207, 29 F.3d 1149 (7th Cir.1994). As we stated, the students lost at trial. At the outset, this court wants to emphasize that the students in this case were involved in a violent fight in the stands at a high school football game. The students have also alleged racial discrimination and a violation of their equal protection rights. of City of Chicago, 466 F.2d 629, 635 (7th Cir.1972); Linwood v. Board of Educ. The court further finds that the School Board did not act illegally, improperly or deny the students their constitutional rights. Two representatives from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition (an organization identified with Reverend Jackson) addressed the Board in closed session. of Educ. 130, 687 N.E.2d 53, 64 (1997)). Moreover, Arndt testified that the School Board does not consider race in making its expulsion decisions. Because of Howell's withdrawal from school, the School Board took no action regarding Howell. They concluded that when vagueness permeates the text of such a law, it is subject to facial attack. At 1858. Although rule 10 has been changed, and while the period of expulsion is over, an expulsion of this severity can have serious consequences to the students. 1998) (quoting Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Nor are we convinced that the request for expungement has been waived. Boehm said the fight started on the north end of the bleachers and traveled all the way to the south end. Arndt also testified that the other students will be allowed to re-enroll in their regular high schools at the end of the 1999-2000 school year. Vague As-Applied to The Nasty Habit. Obviously, from this evidence, Dr. Cooprider and the School Board could clearly find that the students involved violated the prohibition against "gang-like activity." The students have provided this court with no case law supporting their argument that the School Board's failure to do any of the aforementioned acts violated their procedural due process rights. Most importantly, this court notes that "`[g]iven the school's need to be able to impose disciplinary sanctions for a wide range of unanticipated conduct disruptive of the educational process, the school disciplinary rules need not be as detailed as a criminal code which imposes criminal sanctions.'" Hoffman Estates, 455 U.S. at 495, 102 S. Ct. 1186; see also Woodis v. Westark Community College, 160 F.3d 435, 438 (8th Cir.1998). The request was granted. Armstrong, 517 U.S. at 470, 116 S. Ct. 1480. An Examination of Fuller v. Decatur Public School Board of Education School District, 22 B.Y.U. At trial, the students conceded that they all received notice of the hearings. In a separate vote, the School Board also voted to expel Jarrett for two years. . game (Fuller ex rel. Scott recommended that Howell and Honorable be expelled for two years. Fuller, Honorable and Carson did not attend their hearings. In fact, information regarding the race of a student never appeared on the hearing officers' reports nor was the School Board ever advised of the race of any student facing expulsion. Fuller v. DECATUR PUBLIC SCHOOL BD. In separate votes, the Board voted to expel Bond, Carson, and Honorable for 2 years. v. Rodriguez,411 U.S. 1, 35-37, 93 S. Ct. 1278, 36 L. Ed. Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 103 S.Ct. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the expulsions of the students. The students alleged that the District has maintained a policy and practice of arbitrary and disparate expulsions with regard to African-American students. The videotape also showed that spectators in the bleachers were scrambling to get away from the fight. at 1857. The Summary did not include the race of any of the students. (Emphasis in original.). Illinois, Danville/Urbana Division. Linwood v. Board of Educ. In Bethel School District No. The decision of the district court is Affirmed. Bd. This letter states that the decision of expulsion would be made by: * The School Board. Accident reports admitted into evidence showed that seven bystanders were injured. Page Korematsu v. United States As this court has recognized, "it is a proper exercise of judicial restraint for courts to adjudicate as-applied challenges . Boehm said he saw fans "jumping over the rail, coming down trying to get onto the track" and "running up the bleachers trying to get away." In addition, gang membership seems not to implicate the right of association: in Morales, the Chicago ordinance's impact on the social contact between gang members and others does not impair the First Amendment right of association that our cases have recognized. 119 S.Ct. In addition, at most of the hearings, accident reports were made part of the record. On October 4, another special meeting of the Board was held to consider the recommendations regarding Howell, Bond, Carson, and Honorable. It delineates specific activities which are covered by the rule: recruiting students for membership in a gang, threatening or intimidating other students to commit acts or omissions against their will in furtherance of the purpose of the gang. It is undisputed that seven spectators, six students and one adult, filed accident reports at MacArthur High School following the incident. (3) This case is terminated. Based upon the evidence in this case, the students' challenge to the "gang-like activity" rule fails for several reasons. The students expelled were Roosevelt Fuller and Errol Bond, who attended Stephen Decatur High School; Gregory Howell and Shawn Honorable, who were students at Eisenhower High School; and Terence Jarrett and Courtney Carson, who were students at MacArthur High School. In determining whether the students have succeeded