How does sending him to another school address the problem?
Pour l'encouragement des autres. Keep him in the same school and he finishes off the year as a rock star. He shows his peers that there are no consequences, that there is no line that is too far, that mommy and daddy can trump everything by bringing in a lawyer. It is a life-lesson that will be cheap at half the price if the kid straightens out now instead of really screwing the pooch later on. Like on the lacrosse team or something.
I think I like this response to his behavior because it only does emotional harm to the perp and makes it clear that the school takes it seriously when a student shows obscene disrespect to a teacher. The fact that the kid is sufficiently upset to sue suggests that the punishment is right on the money. I only hope when he loses that the judge makes him pay costs of defending the suit.
That the parents would side with the student against the teacher in this is outrageous.
It may be an alternative campus where problem students are sent.
Also, I can understand the school district not allowing him back on his campus.
There had already been a mooning incident when he pulled his cute little prank and, very honestly, these things give other students ideas.
The rampant disrespect among a huge portion of the students in the high school where I work makes it difficult, to put it lightly, to keep them within decent behavior guidelines.
A student being given a few days detention for something like this would be interpreted as a free ticket to hundreds of other smart-alecs to do the same thing.