If this is a public school then it is a government agency.
Since this is technically an amount due based on a breach of contract, it would be considered "liquidated damages".
Sorry, but a 17 year old cannot enter into a legally binding "contract" unless they have been certified by a court as being emancipated. (Even then most contracts are void).
Whoever wrote the story used the term "fine" for convenience sake, but this has nothing to do with a civil fine imposed by a court. So the case you cited has no relevance to this case.
Any penalty imposed by a governmental agency is a fine. You can't dress it up as some kind of "liquidated damages clause" and avoid the implications of the excessive fines clause.
On top of everything else, the girl did not even sign the "contract".
The only legitimate recourse the school had was to deny her access to the ceremony. Refusing to give her the diploma and slapping her with a $1000 fine (liquidated damage fee) was not something they had a right to do even if they waived a "contract" in front of her.
“If this is a public school then it is a government agency.”
It is not a public school.
And as I have said repeatedly, this is a PRIVATE school.
Sorry, but a 17 year old cannot enter into a legally binding "contract" unless they have been certified by a court as being emancipated. (Even then most contracts are void).
No, but her parents could and did enter into a contract with the school.
Any penalty imposed by a governmental agency is a fine. You can't dress it up as some kind of "liquidated damages clause" and avoid the implications of the excessive fines clause.
Once again, there is no governmental agency involved in this case.
On top of everything else, the girl did not even sign the "contract".
I think part of your confusion is sloppy reporting. The "contract" the girl was asked to sign was akin to a "behavior contract" often used to deal with children - an acknowledgement of the rules and the consequences for breaking them. It has no legal standing per se, other than to counter any claim that the student didn't know the rules. Here that is not even a claim - she clearly knew the rules, because she asked for an exception to the rules. The contract at issue here is the contract her parents signed very year when they registered her in this private school. That contract did include the dress code at issue here and also specified the consequences for violation. And as long as her parents signed the contract (which they did or sh could not have attended the school) and were not under duress, then the school has every right to impose the consequences described.