on the merits of their claims, this court is mindful that, as Plaintiffs, the students bear the burden of proving their claims. of Educ. The School Board agreed to allow Howell to withdraw. The evidence at trial showed that all of the students are currently enrolled in an alternative education program. Each letter stated that a hearing had been set before a hearing officer, gave the date, time and location of the hearing, and stated that the parent or guardian and the student "are herewith requested to appear" at the scheduled hearing. Please prove that you're human. Consequently, this court concludes that Howell lacks standing to be a Plaintiff in this case. Arndt stated that, if the credits are earned, the two students could participate in the graduation ceremonies in June at their respective high schools. ROOSEVELT FULLER, by his parents, GRETTA FULLER and ROOSEVELT HARRIS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DECATUR PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHOOL DISTRICT 61, et al., Defendants-Appellees. Each student was suspended from school for 10 days pending further School Board action. The court afrmed that the rule prohibiting students from engaging in "gang-like activity" was not impermissibly vague as written or as applied to those who were disciplined. Hunt (Hunt), director of human resources for the District, also testified that he was present at the game. The United States Supreme Court has stated: The Seventh Circuit recently noted that the Supreme Court "`has repeatedly emphasized the need for affirming the comprehensive authority of the States and of school officials, consistent with fundamental constitutional safeguards, to prescribe and control conduct in the schools.'" OF EDUC., Court Case No. These gangs are well-known in the Seventh Circuit, as many of our opinions, see United States v. Hoover, 246 F.3d 1054 (7th Cir.2001) (The Gangster Disciples, a large and vicious street gang), and Goka v. Bobbitt, 862 F.2d 646 (7th Cir.1988) (The Notorious Vice Lords), for example, discuss their activities. *825 Further, this court notes that both Perkins and Terry Robinson (Robinson) attended the November 8, 1999, School Board meeting. Moreover, *816 the students were found to have violated two other rules: the rule prohibiting physical confrontation or violence and the rule prohibiting acts that endanger the well-being of students, teachers or other school employees. Stephenson, 110 F.3d at 1305. 159, 198 (2001). Boucher, 134 F.3d at 826. Illinois | January 11, 2000 Free Legal Research for Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere www.anylaw.com ORDER On November 30, 1999, Plaintiffs Roosevelt Fuller, Gregory Howell,Terence Jarrett, Errol Bond, Perkins also candidly testified that white students had been expelled for fighting. Also, the students claimed the School Board did not listen to the tape of the hearings before Dr. Cooprider, look at the exhibits presented to the hearing officer, or request evidence from the students' files prior to voting on the expulsions. The students will remain expelled for the balance of the 1999-2000 school year. Because the expulsions were based at least in part on this rule, the students-including Howell, who claims to have standing despite withdrawing from school-contend that their due process rights were denied. Moreover, Ms. Howell and her son participated in the hearing extensively, asking many questions of the District's witnesses and presenting their own witnesses. The School Board then reviewed the video-tape of the fight at Eisenhower High School on September 17, 1999. They may be readmitted beginning with summer school, June 2000. Decided: May 24, 2001 Before RIPPLE, KANNE, and EVANS, Circuit Judges. Boucher v. School Bd. The Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools and the Fresno County Board of Education are dedicated to ensuring the success of the students of Fresno County, through the school districts we serve, by providing programs, support, oversight and training. The court observed the testimony of both Hunt and Byrkit and finds them to be credible witnesses. 702. Because of the intervention of Governor Ryan, the students were allowed to attend an alternative education program immediately. As applied in this case, the school disciplinary rule, even before it was changed, was sufficiently definite to withstand this constitutional challenge. The court stated, "[w]hile the district court's statement that a year's expulsion *822 is extreme is understandable, we cannot accept the conclusion that the harm the injunction imposes on the Board is insignificant." However, this court cannot make its decision solely upon statistical speculation. & L.J. This court cannot enjoin enforcement of a penalty which is no longer in existence. 1983, alleging that their constitutional rights were violated because one of the three school disciplinary rules they were found to have violated was void for vagueness. of City of Peoria, School Dist. The only expulsion penalty before this court is for the remainder of the 1999-2000 school year, being a period of approximately eight months. Fuller Elementary located in Raleigh, North Carolina - NC. 2079 Keyes v. School District No. Hunt also testified that he attempted to let her know that because of "the seriousness of the situation she needed to be there." On September 17, 1999, a violent fight broke out in the bleachers at a high school football game in Decatur, Illinois, leaving spectators scrambling to escape the melee. Trial, the students were allowed to attend an alternative education program immediately Carson, and Honorable be expelled two! 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