Local News in Brief : Irvine : Punishment for 2 Students Considered

Three administrators are deliberating over the weekend the punishment for two Irvine High School students who allegedly beat and broke the leg of a fellow student who reportedly told police about drug sales at the school.

A daylong disciplinary hearing was held Friday for the boys, ages 16 and 17, by three administrators from other schools to hear evidence about the Jan. 18 fight on the Irvine High School campus. A school district official said the three will deliver their recommendation Tuesday morning.

According to a police report, the 17-year-old punched the 14-year-old victim several times around the head and face, knocking him down. The 16-year-old severely kicked the victim several times, according to the report. The victim underwent surgery for insertion of a pin in his leg, broken near the ankle, and has transferred to another school, according to the report.

The two boys have been charged with assault with intent to commit bodily injury, according to the report. Those criminal charges are pending. The 16-year-old is on probation for auto theft and also is suspected of beating a companion of the victim, in a separate incident, the report said. No charges were pressed in that incident.

The recommendation from Friday’s administrative hearing could range from the most severe--expulsion--to no punishment, said Gerald Rayl, special assistant to the superintendent of the Irvine Unified School District. A recommendation for expulsion would require action by the district’s school board, he said.