Trial will decide status of student

The mother of a suspended Cape Girardeau Central High School senior is suing the district to get her son back in school.

Eighteen-year-old Ryan Driskell received a 10-day suspension after a canine-unit officer said he found marijuana seeds and stems in Driskell's car Jan. 11. No criminal charges were filed. Interim superintendent Pat Fanger later extended the suspension for the remainder of the year.

No drugs were found on Driskell or in his locker, and he later passed a drug test, according to a petition filed by Driskell's family attorney.

Driskell's mother, Jennifer Eudy, appealed the district's decision, and the school board held a hearing Feb. 25 in closed session. According to the petition, Fanger failed to present a report to the board regarding the suspension and reasons for her actions, as required by Missouri law.

The law also requires a suspension be lifted during the appeal process, unless the superintendent decides the student poses a danger to people or property. Fanger "specifically acknowledged" she made no finding Driskell posed a threat, the petition states.

6-1 vote

The board voted 6-1 to uphold Fanger's decision, according to Malcolm Montgomery, Eudy's attorney. He did not say which board member voted in dissent.

Dr. Steve Trautwein, board president, and Central principal Dr. Mike Cowan referred questions to the district's attorney. Fanger did not return a call.

Eric Bohl, one of the district's attorneys, said the board members' "rationale is not a matter of public record" and that school policy requires cases be handled on an individual basis.

Eudy said board members have "a lot of things they have to answer for" and that "what happened to Ryan was really an injustice."

After he was suspended, Driskell attended school at the Alternative Education Center, and he is still on track for graduation. "It was going fine ... but it's not where he belonged. He belonged at Central. He's never, not from kindergarten to now, been disciplined or been in trouble," Eudy said.

On March 11, Eudy's attorney filed a petition in circuit court. A temporary restraining order was ordered after a March 19 hearing, allowing Driskell to return to Central High School until the trial.

At the hearing before the school board, Driskell said "the alleged marijuana remnants found in his vehicle were not his, nor had he possessed or used any marijuana in his vehicle," according to the petition.

Eudy said Driskell, who has an Individual Education Plan, takes a horticultural class at the Career and Technology Center and "works in a greenhouse, which is covered with seeds or whatever." She said "we're just not very sure" what the remnants were or where they came from.

The trial will be at 9 a.m. April 8.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

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