A California school is facing legal action after reportedly expelling a student over emails that included what the institution deemed an “inappropriate emoji.” The lawsuit has been filed by the parents of a 10-year-old boy who was expelled for sending an email featuring a squirt gun emoji along with lyrics from YNW Melly’s song “Murder on My Mind.”
The lawsuit alleges that the Curtis School, which charges $28,000 in tuition, acted unjustly when the boy and a friend exchanged emails quoting the song in September. One email reportedly included the message, “I hate you,” accompanied by multiple squirt gun emojis. In another email, the boy asked, “You dead yet?” to which his friend replied, “No why.”
According to the lawsuit, the boys were observed behaving normally during the school’s annual fair at Santa Monica Pier. However, on September 30, the school’s director of third, fourth, and fifth grades allegedly pulled the boy from class to question him about the emails. She reportedly informed him that he would lose his technology privileges as punishment.
The following day, the school’s head, Meera Ratnesar, met with the boy’s family to announce the decision to expel him. The family’s attorneys argue that the emails do not violate any of the school’s conduct guidelines and point out that the squirt gun emoji is available on the school’s IT system. They also claim that the boy’s friend faced no similar punishment, making the expulsion appear “arbitrary and capricious.”
In an email to the school earlier this month, one parent criticized the expulsion as “unreasonable,” emphasizing that the emails referenced a song and that their son had a history of good grades and no prior disciplinary issues. “We are deeply disappointed by your decision to base expulsion on emails between two classmates who both showed a willingness to talk about guns based on a song’s lyrics,” the email stated.
Ratnesar reportedly responded by labeling the squirt gun emoji as “threatening,” calling it a “serious infraction we cannot ignore.” She stood by her decision, offering to assist the family in finding a new school for their son.
In response to the lawsuit, the school released a statement to various media outlets, expressing disappointment over the legal action. “While we were disappointed to learn about the litigation, our priority is to ensure a safe and secure campus for all of our students,” the statement read. They added that they were unable to comment on individual student matters.
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