SDUHSD’S “SCHOOL SAFETY” RESPONSE: IS THIS SLOPPINESS OR A SYSTEMIC PATTERN?

Another student. Another harsh escalation. Another family forced to fight the district.

Two Torrey Pines High School students are now suing the San Dieguito Union High School District, alleging they were disciplined and retaliated against after expressing pro Trump views during an anti ICE demonstration.

According to the federal complaint, one student was later accused of making disturbing computer searches, which he denied. Police were called. The lawsuit alleges his parents were prevented from seeing him while officers questioned him. He was transported to a mental health facility and held overnight on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

According to the complaint, police also searched his home and reportedly found nothing supporting the allegations.

Times of San Diego: Torrey Pines Students Sue SDUHSD

For me, this story hits close to home.

I know the family, and I have been involved with SDUHSD for more than a decade. Over the years, I have attended school board meetings, initiated a recall effort against a school board trustee that culminated in her resignation, organized petitions, run for school board, produced reports identifying concerns and proposing solutions, and been publicly labeled a “whistleblower” by the teachers union president. I have also helped families navigate serious disciplinary disputes and repeatedly raised concerns about the misuse of institutional authority.

The cases that follow are not simply headlines to me. I know the families involved, have firsthand knowledge of important details surrounding their experiences, and have witnessed the profound toll these events have taken on the children and their families.

WHAT CONCERNS ME MOST IS NOT ONE CASE. IT IS WHETHER “SCHOOL SAFETY” HAS BECOME A SYSTEMIC TOOL FOR ESCALATION AND PUNISHMENT.

It is the recurrence of a remarkably similar process across different students, different circumstances, and different years. This is a recurring process.  Across the cases I have followed, variations of a familiar sequence emerge:

(1) A student is labeled a threat.
(2) Police become involved.
(3) A home may be searched.
(4) Arrest or juvenile detention may follow.
(5) A 5150 psychiatric hold may follow.
(6) Suspension or expulsion may follow.
(7) The family is left fighting through hearings, appeals, attorneys, and substantial legal expenses.

Not every case follows every step. But several publicly reported cases raise serious questions about how quickly allegations can escalate into extraordinary interventions.

THE 12 YEAR OLD STUDENT: FROM A SNAPCHAT POST TO JUVENILE DETENTION

One case involved a 12 year old student whose situation escalated from a school disciplinary dispute into police involvement and a felony charge over a Snapchat message.

According to the family, the events began after the principal reprimanded the student over how he represented the school while sparring with a friend off campus in the evening.

The principal reportedly kept the 12 year old in her office for more than three hours. When school ended, according to the family’s account, he was still not released. He eventually ran from the office.

Distressed and relieved to have gotten out, he posted on Snapchat:

“Just dipped outta school ran out that bitch in the office dead tom.”

The message was interpreted as a threat. The case escalated into police involvement, a search of the family’s home, arrest, juvenile detention, a felony charge, and an expulsion battle.

The family then faced administrative proceedings and substantial legal expenses.

If police searched the family’s home and reportedly found nothing supporting a credible threat, why did the escalation continue? Why arrest, juvenile detention, and an expulsion battle for a 12 year old?

CBS 8: Felony Charge Against 12 Year Old Over Snapchat Message

EXPULSION OVERTURNED: WHEN SAFETY ENDS, WHY DOES THE LITIGATION CONTINUE?

In another Torrey Pines case, SDUHSD expelled a student in 2018 for allegedly making “terroristic threats” on his private social media. The case escalated beyond school discipline. According to the family’s account, the student was taken into custody and spent three days in juvenile detention. His family appealed the expulsion.

The San Diego County Board of Education ultimately overturned it, finding the district’s conclusions unsupported by the evidence, and ordered the student’s reinstatement. But the dispute continued.

SDUHSD sued the San Diego County Board in an attempt to preserve the expulsion. According to The Coast News, the litigation continued for 202 days before SDUHSD ultimately withdrew its lawsuit.

The Coast News: Student Returns After Overturned Expulsion and Dropped Lawsuit

There is another piece of context from that same year worth noting. In 2018, San Diego County had juvenile detention capacity for 855 youth, but only 311 were detained on one reported day, leaving nearly two thirds of available capacity unused. That statistic does not establish why this particular student was detained or whether detention was appropriate. But alongside the student’s three day detention, it raises a legitimate broader question:

• When a school disciplinary matter escalates into juvenile detention, what evidence and safeguards ensure that taking a child into custody is truly necessary and proportionate? 

• When an independent governmental body determines that an expulsion was unsupported by evidence, why does the legal fight continue?

• How do these extraordinary escalations and harsh consequences actually advance school safety? And when they continue despite insufficient evidence, who benefits and who bears the consequences?

AND NOW, SDUHSD AGAIN: THE POLICE SEARCH REPORTEDLY FOUND NOTHING SUPPORTING A CREDIBLE THREAT. WHY THE 5150 HOLD?

The allegations in the new federal lawsuit are different, but aspects of the escalation are familiar.

If the disturbing computer searches attributed to the student could not be substantiated, and a police search of his home reportedly found nothing supporting a credible threat, what justified the continued escalation? Why was he transported for a 5150 psychiatric hold?

The case is still unfolding. But this is now another publicly reported case involving severe intervention against an SDUHSD student.

THESE ARE ONLY THE CASES THAT BECAME PUBLIC. WHAT ABOUT THE CASES THAT NEVER DID?

I personally know other families whose experiences never became public, including families who entered agreements containing confidentiality provisions. Families have described concerns about stigma, retaliation, legal expenses, and the personal consequences of speaking publicly. That raises an even larger question:

IF THIS IS WHAT WE CAN SEE, WHAT REMAINS HIDDEN?

Schools have an obligation to investigate credible threats. But extraordinary consequences demand credible evidence, careful investigation, proportionality, due process, and accountability.

IF SAFETY WAS TRULY THE CONCERN, AND A POLICE INVESTIGATION FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF A CREDIBLE THREAT, WHY DID THE ESCALATION CONTINUE WITH ARREST, A 5150 HOLD, OR EXPULSION?

• Three public cases.
• Different students.
• Different circumstances.
• Different years.

A strikingly similar process through other school districts. And these are only the cases that became public.  At this point we must stop examining each case in isolation and examine the system itself.  If there is no systemic problem, an independent investigation can establish that. If there is a pattern, students, families, taxpayers, and the public deserve to know.

COURAGE MAKES ACCOUNTABILITY POSSIBLE

I commend the parents who had the courage to speak up, challenge the system, and bring their children’s stories into the public domain. Taking on a powerful institution is not easy. It can carry emotional, financial, and personal consequences for an entire family. Without parents willing to speak, challenge decisions, and demand answers, how many of these cases would ever come to light?

Their courage does more than advocate for their own children. It creates transparency that may help protect the next child and the next family.

SDUHSD MUST BE INDEPENDENTLY INVESTIGATED.

School safety must protect children. It should never become the mechanism that puts them in danger.

Whether it is sloppiness or systemic, this pattern should sound the alarm. It must be investigated, addressed, and fixed.