From The Washington Post: The suicide of a high school student in Fairfax County, Va., provides a look at how consequences intended to help a student correct course instead can fuel a growing despair. Nick Stuban, 15, a football player from W.T. Woodson High School, killed himself in January, several weeks after being suspended. His story follows patterns described by parents in at least a dozen other Fairfax cases with similar disciplinary consequences. Even first-time offenders are out of school for long periods -- a month, two months, longer if an appeal is filed. When they return, more than half are not returned to their original schools and can face difficult transitions. Fairfax Superintendent Jack D. Dale defends his discipline system, saying that school transfers offer students the chance to attend a new school rather than be expelled.
UPDATE: Nick Stuban’s family is calling for changes in the disciplinary policies of the Fairfax County (Va.) school district. In a six-page letter, the family asked for an end to punitive school transfers, a more compassionate hearing process and punishments that are "proportionate to the nature of the alleged infractions."
Earlier: Read more.
