The state’s school board, in a rare rebuke, has reversed Gwinnett County’s year-long suspension of a high school student, citing a “multitude of errors” the district made in handling the case.
The student, according to state records, conceded he struck another student, but his family argued Gwinnett officials didn’t give him a proper opportunity to defend himself against the suspension.
“This board concludes that the multitude of errors, by the Local Board was harmful to the Student’s interest, and that the Local Board did not have justification for the delay,” the state wrote in its Feb. 18 ruling.
The unidentified student, a sophomore at Dacula High, was suspended in September from the school for one year for punching a classmate, officials said. A Gwinnett disciplinary hearing officer reassigned the student to an alternative school.
On Oct. 5, the student requested an appeal to the Gwinnett school board. School officials responded four days later and set an appeal date of Nov. 19. The student’s mother said the month-long wait for an appeal violated state policy requiring an appeal within 10 days. School district officials said they couldn’t hear the case within 10 days and that policy is not mandatory. Gwinnett school board members voted to uphold the suspension in late October without the student or any representative present. The student’s family appealed to the state.
The state board found Gwinnett did not have justification for the delay. Gwinnett, the board ruled, also wrongly scheduled a meeting to judge the student’s suspension without notifying the student.
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