When students enter high school, they are focused on making friends and figuring out who they are as individuals. For many, this is the first time they will be responsible for themselves and their classwork. Unfortunately, some students will take this opportunity to push the boundaries of acceptable behavior to see what they can get away with. In such cases, these students will likely be accused of misconduct by their school and subjected to rigorous disciplinary actions, which can negatively impact multiple areas of their lives.
One such area of misconduct that high school students in Michigan can be accused of is hazing. All schools have a specific process for dealing with hazing accusations, including the punishments the accused student could be subjected to. To avoid such nasty penalties and their consequences, it is important to work with a skilled student defense attorney.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team understands how overwhelming hazing accusations can be for the entire family. As such, they will work tirelessly to ensure your student receives the best possible outcome for their case. Call 888-535-3686 today or schedule a consultation online. Our attorneys can help mitigate any negative consequences they might be facing and, in doing so, protect their future.
What is Hazing in Michigan?
Under Michigan law, anyone associated with an educational institution (like a high school student) who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly endangers another person's physical or mental health is guilty of hazing. Hazing can include any of the following actions:
- Physical violence, like striking, whipping, branding, beating, or placing a harmful substance on the individual's body.
- Physical activity, like sleep deprivation, confinement in a small space, exercises, or exposure to the elements that subjects them to an unreasonable risk of harm or adversely affects their physical health and safety.
- Ingesting something, like food, liquid, or alcoholic beverages, drugs, or other substances that expose the individual to an unreasonable risk of harm or that negatively impacts their physical health or safety.
- That prompts, causes, or compels an individual to complete a duty or task that involves committing a crime or an act of hazing.
Though most high schools have their own definitions and rules surrounding hazing, many pull from this state-specific wording.
Hazing in Michigan Schools
As explained above, schools in Michigan have specific anti-hazing rules they expect their students to follow. When students are accused of violating these rules, the anti-hazing policy affords the school the right to discipline them. To ensure students are not being falsely accused and punished for hazing at their school, the school will conduct a disciplinary hearing.
Typically, the disciplinary process will begin with some sort of investigation into the accusation, including an interview with the accused student to hear their side of the story. Once the investigation is completed, the investigator will turn over their report to a particular, unbiased board overseeing the disciplinary hearing. The accused student has every right to show up for this hearing with a well-prepared defense and student defense attorney.
While the disciplinary process for a hazing accusation will differ from school to school, it typically involves having both the accuser and the accused meet before the hearing committee to make their arguments. Once both sides have had a chance to present their argument, respond to the other side's argument, and be cross-examined, the board overseeing the disciplinary hearing will review the information presented and determine whether the student is responsible for hazing.
For instance, students must abide by an anti-hazing policy at West Ottawa High School (WOHS) in Holland, Michigan. This policy states that hazing is defined as performing any act or coercing another to perform an act that causes or creates a risk of emotional, mental, or physical harm to a victim so that the actor may join a group, class, or organization.
WOHS goes on to explain that just because the actor agreed to participate in the action does not mean they were not hazed. Moreover, they define conduct that falls under hazing as:
- Undressing or having initiates expose themselves in another way.
- Illegal activity.
- Forced detention or kidnapping.
- Physical punishment or inflicting pain.
- Activity that is likely to cause the victim mental or psychological stress.
- Intentional humiliation.
- Dangerous activities.
When a student is found responsible for hazing at WOHS can be punished in a number of ways depending on the severity of the hazing, including detention, short-term suspension, long-term suspension, or expulsion.
Similarly, students at Jenison Senior High School in Jenison, Michigan, must abide by the same definition of hazing and will be punished if they violate the school's anti-hazing policy in any way. They, too, can be put into detention, forced to suffer through a short or long-term suspension, or required to leave the school entirely if they are found responsible for hazing.
Though every school in Michigan has a posted anti-hazing policy, there are many cases where the school will discipline the child without giving them a proper hearing or allowing them to defend themselves. If your child's school is behaving similarly, you must stop them. Your child is entitled to certain due process rights, including the right to work with an attorney, present evidence, and witness testimony to counter the other side's arguments and confront their accusers. If the school fails to provide your students with these rights, they must be held accountable.
Working with one of the Lento Law Firm student defense attorneys is the best way to ensure you show up to your hearing with a clear defense, ample evidence and witness testimony, as well as a ton of patience.
