Lessons Learned

The following are some Lessons Learned (the hard way) that may be helpful to others that find themselves at the mercy of an unforgiving Lewis-Palmer School Board:

One of the key points that parents need to know is that the law stipulates you have a right to an appeal process. But you must exercise that right in a certain order and within prescribed time limits. If you don't exercise your rights within these time limits, you forfeit your rights!

Initially, you will be notified in writing by the district that the principal has recommended expulsion. You have 5 calendar days to request your first appeal.

The first step at Lewis-Palmer is to appeal to the superintendent or their designee (hearing officer). Bring your own tape recorder to tape the meeting. The School District conveniently does a very poor job of recording what transpires at these meetings. They will make a copy of their tape available to you, but very little of it will be audible, based on our collective experience. Document and distribute your key arguments to the hearing officer at the meeting. Make sure they are clearly dated and titled as to the meeting they pertain to. Realize that all these materials may be entered as evidence in any subsequent judicial proceeding so make sure you do a very good job. Make sure there is no question as to what you told who and when your told them.

Next the superintendent will notify you that he has upheld the hearing officer's (and the principal's) recommendation of expulsion. Now you have 5 calendar days to request an appeal to the Board of Education. The same suggestions as above apply, bring your own tape recorder, document your arguments and distribute them to the board members. If you can afford an attorney, it is recommended.

Don't be surprised if the School District's attorney is very rude, pompous and obnoxious. He is trying to intimidate you, and make you think you don't have a case. If you digest the information in this web site and your situation is similar to ours, you can probably put this hired gun (their attorney) in his place. Also, at Lewis-Palmer the Board sits on an elevated platform and looks down on you. This can also be intimidating but remember these folks are regular people. They are no better or smarter than you. That is probably why they need the elevated platform (smile)....If it helps stand up when you talk to them and move around a little, it helps to alleviate nervousness and It puts you more at their eye level.

(With respect to the school district's appeal process, do not get your hopes up. Right now the SB and school administrators use absolutely no judgment or common sense. If your child does not deserve expulsion (per the state law), you are not likely to get a meaningful hearing on the subject until you reach the last step in the process which unfortunately is the review by a District Court Judge. We do have a new Superintendent who has earned a reputation over the years of being a fair and reasonable man; however, he works for the School Board and he is not likely to buck the direction of the board. This direction appears to be, do not exercise any judgment, discretion or independent thought. Administrate by the numbers.)

After the School Board upholds the Superintendent's expulsion decision, the last step in the appeal process is judicial review. You need to notify the School District in writing within 5 calendar days of your receipt of "the Board's unanimous decision to uphold the decision of the superintendent" of you intend to seek judicial review of their decision . Use certified return-receipt-requested mail to deliver this notification of intent (Refer to CRS 22-33-108 for details). At this point, you should seriously consider getting an attorney. Successfully navigating the judicial hurdles and gates without an attorney is doubtful at best. Attorneys charge approximately $100 to $300/hour depending on a number of factors. As of the end of September, we (5 going to 4 families) have collectively spent close to $5000 (as of 9/98). If the School Board exercises every appeal option they have, it may cost us $10,000 to $15,000 before we are done. So it is not cheap. If you just have to take your case to the District Court level your cost is likely to be in the range of $2000 to $4000. Recovering your attorney's fees is possible but not common.

If you have a situation similar to ours you may also have grounds to file suit for damages (actual and punitive). We are not suing for damages (other than attorney fees) at this point, but some of us may consider that at a later point if the School Board continues to be unreasonable and continues to make this painful and costly for our families. The important thing to know (in Colorado) is that within 180 calendar days of the initial disciplinary action, you need to notify the school board that you wish to preserve your right to sue for damages. You do not have to file suit, but you do need to notify them of your desire to preserve your right to file suit (use certified-return-receipt requested mail, see CRS 24-10-109 for more details). If this time period lapses without the letter or if any of the above time periods lapse without you taking/exercising your rights, you have probably forfeited those rights.

If you are desperate as we were to get our kids back in school and limit the damage done by missing so much school time, you will need to pursue the issuance of a temporary injunction, because the normal court process or timeline for judicial review will take months. The school district will not let your child back in school during this appeal process even if there is no evidence that they pose a threat to the school. In addition, they will not even give your son or daughter class assignment information to facilitate them trying to keep up with their classmates on their own.

We hope this doesn't happen to you, but if it does, we hope the above "lessons learned" help.

Lessons Learned

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