High school students are usually focused on the future – getting into college and getting a job. They are aching for independence and anticipating the life they will have once high school is over. Sadly, when a high school student in Minnesota is accused of hazing, it will have disastrous effects on the student's dreams of the future. Suddenly, college is an additional step or two away. Many students will find it difficult to jump through these additional hoops and end up suffering significant mental health struggles.
If your child has been accused of hazing by their Minnesota high school, it is incredibly important you reach out to an experienced student defense attorney. Working with the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team is the best way to ensure your child does not suffer such negative consequences.
Call 888-535-3686 today or schedule a consultation online. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team appreciates how stressful this situation is. As such, they will work diligently to gather evidence and witness testimony on your child's behalf, creating a strategic defense that promises the best possible outcome.
What is Hazing in Minnesota?
Most states in the United States have specific statutes that make hazing a criminal offense. When your student is accused of hazing by their school, it is not a criminal offense. However, the legal statute also gives school boards the right to create their own hazing policies. Thus, it is important to be familiar with both definitions.
Minnesota state statutes define hazing as:
- Acting against a student or coercing a student
- in a way that creates a substantial risk of harm to a person,
- so that they can be initiated into or join a student organization, such as a club, group, or organization whose primary members or participants are students.
Hazing in Minnesota Schools
Under the Minnesota statute described above, school boards must create their own policy to manage student and staff hazing. This policy must also include:
- How to report a hazing accusation or incident.
- Disciplinary procedures to investigate the accusation and adjudicate it.
- Appropriate sanctions when a student or staff member is found responsible for hazing.
- How to appeal the decision of the disciplinary committee.
As such, all Minnesota schools have similar hazing policies, though some do differ to a degree. For instance, at Esko High School in Esko, Minnesota, hazing is defined as committing an act that creates a substantial risk of harm to a person so that the student can be initiated into or affiliated with a student organization. If a student is found responsible for hazing, they will be suspended from school, the team, or the organization for a period.
Other general conduct offenses at Esko High School are subject to the Minnesota Pupil Fair Dismissal Act. So, prior to suspending or dismissing a student for one of those conduct violations, Esko High School will attempt a non-exclusionary punishment, like evidence-based positive interventions and supports, social and emotional services, counseling, alternative education services, and academic screening. However, with hazing, because there is a 0-tolerance policy for it at Esko High School, the student will be automatically suspended after a disciplinary hearing takes place.
While there are no public records on how Esko High School handles its disciplinary hearings, most schools follow the same procedure:
- Investigating the accusation to see if there is any merit to it.
- Calling both the accuser and the accused student to present arguments before the disciplinary committee.
- Review the information presented at the meeting and determine if there is enough evidence to show the student was involved in a hazing incident.
- Notifying the accused student of their decision and what their punishment will be.
- Inform the student of their rights and how they can appeal the committee's decision.
At another high school in Minnesota, Shattuck-St. Mary's hazing is also prohibited. However, it is nestled under the Statement of Harassment section of the Student Handbook. According to this section, the school seeks to provide a respectful and fulfilling environment for its students, faculty, and staff. As such, harassment of any kind is not allowed.
Shattuck-St. Mary's defines harassment as any of the following actions:
- Making demeaning statements or materials.
- Physical, verbal, or written advances.
- Obscene social media requests.
- Threats that undermine the school's ability to foster a community that promotes physical, intellectual, and emotional self-respect.
- Hazing.
When a student at Shattuck-St. Mary's is accused of hazing, the school will review the complaint and begin an informal investigation into it. If they believe there is weight to the complaint after this initial investigation, they will notify the student of the accusations and schedule a disciplinary meeting for them to attend. Like Esko High School, there are no posted disciplinary steps, but it is likely that Shattuck-St. Mary follows a similar series of steps.
Once the disciplinary committee at Shattuck-St. Mary will make their decision and notify the accused student. When the committee finds the student responsible for hazing, they will also notify them of their prescribed punishments. Such punishments may include:
- Work squad and weekend detention
- Campus restriction
- In-dorm restriction
- Probation
- In-school restriction or suspension
- Out-of-school suspension
- Dismissal
Unfortunately, some schools fail to follow their own posted disciplinary action policies and punish the students without allowing them to defend themselves. As many parents are unaware of the disciplinary policies at their child's school, it is not uncommon for parents to think they have no choice but to go along with the punishment.
The truth couldn't be further from this. All high schoolers who are accused of misconduct have the right to defend themselves, confront their accusers, and appeal the disciplinary committee's decision (if it falls within the appeal's scope). To ensure your child is not being taken advantage of, it is incredibly important to review the school's policies and contact an experienced student defense attorney to help.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has spent years helping students in similar situations. They know what your child's rights are when it comes to disciplinary hearings and will ensure the school does not take any unnecessary liberties with your child's future.