The Appeals Process for Hazing in Michigan
Once your child is notified of the disciplinary committee's decision, they will be given a chance to appeal it. The appeals process will change from one school to the next. So, knowing exactly how your school plans to adjudicate the appeal is very important.
For example, at Kentwood High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, students who receive an out-of-school suspension for 1-10 days or who are in violation of their behavioral contract can only pursue an appeal by:
- Requesting an appeal with the building principal within two school days of receiving the suspension decision.
- If the building principal cannot resolve the issue, the parents have the right to request a meeting with the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, but it must be done within 2 school days as well.
- The Assistant Superintendent of Student Services will reach out to both parties with their decision.
The student's records will be corrected if the decision is reduced or reversed during the appeal.
On the other hand, if the student is suspended for more than ten days or expelled, the appeals process will be a bit different. Instead of requesting a meeting, the student or their parent or guardians must make a written request to the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services within three school days. However, the student will remain suspended or expelled until the appeal is completed.
Alternatively, the students at Jenison Senior High School have up to 5 days after the end of the hearing to file their appeals with the Superintendent. Or, if the Superintendent has decided to permanently expel a student, the parents have up to 5 days to file a written appeal with the Board of Education on their child's behalf.
Either way, once an appeal is heard, it is final and cannot be overturned, no matter the school.
Consequences for Hazing Disciplinary Actions
Unfortunately, when students are found responsible for hazing in Michigan, it can seriously impact their entire lives. Not only could it force them to suffer through detention, suspension, or even expulsion, but it can also alter their reputation with other teachers and students at the school, force them to pull out of extracurricular activities, or prevent them from taking certain electives. These types of consequences, which may seem superficial to some, can actually have the most lasting effects on students accused of hazing. By removing them from the programs they enjoy or forcing a student who made one mistake to endure detention or suspension, their mental health can rapidly decline.
Mental health significantly affects how students and children will respond to disruptions, turmoil, and upset going forward in life. When students have their dreams crushed early on in life, it can prevent them from overcoming the setback, building their resilience, and moving through life with ease. As such, students who are found responsible for hazing and forced to endure these sanctions have a much harder time handling everything that life will throw at them when compared to other students in their schools who have unmarred records.
Furthermore, when students receive a suspension or an expulsion punishment, they are usually noted on the student's permanent file. So, when the student goes to apply for college or certain government jobs, these notations can prevent them from being accepted. And if they are accepted into college or those roles, it can follow them to their graduate school applications, preventing them from gaining admission.
To ensure your child is not prevented from pursuing the future they have always dreamed of, you must call a student defense attorney when you learn of the accusations against them. The earlier you start defending your child, the better the outcome of their case.
Where Can the Lento Law Firm Help
The competent Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can help high school students throughout Michigan who are accused of hazing, including students in:
- Detroit
- Grand Rapids
- Ann Arbor
- Lansing
- Dearborn
- Troy
- Flint
- Kalamazoo
- Harietta
- Free Soil
- Hendricks
- Holland
- LeRoy
- Holmes
- Beulah
- Iron Mountain
- St. Johns
- Macomb
- Farmington Hills
- Canton
Additionally, it does not matter if your student is enrolled in a public, private, or charter school. The Lento Law Firm can defend students at:
- International Academy
- City High Middle School
- Washtenaw International High School
- Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy
- Troy High School
- Northville High School
- Rochester Adams High School
- East Grand Rapids High School
- Skyline High School
- Stoney Creek High School
- Grosse Pointe South High School
- Jenison High School
- Central High School
- Huron High School
- Wellspring Preparatory High School
Wherever you are located, we can help. Call our offices today for more information.
How the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
Many parents believe that school disciplinary actions do not require the ministrations of an attorney. Instead, they will attempt to defend their student on their own. However, they are rarely successful. This is because many parents show up to disciplinary actions completely unprepared. You have lives, other children, work, and responsibilities. The last thing you have time for is preparing a defense for your child's hazing accusation at school.
Sadly, when you do not show up prepared for these hearings, you are unable to answer the school board's questions effectively, allowing them to draw conclusions and make their decision without your child producing an efficient – or even sufficient – defense. It is unfair to put your child through this type of hardship, and it will affect them in the long run. Your child's dreams should matter, and hazing accusations can greatly alter their life path.
When working with an experienced student defense attorney, parents and their students receive help from an individual with a host of information. Students will benefit from this experience, which will improve their confidence in their defense come hearing day and guarantee the best possible outcome. Call 888-535-3686 today or schedule a consultation online. Our competent and competitive student defense attorneys are here to help.
