Is Your Michigan School Sanctioning Your Child for Something Off Campus?
No matter whether your student attends a school in the Detroit Public Schools district or studies at one of the Grand Rapids Public Schools, there's a good chance your family and community have noticed an uptick in the number of punishments your school is doling out for off-campus incidents.
This is a trend that we see throughout the United States: As it becomes easier for schools to find out about things that happen after school and on weekends, thanks in part to social media, schools are stepping in to recommend sanctions for things that, previously, wouldn't have seemed connected to school at all.
This has led to a pervasive sense among Michigan K-12 students that their actions can lead to consequences within their classrooms. Sometimes, this is warranted. Sometimes it isn't. And, regardless, your school's disciplinary procedures may not prioritize protections for your child, which can make it unfortunately easy for your school to recommend punitive measures for your child that end up impacting their entire future.
Don't wait for that to happen. Instead, once you realize that your student is facing disciplinary procedures at their Michigan K-12 school for something that happened off campus, retain the services of the Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm at once. Our team of experienced attorneys can help you work towards the outcome and the future your student deserves. Call 888.535.3686 today to get started, or fill out this brief form to tell us more about your case.
Why Do Michigan K-12 Schools Care About Off-Campus Misconduct?
A school's rationale for penalizing students based on their off-campus actions tends to center on the potential fallout those behaviors may have within the school environment.
For example, let's say that a student who attends a school in the Traverse City Area Public Schools district is involved in an altercation at a neighborhood gathering on the weekend. There's a good chance that the aftermath of that altercation could end up causing issues in the school halls on Monday morning. Or, as another example, consider what might happen if a student in the Kalamazoo Public Schools district has a tendency to post inappropriate or hateful things online. That could cause emotions at school to run high quite easily.
In our experience helping Michigan families deal with disciplinary proceedings following alleged off-campus misconduct, we've found that there are three tiers of potential actions that schools may decide to learn more about and even sanction:
- Actions that aren't really related to school misconduct policies, such as auto theft, vandalism, or off-campus altercations that don't involve school property or other members of the school community
- Actions that are tangentially related to school misconduct policies, such as posting inflammatory or hateful content online or on personal social media
- Actions that directly involve other members of the academic community—for instance, if a student is caught cyberbullying a peer or threatening a teacher.
Depending on the code of conduct your school has in place and the details your school is able to pull together about your student's responsibility for the perceived infraction, your school may be able to recommend any of a range of sanctions for your student. (You can check your school's code of conduct to learn more about what may be on the table for your student. That code of conduct should be easy to find on your school's website).
By far, the most common type of punishment your student will have to endure for off-campus sanctions is suspension.
At first glance, that may not seem so bad. But the ripple effects of a suspension can be far worse than you might think.
Here's Why Michigan Parents Need to Be Concerned About Sanctions
While Michigan's schools, including prominent districts like Utica Community Schools or Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, may seem to have your child's best interests in mind, sometimes, schools may do things that cause long-lasting impacts on students' futures.
One of these things is recommending harsh discipline (particularly in cases where it's not crystal clear that harsh discipline is deserved).
Suspensions and expulsions, as forms of exclusionary discipline that leave extremely visible gaps on a student's permanent transcript, can result in severe long-term effects.
Consider what might happen if the admissions board at your family's dream high school or your student's favorite prospective college learned about your student's alleged history of off-campus misbehavior. That record could be very influential in the decisions that your student's prospective schools ultimately make.
And that's just one example of a consequence associated with sanctions. When students are pulled out of school, even temporarily, their relationships with their fellow students get damaged. They stop honing their skills in extracurriculars, they fall behind in school, and their teachers start to get exasperated with them.
Instead of allowing that to happen to your child, you need to take action the moment you realize your student will be at the center of an investigation. With some deft action and the Student Defense Team by your side, you may be able to negotiate with your school to get a reduced sanction for your child and protect their future from undue consequences.
Navigating School Disciplinary Proceedings in Michigan
With all of the above in mind: What are parents to do when a student comes home with a notice that their school is sanctioning them for something they did over the weekend?
One of the first things you need to do is simple: You need to avoid ignoring or underestimating the importance of this situation. Don't allow yourself to think that this is just a school thing, or that perhaps your student deserves detention or a few days of suspension. Their future is not worth that.
