Districts test authority beyond school property

WENTZVILLE, Mo. -- How far can school districts and their employees go in disciplining students? That's at issue in Wentzville, where the district and a teacher-sponsor are being sued by two former cheerleaders who were confronted over allegations they were drinking.

The two teenage girls claim their civil rights were violated, and that the school district defamed and coerced them -- late at night in a private home-- into confronting their alleged alcohol use before a school-sponsored sporting event last month.

The recently filed case is the latest example of a disturbing trend, say civil rights lawyers who follow school cases in Missouri. They say districts are exercising their authority farther and farther beyond school property, and the courts are protecting it.

In Wentzville, 45 miles west of St. Louis, so is the community.

Jean Jeanotte, whose daughter nearly quit the cheerleading squad over the fracas, praised the school district's handling of the matter during a recent school board meeting. She also complimented the Wentzville student body for rallying behind school policy. Her comments drew long, sustained applause.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which is not involved in the case, says the cheerleading sponsor, teacher Diane Moran, probably overstepped her authority in calling the girls to meet from 11:15 p.m. Friday, two hours after the sporting event, until 2:30 the next morning.

"We're always concerned when districts start to regulate behavior of students off school grounds," said Matt LeMieux, executive director of the St. Louis-based ACLU of Eastern Missouri. He said his office regularly gets such complaints from parents.

"Courts are not always that kind to students in regards to rights."

The girls' attorney, Larry Bagsby, said no one will find a case where a court has said it's appropriate to pull high school students out of their home in the middle of the night without parental permission, as the lawsuit contends.

"The handling of the situation was ridiculous," Bagsby said. "Good intentions are irrelevant."

Moran, who did not respond to requests for comment, was discharged as squad sponsor, but continues to teach. District officials say Moran is a caring teacher who may have used poor judgment.

Schools typically respond very cautiously to matters involving student discipline, and are guided by policies, said Gary Sharpe, director of the Missouri Association of School Administrators.

"It's not a perfect world, and schools don't always use good judgment but we live in a country where we champion individual rights and generally schools are cautious," he said.

In March, the Kansas City school district fired two teachers who strip-searched third-graders while looking for $5 in missing lunch money. The lunch money was eventually found, though not because of the searches.

Things get a little murkier when schools seek to regulate behavior off school property, especially behavior not connected in any way to a school-sponsored activity, said ACLU legal director Denise Lieberman.