MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The parents of a Marana High School student are suing the school district, claiming the district and several of its employees violated First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
The lawsuit claims the student, who was a sophomore at the time, was suspended for several days after typing an email on a school-issued laptop that was never sent.
According to the lawsuit, filed on July 16, the student was at home, with his mom in the room, when he used his school-issued laptop to email a teacher about a grade he received.
It then states, the student, who was a sophomore at the time, typed several “jokes.”
“Just starts making just kind of funny, off-the-wall comments like Mr. Mr. I want to date your sister,” the student’s mom, Karalee Merrill, said.
The student eventually typed, “GANG GANG GIMME A BETTER GRADE OR I SHOOT UP DA SKOOL HOMIE.”
“It was very clear to me at the time that I mean, he was just making ridiculous comments,” Merrill said. “So we had our moment where we talked about like that’s not appropriate and he completely agreed and I thought that was the end of it.”
The message was allegedly deleted and not sent. The school was notified of the draft email through Gaggle, an AI software that monitors students' keystrokes on their laptops.
“Had he known his keystrokes were being monitored that closely, he never would have even typed it,” Merrill said.
That lawsuit states that within an hour, the school’s principal called the student’s mom. The mom said the student was with her and had “written the email as a joke, had not sent it, and had never intended to send it.”
Aaron Baumann, who is an Assistant Teaching Professor at ASU’s Sandra Day O’connor College of Law, is representing the family in the case.
“The First Amendment protects students’ rights to speak at home, off-campus period,” Baumann said. “So long as that speech does affect the school.”
The lawsuit alleges there was no reason to believe this posed a credible threat.
The student was suspended for ten days for “threatening or intimidating.” The student’s suspension was later extended to 45 days with the possibility of a reduction to 11 days if the student completed three counseling sessions. It was then decreased to nine days, but the student had already served 11 days and completed two counseling sessions.
Baumann said they want it removed from the student’s record.
“The school had no right to punish the student for this speech that occurred off-campus in his home in the presence of his parents,” he said. “I hope that the district takes action to prevent future violations of other students’ rights.”
In an email to KGUN 9, a spokesperson with the district stated they cannot comment on ongoing litigation. However, they did provide information on their safety tip line called SpeakUp and their reporting process.
“Calls and texts into the SpeakUp line fluctuates. There are days when we could get five alerts or there are weeks that go by and we don’t get any. Keep in mind that a variety of calls and messages are typically made. We appreciate all information and it does help keep our campuses safe. We try to review and respond as soon as possible. However, if Gaggle determines that the SpeakUp message is a major safety concern requiring immediate attention, we also get a text message and phone call until somebody takes the lead on addressing the issue. If they don’t get a hold of anyone, the reps at Gaggle contact local law enforcement.”
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