The next thing you need to do is the single most important action you can take to help your student avoid the long-term ramifications of their off-campus misconduct: You need to retain the services of the Lento Law Firm Team. Our lawyers can help you understand your school's code of conduct, determine a strong way to defend your child, and navigate the complex procedures that your school has in place to determine the most appropriate sanction for your child.
Interested in further steps you can take to support your student's success? After you have retained the premier services of the Lento Law Firm, consider tackling the following if you have time:
- Start a folder to document everything. Maintain records of all communications you have with your school about your student's disciplinary proceedings, whether they're emails, physical mailed notices, or even informal conversations.
- Talk with your child. After helping your student shoulder the immense stress and fear they're likely dealing with as their school investigates them, ask them to tell you their version of events. Ask them, too, if there's anything going on at school or in their after-school hours that you need to know about that could have indirectly influenced events that led to your student's possible off-campus misbehavior.
- Learn everything you can about your school's code of conduct and disciplinary regulations. If your school has referenced regulations when talking about what your student has (allegedly) done, go read them. If your school has a policy on off-campus misconduct, read it. The lawyers of the Lento Law Firm Team will do the same and can answer any questions you may have, but if you have time, understanding what you're up against can help you soothe your child and get an idea of what the weeks ahead may look like.
What Will Your Michigan K-12 School's Disciplinary Process Look Like?
While your school's specific set of procedures may be unique, there are a few common elements that you should be able to expect whether your student attends a school in the Grand Rapids Public Schools district, the Detroit Public Schools district, or somewhere smaller, like Saginaw Public Schools.
Here's a summary of what will likely occur:
- Your school will start off with a preliminary investigation just to corroborate the details of the complaint issued and to determine whether the school feels a further investigation is warranted.
- If your school decides it wants to learn more, it will issue notices to guardians and teachers and then initiate a more wide-scale investigation.
- After your school finishes its investigation, you and your student may receive an invitation to a formal hearing. At this hearing, you will have the opportunity to tell your school more about your side of the story. Your school may also use this time to engage in other relatively intimidating activities, such as inviting witnesses to discuss their version of events and reviewing the evidence the school has compiled against you.
- At the end of your school's hearing or just after, your school will come to a determination of your student's responsibility for what happened. At this time, your school will also let you know what sanction has determined will be a good fit for your student after their supposed infraction.
- After your school provides a recommendation for your student's sanction, you should have the ability to file an appeal. Your school's disciplinary process does not formally end when your school's final decision is made; by appealing, you can equally formally ask your school to reconsider its decision or at least recommend a lesser sanction, one that might not have as large an impact on your student's future. Appealing can be involved; likely, you'll need to come up with new evidence and a new argument to protect your child's future in just a few days. The Lento Law Firm Team can help you determine and enact the best strategy to help your child achieve a successful outcome.
Finally, if your school does not seem amenable to negotiating or listening to your appeal, you may be able to escalate your case to external or higher courts. The Lento Law Firm Team will assess your child's case and circumstances to see what is the best strategy for you going forward.
Rely on the Lento Law Firm Team to Protect Your Michigan Student's Future
Academic repercussions for off-campus misconduct can be confusing. It's easy for students and their parents to wonder why they're getting punished. And, worse, when you consider the potentially devastating effect that school discipline can have on a student and their future, it can seem like your school is providing a disciplinary recommendation that's wildly out of bounds and out of proportion with your child's alleged infraction.
Schools are stepping in to discipline off-campus misconduct more frequently, and when it happens, it doesn't always make sense. That's all the more reason to take these procedures seriously.
Fortunately, you don't have to figure out the best way forward alone. By retaining the services of the Lento Law Firm Team, you can focus on spending time with your student and relaxing instead of dealing with endless paperwork and tense conversations. After your initial consultation with the Lento Law Firm, our team can:
- Perform our own investigation on your behalf
- Open direct lines of communication to facilitate negotiation with your school
- Delve through your school's code of conduct to help you understand what actions your school may take
- Help you determine the strongest possible argument and defense to protect your child's future
- Provide representation as needed through hearings and communication with your school
- Support a strategic appeal process
- Help you determine and enact the best steps for your family if your school denies your appeal
After you realize that your school is investigating your student for off-campus misconduct, don't delay. Retain the services of the Lento Law Firm Team at once. Call 888.535.3686 to contact our team, or fill out this brief form to tell us more about your case. A member of our team will be in contact with you shortly.
