A federal appeals court last week upheld the discipline of a Michigan high school student who allegedly threatened, via Twitter, to stab another student and brought a steak knife to school.
In its decision, the three-judge panel said the Lakeview district did not violate the student’s right to due process for suspending her by phone the day of the incident. She had left school early that day, and her suspension hearing was held the very next day, the court observed.
The student also challenged her expulsion hearing on due-process grounds, claiming some witness statements and the vice principal’s report were withheld. But the court said her rights were not infringed because she was informed multiple times that students had made the allegations about the tweets and the knife.
