Parents file lawsuit against Cambridge school district

BEAVER CITY, Neb. -- The parents of a Cambridge Public Schools student whose son is accused of "immature conduct" has sued the school district.

The Cambridge Clarion newspaper reports that Randy and Marla Hoelscher filed the lawsuit in Furnas County District Court in Beaver City on Dec. 29. The Hoelschers claim that their child was expelled, has been barred from school activities and denied due process following an incident that allegedly happened in June during a "non-school-sponsored wrestling camp" at Hastings College.

The Clarion indicates that the Hoelschers' child was expelled for the first semester last year and is not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities, school events and graduation ceremonies this semester.

According to the Clarion, the discipline was in response to what the lawsuit describes as "immature conduct" that the child engaged in within his dorm room at Hastings College during a wrestling camp. School officials informed the Hoelschers that their child violated the "School Code of Ethics."

Two hearings were held for Hoelschers' appeal of the discipline, one before a hearing officer and another before the board of education, and the administration's decision was upheld at both.

The Hoelschers' suit states that the described event occurred off school grounds and was neither in a school vehicle nor during a school event. It also alleges that the code of conduct afforded the child a limited and inadequate due process.

The Hoelschers are asking that the expulsion be declared void and removed from their child's permanent record; that further restrictions be declared void because they exceed the school district's grant of power under state law; and that the board of education and administration be prohibited from imposing any further sanctions against the child.