The lawyers at the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr. LLC, are experienced in the area of school expulsion defense.
What we do is help parents and students of area schools defend themselves in expulsion hearings and appeals. This includes school districts in Lexington and Richland counties.
Many students are unfairly recommended for expulsion based on false or exaggerated claims. School administrators frequently believe that “zero tolerance” policies require them to always recommend expulsion, even when the evidence may not be clear.
We’ve helped students defend against allegations including:
- Bringing knives or other weapons on school grounds
- Drug or alcohol possession
- Theft or vandalism of school property
- Computer usage policy violations
- Sexual harassment \ misconduct
- Fighting
There are a few things you can do to help give your student the best chance.
- Many school discipline situations can also be considered by resource offices to be criminal violations. For example, we recently represented students handcuffed and booked into the county jail for criminal larceny by a resource office for taking plates of french fries from the school cafeteria. Don’t assume that any allegation is to minor or trivial to warrant action by a resource officer. As a result, students should be advised to remain silent and not write a statement or give an interview regarding any suspected misconduct. This applies not just to requests from police officers, but also those made by teachers or school administrators.
- Expulsion hearings are scheduled quickly, usually with just a few days’ notice. While we can be hired to appeal after a hearing, the initial hearing is the best place to submit evidence in the student’s favor, and question any witnesses presented against them. If you are planning on hiring a lawyer it is best to do so right away, rather than waiting to see how the hearing turns out.
- Students can be unfairly treated as retaliation when school officials feel that their parents are critical or just not respectful enough. While retaliating against a child over their parents’ attitude is never appropriate, in the real world it happens (and happens a lot). Parents should be cautious of this risk when talking with school officials regarding allegations.
If you’re facing a school expulsion hearing we offer free consultations with an attorney. To schedule your consultation call us at 1-888-301-6004. Free consultations are provided in-person and in our main office in downtown Lexington.