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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>School Liability In Preschool Expulsion?
Enrico 11:12 AM 09-14-2018
Good morning,

I would like an opinion on whether there is any legal liability on the private school that expelled my son from their preschool program.

Long story short my son was suddenly expelled at a time when we were led to believe that things were going fine (we got a phone call at 8:15am while driving him to school in which we were told that that would be his last day there).

We exchanged several emails with the president of the board of the institution. We explained that while we agree that this institution wasn't a good fit for our son, we disagreed on the modality of the expulsion which didn't allow us a smooth transition elsewhere.

In one of these emails the president wrote (I removed all identifiable references):
"
The other way in which we failed you was in, as you point out, not following our own policies and procedures (which are available in the Policy Manual on the website, I believe).

First, I don't believe we brought in other leads to observe MYSONSNAME's behavior. That could have been done. We are working now on hiring a Director of SCHOOLNAME Programs who will oversee our classrooms and teachers from a philosophical and curriculum standpoint; this situation reinforces the need for that position.

Second, the board was not involved in the expulsion. Personally, I do not believe that the board should be involved in student and classroom issues, in that members of the board bring conflicts of interest (insofar as we may have personal relationships with children and families), for the most part have no SCHOOLNAME or educational training, and have a decidedly high level operational role to play in the school, rather than classroom and student-specific. That said, the SCHOOLNAME policy, written in 1989, which all of us overlooked, dictates board involvement in matters of mid-year expulsion. PRINCIPALNAME did tell me in our regular meetings about MYSONSNAME's expulsion, but I am very sorry that none of us remembered that that policy was on the books. It isn't often used, and it doesn't seem logical to me, but it is there, and we should have reviewed the expulsion before it went into effect.
"

So: are they liable in a court of law?

Thanks!

A concerned father.
Reply
Cat Herder 11:26 AM 09-14-2018
Originally Posted by Enrico:

1. private school

2. preschool program.

3. we agree that this institution wasn't a good fit for our son

So: are they liable in a court of law?

Thanks!

A concerned father.
Liable for what exactly?

They already apologized for not following their expulsion policy exactly but feel expulsion was the correct choice. Even you agreed that the school was not a good fit. Preschool is not school, it is preparation for school.

Are you wanting your deposit back?
Reply
Cat Herder 11:35 AM 09-14-2018
"didn't allow us a smooth transition elsewhere"

Also, daycares and preschools are not legally required to provide a smooth transition. It is a parents responsibility to have backup childcare at all times.

Sure, it would have been great had it gone more smoothly, but some situations call for immediate termination of the contract and we reserve the right to do so.
Reply
mommyneedsadayoff 11:36 AM 09-14-2018
Originally Posted by Enrico:
Good morning,

I would like an opinion on whether there is any legal liability on the private school that expelled my son from their preschool program.

Long story short my son was suddenly expelled at a time when we were led to believe that things were going fine (we got a phone call at 8:15am while driving him to school in which we were told that that would be his last day there).

We exchanged several emails with the president of the board of the institution. We explained that while we agree that this institution wasn't a good fit for our son, we disagreed on the modality of the expulsion which didn't allow us a smooth transition elsewhere.

In one of these emails the president wrote (I removed all identifiable references):
"
The other way in which we failed you was in, as you point out, not following our own policies and procedures (which are available in the Policy Manual on the website, I believe).

First, I don't believe we brought in other leads to observe MYSONSNAME's behavior. That could have been done. We are working now on hiring a Director of SCHOOLNAME Programs who will oversee our classrooms and teachers from a philosophical and curriculum standpoint; this situation reinforces the need for that position.

Second, the board was not involved in the expulsion. Personally, I do not believe that the board should be involved in student and classroom issues, in that members of the board bring conflicts of interest (insofar as we may have personal relationships with children and families), for the most part have no SCHOOLNAME or educational training, and have a decidedly high level operational role to play in the school, rather than classroom and student-specific. That said, the SCHOOLNAME policy, written in 1989, which all of us overlooked, dictates board involvement in matters of mid-year expulsion. PRINCIPALNAME did tell me in our regular meetings about MYSONSNAME's expulsion, but I am very sorry that none of us remembered that that policy was on the books. It isn't often used, and it doesn't seem logical to me, but it is there, and we should have reviewed the expulsion before it went into effect.
"

So: are they liable in a court of law?

Thanks!

A concerned father.
Legal liability? For what? It wasn't a good fit and that was made clear, so move on. If you paid for care/tution that was not rendered, it may change my opinion. In that case, admission of not following procedure puts the preschool in a position to repay funds.
Reply
Enrico 12:18 PM 09-14-2018
Well. Private schools are controlled by Contract Law. When our son started there we signed a contract and they admitted in an official email that they are in violation of this contract. Usually when people are in breach of a contract there is a liability of some kind or another: one could sue for damages. For instance, had they respected the contract we would have been able to move our child to another school avoiding unnecessary hardship on him. He didn't need to know that he had been expelled.

I'm asking whether this is a complete misreading of the legal situation and whether the school didn't actually breach any contract.
Reply
Cat Herder 12:28 PM 09-14-2018
Originally Posted by Enrico:
Well. Private schools are controlled by Contract Law. When our son started there we signed a contract and they admitted in an official email that they are in violation of this contract. Usually when people are in breach of a contract there is a liability of some kind or another: one could sue for damages. For instance, had they respected the contract we would have been able to move our child to another school avoiding unnecessary hardship on him. He didn't need to know that he had been expelled.

