Lawmakers in North Carolina could require schools to allow families to appeal some short-term suspensions after a high school student was suspended for saying in class that “illegal aliens” need green cards.
Christian McGhee gained national attention after being suspended for three days for asking his English teacher at Central Davidson High School if her reference to the word aliens referred to “space aliens, or illegal aliens who require green cards.”
After the April suspension, the family was not allowed to appeal to the Davidson County School Board.
But under a bill introduced Wednesday in the Senate Education Committee, high school students would have the right to appeal suspensions of five days or more and have them removed from their records under certain conditions.
“Ultimately, this bill is about maintaining due process for students when they believe they have been unfairly punished,” Sen. Steve Jarvis, a Davidson County Republican, said Wednesday. “They should have the right to appeal and seek a solution.
“By supporting this bill, we can ensure that our students are treated fairly and have appropriate opportunities to address their concerns, ultimately promoting a more equitable and supportive educational environment.”
The bill received bipartisan support in committee on Wednesday. A formal committee vote could take place next week.
Family sues school for suspension
McGhee was formerly a 16-year-old sophomore at Central Davidson High in Lexington, south of Winston-Salem and about 110 miles west of Raleigh. He has since left the school after family said he was subjected to bullying over the incident.
McGhee was suspended for three days in April for making a “racially motivated” and “racially insensitive” comment, according to school records.
The Liberty Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the family last month, accusing the Davidson County school system of violating students’ rights to freedom of speech, education and due process. The family wants monetary damages and for the suspension to be removed from school records.
“This draft of this bill is more important than you can imagine,” Leah McGhee, Christian’s mother, told the committee Wednesday. “I cannot put into words the absolute hell that our family has experienced over the past sixty days.
“But I pray that you can hear it through my heart as I speak to you today and plead that something be done to correct the problem in our schools of short-term suspensions and appeals.”
McGhee said her son’s question was not racist because aliens are not a race. But she said racism violations should be considered a hate crime that warrants a suspension of at least 10 days.
Also during her remarks, McGhee accused school board members of spreading misleading texts to community members about her prison sentence for opioid possession a decade ago. The Liberty Justice Center cited those texts this week in a legal filing seeking a preliminary injunction against the school district.
Appeal and removal procedure
Under state law, appeals are only guaranteed if a student receives a lengthy suspension. They last longer than 10 days.
Under the legislation, patrons would be required to accept a detailed, written eyewitness account of an incident that could result in a short- or long-term suspension within 24 hours of the incident.
A principal is required to provide a student with detailed, written documentation of the specific section of the Student Code of Conduct that the student is accused of violating.
The bill says that high school students would have the right to appeal a short-term suspension of five or more days. It would also allow the student to request that the suspension be removed from his or her records if certain conditions are met, such as not being suspended again or expelled during the same school year.
Jarvis said it is important to add an appeal and expulsion process because 66,794 of the 84,539 short-term suspensions given to high school students last school year were for at least five days.
“High school students face significant pressure to keep their diplomas clean, making it important for them to address the potential long-term effects that short-term suspensions can have on their lives,” Jarvis said.
Senator Jay Chaudhuri. a Democrat from Raleigh, said the bill brings needed attention to the issue of short-term suspensions.
“By addressing the due process issue and hopefully providing resources for these students, we can reduce suspension rates in the short term and help our students live productive lives,” Chaudhuri said.
