On The Front Lines
The Rutherford Institute defends kindergartner suspended for playing make-believe game of 'cobs & robbers'
Citing Zero Tolerance Policy, Institute Attorneys Argue Case Before Third Circuit Court of AppealsPhiladelphia, PA.-- Rutherford Institute attorneys presented oral arguments on February 3, 2003, before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of A.G., a kindergarten student, and his parents in their case against the Sayreville Board of Education and the principal of Wilson Elementary School. The lawsuit stems from a playground incident that resulted in four kindergarten boys being suspended from school for three days for playing a make-believe game of "cops and robbers" during recess. While the school district claims to have no official written policy mandating "zero tolerance" of violent behavior or threats, the actions by the Sayreville school officials are consistent with those of many other school districts which have adopted such blanket policies.
On March 15, 2000, four kindergarten students at Wilson Elementary School in Sayreville, N.J., engaged in a make-believe game of "cops and robbers" during recess. In their game of pretend, the boys used their fingers as guns, and one of the four boys, A.G., uttered to another playmate, "I have a bazooka and I'm going to shoot you." These words were reported to the teacher by a student who stood nearby. Based on this report, A.G. and the three other students were removed from their classroom and taken to the school office where they were questioned regarding their conduct. Without notice to A.G.'s parents, he, along with the other three boys, was suspended for three days and sent home. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute filed the original lawsuit in June of 2000 in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey, seeking to have the suspension the kindergartner received be expunged from his school record. Institute attorneys charged that the kindergartner's First, Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights had been violated, as well as a New Jersey law entitling him to a public education. Upon its dismissal by the District Court, the lawsuit was then appealed to the Third Circuit. In a related matter, Institute attorneys favorably settled the case of another New Jersey student who was questioned by police officers, suspended from school and forced to undergo a psychological evaluation--all because he vocalized his intent to "shoot" a classmate with a spitball made of wadded up paper.
"Cops and robbers is an age-old child's game," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "When schools punish children for using their imaginations and interacting playfully with other children, they send out wrong and confusing messages that may breed resentment of authority and impair them from maturing into contributing citizens. Moreover, they deny these children basic rights to speech and fair treatment protected by the Bill of Rights."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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