Problem - Student Discipline
Sam Student, an 11th grade student at a public high school in the State
of Stone, has been suspended for 5 days. Sam claims he was
suspended because he wrote a letter to the editor published in the
local paper that spoke out against the high school's student locker
search policy. The high school principal claims Sam was suspended
because he was disruptive in one of his classes and failed to cooperate
with his teacher in violation of the school conduct code which
prohibits "classroom insubordination." Shortly after the incident
which occurred in Sam's history class, Sam was told to report to the
principal’s office. The principal talked to him about his
behavior, told him what his history teacher had said, and asked if he
had anything to say for himself. Sam said he didn’t do anything
wrong and the principal should ask other students in the class who
would back him up. The principal then suspended Sam for 5 days
without investigating the incident further.
If Sam sues the school as a result of this incident, what
constitutional claims can Sam make and what arguments will he make to
support those claims? How will the school defend against those
claims?