Home > Legal Docket > G.D.M v. Ramapo B.O.E.

School policy imposes consequences on students for non-school activity.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division/Amicus

Edward Sholinsky, Marieke Tuthill Beck-Coon/Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis

On April 12, 2011, the ACLU-NJ filed an amicus brief on behalf of a student at Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School who is challenging the district’s “24/7” policy that permits school officials to impose consequences on students, such as removal from extra-curricular activities, for events that occurred outside of school hours and have no connection to the operation of the school. The brief is in support of decisions made by the Administrative Law Judge and the Commissioner of Education, which held that the policy violates New Jersey law. The ACLU-NJ argued that the disciplinary policy adopted by the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School in 2009 not only violates state law, but threatens the constitutional rights of students. Specifically, the school’s policy threatens the rights of parents to raise and discipline their children, as well as a student’s rights to free speech, due process, and to be free of the school’s authority outside of the academic environment.

Current Status: This case is currently on appeal to the appellate division.

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