State ex rel. Dresser v. District Board of School District No. 1
135 Wis. 619 (1908)
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Rule of Law:
School authorities may suspend a pupil for misconduct committed outside of school hours and not in the presence of a teacher, provided the misconduct has a direct and immediate tendency to negatively impact school discipline, impair the authority of teachers, and disrupt the educational environment.
Facts:
- Several high school pupils, including the children of the relator, wrote a satirical poem that ridiculed their teachers.
- The pupils arranged for this poem to be published in a local newspaper.
- The newspaper was circulated throughout the community where many of the pupils and their families resided.
- After the school authorities learned of the pupils' involvement in the publication, they suspended the pupils from school.
- The school initially required the suspended pupils to pay a forty-cent penalty as a condition of reinstatement.
Procedural Posture:
- The relator (the pupils' father) filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the trial court to compel the school authorities (respondents) to reinstate his suspended children.
- The respondents filed a return, to which the relator demurred.
- The trial court referred the factual issues to a referee.
- After reviewing the referee's report on the testimony, the trial court overruled the relator's demurrer and denied the motion for a writ of mandamus, entering judgment for the respondents.
- The relator (appellant) appealed the trial court's judgment to this court.
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Issue:
Does a school have the authority to suspend pupils for off-campus misconduct that ridicules teachers, when no specific school rule prohibits such conduct?
Opinions:
Majority - Bashford, J.
Yes, a school does have the authority to suspend pupils for off-campus misconduct that ridicules teachers, even without a specific rule, if the act has a direct and immediate tendency to undermine school discipline and teacher authority. The court reasons that certain obligations of good conduct, such as obedience and respect for teachers, are inherent in any school system and constitute the 'common law of the school,' as established in State ex rel. Burpee v. Burton. This authority is not confined to the school grounds; it extends to off-campus acts that directly and injuriously affect the good order and discipline of the school. The publication of the poem in a community newspaper was deemed to have such an effect, as it brought teachers into contempt and impaired their authority. Therefore, the school authorities acted within their broad discretion to preserve order and good government in the school.
Analysis:
This decision significantly broadens the disciplinary jurisdiction of schools beyond the physical campus and school hours. It establishes the principle that off-campus student conduct is subject to school regulation if it has a direct and substantial negative impact on the school environment. The case creates a crucial precedent for later cases involving student speech, particularly as technology evolved, by setting a standard that focuses on the effect of the conduct on the school's educational mission rather than its location. The court's deference to the 'broad discretion' of school authorities also reinforces the idea that courts should not lightly interfere with school disciplinary decisions.
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