Facts of the Case

            On October 6, 2005, the Red Land High School Administration investigated an incident involving consumption of alcohol on school premises during school hours.  Several students were found guilty including Justin.  When Justin was interviewed by the school administration he produced the following statement.  Justin wrote:

At lunch (T.C.) had alcohol in an iced tea bottle.  I didn’t believe him so
he gave it to me so I took a sip.  I know Nicole had drank some prior to
lunch.

After the interview, the administration suspended Justin for ten days and moved to expel him for a period of 30 days based on the West Shore School District polices 218 and 227.  Policy 218 deals with the general discipline of students, while Policy 227 prohibits drugs, including alcohol on school grounds.  A formal expulsion hearing was held and Justin entered a not guilty plea.  The school board looked at the case in two phases.  The first phase was to determine if Justin was innocent or guilty.  The second phase centered around the disciplinary measure in case of guilt.  The district’s school board found Justin guilty of consuming alcohol on school premises and he was expelled from school for 30 days.  T.C., the student that brought the alcohol to school, testified at the hearing that he gave Justin a sip of alcohol.  T.C. was given a Breathalyzer test that came back positive the day Justin gave the written statement.  Therefore, the school board found reasonable circumstantial evidence to expel Justin.  Steven Haas, who was the father of Justin, appealed the order to the court of common pleas.  Steven argued that the board did not have substantial evidence to support that Justin drank alcohol and that Justin’s statement taken by administration violated West Shore School District Policy 235.  Policy 235 states:

No student shall be required, as part of any applicable program, to
submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information
concerning—

illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;

without the prior consent of the student, or in the case of an
emancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent.

The court of common pleas agreed with the school board.  They stated that based on circumstantial inference, the board could find that there was alcohol in the drink container and Justin consumed alcohol, on school property, during the school day. 

Decision of the Court

            The Commonwealth Court of PA affirmed the decision of the court of common pleas stating that the board had substantial evidence to expel Justin and the Red Land school administration did not violate Policy 235.

Basis of Decision

            The PA Administration Code Section 4.4(d) states that children may be excluded from research studies and surveys conducted by people outside the school district, not interviews conducted by school administrators for disciplinary reasons.  According to the Judge, 22 Pa. Code § 4.4(d) makes it clear that Section 235 is not applicable in this situation.  Justin signed a written statement to a school administrator that he consumed alcohol and a Breathalyzer test found that TC had alcohol in his system.  Therefore, the West Shore School District Board had substantial evidence to expel Justin. 

Prepared by Justin Ross June 30, 2007