District’s Right to Transfer Is Upheld

A judge on Tuesday upheld the Tustin Unified School District’s right to transfer three students to another high school after they allegedly smoked marijuana during school hours.

But Orange County Superior Court Judge John C. Woolley questioned why the district failed to mete out the same punishment for all three Foothill High School seniors: two were ordered sent to Hillview High School, a continuation school for students with academic or behavior problems; the third was transferred to another senior high school.

“The court feels that the school board did do something foolish--they changed the punishment,” Woolley said. “And they don’t tell this court why.”

Earlier this month, the school district backed away from the continuation school transfer and said the teens, Britton Pierson and Robert Koster, could attend any district school, other than Foothill, that their parents might choose. The teens’ parents had complained it was unfair to send their children to a school for problem students.

The third student, Jason Greenberg, was transferred to Tustin High School.

The students deny smoking marijuana, and allege they were tricked into confessing.

Tuesday’s ruling shows that schools have the power to transfer students who violate zero-tolerance policies, said Spencer E. Covert, the school district’s lawyer.

“It is an important right and it is our duty to enforce this policy,” he said.

The judge emphasized that he was not ruling on the validity of the district’s zero-tolerance policy, which has caused controversy in other school districts where parents have called it unduly harsh.

David Shores, an Irvine lawyer who represents the three teens, said his clients have not decided whether to appeal. One parent, Jim Pierson, said he is undecided and declined to comment.

But Shores, who has won other cases that challenged a school district’s zero-tolerance policy, said he regrets that the judge did not address allegations that school officials lied about evidence and falsely promised students that they wouldn’t be punished if they confessed.

“That shocks my conscience,” Shores said.

The three students and two others left school grounds Oct. 27 to go to a private home during lunch. School officials said the seniors admitted later that they were smoking marijuana, a violation of the district’s zero-tolerance policy, which prohibits drug use--on campus or off--during lunch period.

Of the two other students involved, one was sent to Tustin High and is not fighting the transfer. The other is attending Foothill while he awaits a hearing on expulsion from the district because it was his second zero-tolerance violation.

Five hearings were held on the matter before the Tustin school board voted last month to expel the boys from Foothill. But Pierson, Greenberg and Koster fought the decision, arguing that school officials coerced them into admitting the charges, which they say are untrue. The teens have also been banned from playing on the school’s football and baseball teams.

A lawsuit filed on their behalf also said they were denied due process in the hearings because school officials wouldn’t allow them to cross-examine witnesses and refused their requests to record the hearings.

But Woolley said the students had a fair hearing and were well aware of school rules, pointing out that they had to sign the district’s student policy pamphlet outlining disciplinary action, which is also noted in the athletic honor code.

The judge’s decision, Covert said, also means that the standards for due process at a school hearing aren’t as high as those for a criminal or juvenile court hearing, said Covert.

The school board will meet at 2:30 p.m. today behind closed doors to discuss the matter. But Pierson and Koster will likely report to Tustin High when holiday break ends Monday.