I'm asking whether this is a complete misreading of the legal situation and whether the school didn't actually breach any contract.
Typically breach of contract means you are entitled to your deposit back. It should be outlined in your contract. I would have refunded your deposit and any tuition overpayment to date.

I disagree that your son did not need to know he was expelled. There are consequences in life, it would be my parenting goal to make him understand those and how to avoid such things going forward in life. I don't see that as a damage, I see that as a parenting opportunity.

What other damages do you feel you incurred?
Reply
Blackcat31 12:46 PM 09-14-2018
Originally Posted by Enrico:
He didn't need to know that he had been expelled.


What was he expelled for?
Reply
Blackcat31 07:52 AM 09-15-2018
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:


What was he expelled for?
Again....what was your son expelled for?
Reply
Pandaluver21 10:02 PM 09-15-2018
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Again....what was your son expelled for?
I'm thinking someone doesn't want to answer that...
Reply
mommyneedsadayoff 01:30 PM 09-14-2018
Originally Posted by Enrico:
Well. Private schools are controlled by Contract Law. When our son started there we signed a contract and they admitted in an official email that they are in violation of this contract. Usually when people are in breach of a contract there is a liability of some kind or another: one could sue for damages. For instance, had they respected the contract we would have been able to move our child to another school avoiding unnecessary hardship on him. He didn't need to know that he had been expelled.

I'm asking whether this is a complete misreading of the legal situation and whether the school didn't actually breach any contract.
I'm not sure if they breached contract. But I guess I would seek out what it is I'm looking for...Money? Retribution for your childs pain and suffering? Is it worth it to pursue? Why did they get expelled? Expulsion is pretty intense, so I doubt it was a first time offense. Was it a behavior issue? So many unknowns, so hard to give advice.

I think of daycare or private school as a service. I would expect a refund for services unrendered, but I would never expect to be paid by them if care could no longer be provided.
Reply
MyAngels 02:26 PM 09-14-2018
An attorney can tell you whether you have any recourse under the contract. It will also most likely depend on your state. For instance, if you're in Illinois a child can't be expelled from preschool unless certain steps have been followed.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/bill...0&SessionID=91
Reply
hwichlaz 04:25 PM 09-14-2018
Was he expelled for unsafe behavior?

If so, and you want to protect him from that...YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.
Reply
Enrico 07:56 PM 09-14-2018
Few points:
- We leave in Indiana and I'm not sure whether there is a piece of legislation equivalent to the one in Illinois.
- All of this happened in March 2017 and we did work very hard on our son to make him understand what happened.
- The reason for which the school hired an extra person to make sure this never happens again is that (1) there was a revolt of many parents and (2) one of the other teachers in my child classroom threatened to resign over his expulsion.
- In the rule book immediate expulsion is contemplated but, if one reads the words of the president of the board I pasted in the first post, she candidly admits that those conditions WERE NOT APPLICABLE TO MY SON EXPULSION. In fact, she says that the school DID NOT RESPECT THE RULE BOOK PROCEDURE.
- There is no issue with any reimbursement: we paid until the last day of school (last month was pro-rated) and we got back the deposit.
- I want to know if the there is potential criminal liability. They ignored parts of the contract put in place to protect the child from unnecessary pain and trauma. Had they invoked the immediate expulsion part of the contract things would be much more tricky because one would have to prove that they were wrong which is probably impossible; but they admit that they mistakenly kicked him out with a day notice instead of engaging in a long process which would have taken several weeks at least. I have no idea if in Indiana there is any recourse.

Thanks to everybody for replying!
Reply
Leigh 12:22 PM 09-14-2018
Originally Posted by Enrico:
Good morning,

I would like an opinion on whether there is any legal liability on the private school that expelled my son from their preschool program.

Long story short my son was suddenly expelled at a time when we were led to believe that things were going fine (we got a phone call at 8:15am while driving him to school in which we were told that that would be his last day there).

We exchanged several emails with the president of the board of the institution. We explained that while we agree that this institution wasn't a good fit for our son, we disagreed on the modality of the expulsion which didn't allow us a smooth transition elsewhere.

In one of these emails the president wrote (I removed all identifiable references):
"
The other way in which we failed you was in, as you point out, not following our own policies and procedures (which are available in the Policy Manual on the website, I believe).

First, I don't believe we brought in other leads to observe MYSONSNAME's behavior. That could have been done. We are working now on hiring a Director of SCHOOLNAME Programs who will oversee our classrooms and teachers from a philosophical and curriculum standpoint; this situation reinforces the need for that position.

Second, the board was not involved in the expulsion. Personally, I do not believe that the board should be involved in student and classroom issues, in that members of the board bring conflicts of interest (insofar as we may have personal relationships with children and families), for the most part have no SCHOOLNAME or educational training, and have a decidedly high level operational role to play in the school, rather than classroom and student-specific. That said, the SCHOOLNAME policy, written in 1989, which all of us overlooked, dictates board involvement in matters of mid-year expulsion. PRINCIPALNAME did tell me in our regular meetings about MYSONSNAME's expulsion, but I am very sorry that none of us remembered that that policy was on the books. It isn't often used, and it doesn't seem logical to me, but it is there, and we should have reviewed the expulsion before it went into effect.
"

So: are they liable in a court of law?

Thanks!

A concerned father.

I don't understand what you are wanting from the preschool. Could you elaborate on what you were hoping to sue them for?
Reply
Tags:expulsion, lawsuit, liability., parent - its a verb, preschool, terminate - bad fit, termination, termination - bad fit, termination - gone bad
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