Posted on 01/30/2005 2:35:03 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
18-year-old student sues over paddling
The Associated Press
When Jessica Serafin enrolled in a charter high school, her mother signed a form allowing administrators to paddle her as punishment.
But by the time a summer school principal paddled her last June, Serafin was already 18 and legally an adult.
Now she´s suing the School of Excellence in Education, San Antonio´s largest charter school, alleging it was wrong for the principal to paddle an adult student without her consent. She says the beating she received for leaving campus to get breakfast was so severe she had to go to the emergency room.
The lawsuit was filed Jan. 10 in state district court. Last week, a notice was filed to move it to federal court.
Although the lawsuit also alleges civil rights violations and negligence, a key element in the case is her age and the fact she didn´t consent, her attorney said.
"This case is not about a crusade against corporal punishment," said Dan Hargove, her attorney. "It´s not a crusade against charter schools. ... This case is about three adults holding down an adult female and beating her with a wooden paddle so bad that she ended up in the hospital."
The school´s attorney, Jeff Gately, said the lawsuit "contains some blatant falsehoods."
Gately said he and several school officials investigated the girl´s account and found it to be without merit.
The principal´s attorney declined to comment, saying he didn´t want to try the case in the media.
The School of Excellence in Education advocates an "old-school" approach to discipline. Uniforms must be tucked in, girls can wear only one pair of earrings, and boys must open doors and pull out chairs for their female peers. It is the only public school in Bexar County that paddles students.
Serafin says the summer school principal, who is a named defendant in the lawsuit, hit her three or four times. She said she tried to block one of the blows and the paddle "smashed her hand."
"I started screaming because I thought he had broke my hand," she said.
Serafin said she went to the hospital because she could hardly walk after school and her hand was severely swollen. Her hand was put in a cast at the emergency room.
State law allows parents to spank their minor children if the parent "reasonably believes the force is necessary to discipline the child or to safeguard or promote his welfare." But the law does not allow parents to use force on children who are 18 or older, Hargove said.
Hargove contends the school was acting on behalf of Serafin´s parents, and therefore, shouldn´t have been allowed to paddle an adult student.
But St. Mary´s University law professor Gerald Reamey said another part of the law allows educators to use corporal punishment without age restrictions to "further the educational purpose or maintain discipline."
Attorney Philip Marzec, who represents local school districts, said it is difficult for a plaintiff to prevail against a school district in a paddling lawsuit because they generally are immune from allegations of negligence relating to corporal punishment.
But districts can be sued for civil rights violations, Marzec said. The plaintiff would have to show that a school policy or sanctioned practice led to the violation.
she should not have done anything that warranted a paddling -- at 28, should know better.
sorry, at 18!
This always reminds me of the story about one of my brothers who came home complaining to our mother that one of the Sisters of Mercy had knocked him around...our mother sent him back to school and he was told to tell the nun to knock him around some more! LMAO
She's off my list of potential dates.
yea, I think you may be right but I wonder about other aspects... Does this adult still live at home? If so then I would guess that her parents are on board with the lawsuit. Perhaps they are looking to get paid.
Paddling an 18 girl? (wicked thoughts, wicked thoughts, must push away the wicked thoughts)
LOL! I recieved lots of swats in my lifetime, never had to go to the emergency room! :D
We had corporal punishment at my prep school. It was usually administered by the prefects, who were the head boys of the senior class.
It was not necessarily fun (the paddles were actually split baseball bats, sometimes with the owner's initials on their working surfaces), but it was instructive and helped problem boys to learn good citizenship.
Father Walter Ong, S.J., once came and spoke to my class at NYU. He said that the reason Latin is no longer widely spoken or known in the modern world is that English is our mother tongue, learned in our mother's laps, but that Latin is the father tongue, learned at school with the help of beatings. (Corporal punishment was universally practiced in schools in the old days.) No beatings, no Latin, or at least very little of it.
Hello! she left campus - an adult - to get breakfast. (is campus breakfast food was like most - can't blame her) BUT
This is not a assault-warrenting 'crime."
Also, It would bw interesting to know if these three adults that held her down were dirty old men?
lol!
So, once you're 18 the rules are different even if you're still in HS? Wonder how that looks to other students.
Interesting. If she is under 18, her parent can compell her to attend. If she is older than that, she can leave. It might be argued that her continued attendance implies consent to continue to abide by the rules. don't know.
Regardless of the merit of her charges I think she needs to go back to the emergency room and get some assistance pulling her head out of her you know what. I guess she figures turning 18 was her license to exercise her right to be irresponsible.
The student is clearly correct on this one. You cannot paddle a legal adult, period. After hearing the extent of it, it seems like the paddling was totally excessive even if she was a minor in their custody.
"I guess she figures turning 18 was her license to exercise her right to be irresponsible."
An adult going out for breakfast? What kind of orwellian society are you trying to create here?
When working in the restaurant, there was a distinct line as to when we could talk to parents about their children's employment (or not) with us and when we couldn't. That line was the age 18. As a legal adult, the 18 year old would have had every right to sue the restaurant if we did, regardless if they were still living with their parents or not.
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