State Supreme Court to hear school knife expulsion case
Published 10:27 am Monday, February 29, 2016
WELLS — In a case with statewide implications for school discipline policies, the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday about the overturned expulsion of a southern Minnesota high school student who accidentally brought a pocket knife to school.
United South Central Public Schools in Wells is appealing after the state Court of Appeals overturned the expulsion of Alyssa Drescher. The Supreme Court’s decision could influence school suspension and expulsion policies across Minnesota.
Drescher was expelled in 2014 for the final six weeks of her junior year. She said she left the knife in her purse by accident after doing chores on her boyfriend’s farm. It was found during an announced locker search.
Last year, the appeals court ruled that the district should not have expelled Drescher because she didn’t willfully violate school policy and didn’t endanger herself or others.