Illinois Students’ Expulsions Are Upheld by Federal Judge

In a sternly worded decision, a federal judge on Tuesday upheld the expulsions of six students for fighting during a high school football game--saying that despite help from the Rev. Jesse Jackson and a team of lawyers, they had failed to prove their rights were violated by the school district’s policy against violence.

U.S. District Judge Michael McCuskey found that the Decatur, Ill., district “did not act illegally, improperly or deny the students their constitutional rights.”

“This court is not impressed with the students’ position that because no knives or guns were used in the melee, that it was not a significant fight,” McCuskey said in his 30-page ruling.

“This court firmly believes that the citizens and students of Decatur should be able to go to a high school football game and watch the contest on the field without worrying about a violent confrontation erupting in the stands,” McCuskey said.

The judge also said that the students, all of whom are black, had failed to prove their claim that white students involved in fights in Decatur are treated less harshly than minorities.

Jackson, who led protests last fall that put the case in the national spotlight, said he would appeal the decision.

For months, the civil rights leader insisted the case was not about race but about the fairness of the punishments and the students’ right to due process. But at a news conference Tuesday, Jackson repeatedly suggested race and “racial profiling” played a role.

He noted that 83% of Decatur students expelled are African American, even though blacks make up only 42% of the student body.

Nationwide, Jackson said, “African Americans and other minorities are disproportionately impacted by school disciplinary rules.”

As for the judge’s decision, Jackson called it “harsh, with radical disregard to the future of the children.”

The students were expelled for a maximum of two years following a Sept. 17 brawl that rolled through the bleachers, causing some spectators to flee and others to duck and cover their children.

The case received relatively little attention, even in the central Illinois town of 80,000, until Jackson arrived, along with the national media.

Many people, including educators, called the two-year expulsions unusually harsh. And Illinois Gov. George Ryan helped broker an agreement with the school board in which the students would be expelled for one year, during which they could earn credit in alternative education programs.

Not mollified, Jackson has continued to try to have the students reinstated--against the advice of many longtime supporters who have argued that he is diminishing himself by siding with brawlers, some of whom still face criminal charges.

At the same time, Jackson has had some success in sparking a national debate on strict “zero-tolerance” policies in schools.

In his ruling, however, McCuskey said the students failed to prove the district even had such a policy.

The judge, ruling in Urbana, also dismissed the students’ challenge to the district policy against “gang-like activity” and said evidence showed the violence was indeed the continuation of an earlier fight between rival gangs.

After the ruling, Decatur school Supt. Kenneth Arndt said that the victory was bittersweet.

Schools were closed for three days during the protests and, Arndt said, the district spent $100,000 defending itself--more than enough to hire two teachers for the year.

The lawsuit “was a very costly detour on the path to rebuilding,” Arndt said. “Our community is still in turmoil.”