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 Minnesota
After the disciplinary committee's decision is sent to your student, they will have a chance to appeal it. Typically, the appeal will actually include the rules for the appeal.
It seems that many high schools in Minnesota do not include an appeals process in their student handbooks. However, most appeals processes follow a similar series of steps. For instance, once the student receives the disciplinary committee's decision, they usually have between five and ten days to file their appeal with the name listed on the decision notice.
Your appeal must include the grounds on which you think you can appeal – such as whether there is new evidence now that was not reasonably available before and will have a material effect on the committee's decision or that there was some sort of procedural error by the committee that affected the outcome.
This appeal must be written and returned to the name and office on the decision letter before the deadline to ensure it is reviewed. Once it is reviewed, the decision maker will decide if the original decision should be upheld, reversed, amended, or heard again by another unbiased committee or individual. Whatever they decide, it is final and cannot be appealed again.
As you can see, appeals are a crucial part of the disciplinary process and can have an incredible impact on the disciplinary committee's decision. Working with an attorney is the only way to ensure your child is able to put forth the best appeal they can.
Consequences for Hazing Disciplinary Actions
Being accused of anything in high school can negatively impact your child's experience. But being accused of, or found responsible for, hazing in Minnesota can have disastrous consequences for your child's current and future lives. For example, first time hazing offenders could be punished with detention or suspension, both of which could prevent them from participating in extracurricular activities or playing sports after school.
Moreover, students who are found responsible for hazing and suspended or expelled will have to deal with the ramifications of such punishments for the next several years of their lives. Suspension and expulsion punishments are noted on a student's transcripts. As they apply to new schools, whether it is another high school to finish out their education, or a college or university, they will have to explain the notation on their transcript over and over. Sadly, these kinds of punishments can also make colleges and universities, or even future employers, nervous to accept the student into their midst.
Such isolating experiences such as these can trigger an emotional or mental health response in any student. As they move through life and continue to experience other negative periods of time, their mental health can continue to degrade. Without being able to build up their resilience and grit, these students will find it hard to achieve anything in the future.
When you are first notified of the accusation against your child, it is crucial to hire a student defense attorney. These attorneys understand every minute detail of a case like this and will leave no stone unturned when it comes to crafting a strategic defense on your child's behalf.
Where Can the Lento Law Firm Help in Minnesota
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has helped students throughout Minnesota, including those accused of hazing in:
- Minneapolis
- Saint Paul
- Rochester
- Duluth
- Bloomington
- Brooklyn Park
- Woodbury
- Plymouth
- Lakeville
- Blaine
- Maple Grove
- St. Cloud
- Eagan
- Burnsville
- Coon Rapids
- Eden Prairie
- Apple Valley
- Edina
- Shakopee
- Mankato
- Moorhead
- Inver Grove Heights
- Andover
- Dayton
- Oak Grove
- St. Francis
- Carver
- Newport
- Lake City
- Benson
Moreover, the Lento Law Firm can help students at both public, private, and charter schools, including:
- The International School of Minnesota
- St. Paul Academy and Summit School
- Saint John's Preparatory School
- Mounds Park Academy
- The Blake School
- Breck School
- Minnehaha Academy
- Shattuck-St. Mary's School
- Wayzata High School
- Eden Prairie Senior High School
- Minnetonka Senior High School
- Edina Senior High School
- Nova Classical Academy Upper School
- Eastview Senior High School
- Math & Science Academy
- St. Croix Preparatory Academy Upper School
Our competent and experienced student defense attorneys can help no matter where you are located. Hazing accusations can have long-term negative consequences for all high school students. Call our offices at 888-535-3686 today for more help.
How the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
The best way to protect your child from unnecessary and harsh sanctions and consequences is to provide them with skilled and knowledgeable attorneys. Some parents fail to see how school disciplinary actions can negatively impact their children and decide to show up to disciplinary hearings or interviews without counsel. Unfortunately, these parents are rarely successful, and their lack of preparedness does more harm than good.
At the Lento Law Firm, our Student Defense Team understands how busy your lives are. You have jobs, families, other children, and responsibilities, and these disciplinary hearings and interviews can be absolutely overwhelming. They want to help shoulder this burden from you, build a solid defense on your child's behalf, and help you preserve the future and life your child has always dreamed of having.
With years of experience helping hundreds of students across the country who have been accused of hazing, the Lento Law Firm has the unique knowledge your student needs to win their case. Call 888-535-3686 today or use this form to schedule a consultation online.
