A judge has ruled that an elite Mulholland Drive private school must overturn the expulsion of a 5th grader over emails sent to a peer containing rap lyrics and the water gun emoji until so that the matter can be heard at trial.
On October 17, the parents of the expelled student filed a lawsuit against the Curtis School and the school’s principal, Meera Ratnesar, alleging that the expulsion was “arbitrary and capricious” and that the school did not had provided no evidence of a policy violation or where a classmate feels threatened.
This week, Judge Stephen I. Goorvitch of Los Angeles Superior Court approved an order filed by the parents’ attorneys to temporarily stay the boy’s expulsion, according to court documents filed Thursday. The attorneys argued that the expulsion constitutes a harmful disruption to the student’s education and socialization, according to court documents.
The judge’s order took effect immediately and the student was free to return to school Friday, according to court documents. However, the decision can be reconsidered if it appears that the student poses a danger to students or faculty, and the school remains free to impose alternative disciplinary measures, according to court documents.
The Curtis School is a prestigious primary school with annual tuition of $38,000 where many celebrities, such as Victoria and David Beckham, have sent their children.
Representatives for the school did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the order. In a statement shared last week, the school said it was disappointed by the litigation and was committed to ensuring a safe and secure campus for all, but it declined to comment on individual students.
The student was expelled by Ratnesar on October 1 following two email exchanges with a classmate.
On Sept. 5, the boy and a classmate sent emails containing lyrics to YNW Melly’s song “Murder on My Mind,” which refers to guns and violence, according to court documents. Then, on September 25, the students had another email exchange during their math class in which the boy sent messages on his school-issued laptop saying “Shut up” and “I hate you” and included several green water gun emojis, and then said, “You’re dead again,” to which the classmate replied, “No.” »
The parents say the boys are friends and spent time together immediately after the email exchanges, according to court documents. They also say their son is a top student who has not faced any disciplinary action during his three years at the school, according to court documents.
No disciplinary action was taken against the classmate who email records show was the instigator of the September 5 exchange of rap lyrics.
“We are deeply disappointed by your decision to base expulsion on emails between two classmates who both demonstrated a willingness to talk about guns based on the lyrics of a song,” the parents in an October 2 email to Ratnesar, urging him to reconsider the expulsion. .
Ratnesar acknowledged in an Oct. 1 email that the classmate started the email exchange, but said their son’s “contribution to the lyric lines in addition to continuing to communicate emojis and threatening language 20 days after the exchange of words, is a serious offense that we cannot ignore. »
Lawyers for the parents say Ratnesar has a reputation for “unequal and arbitrary treatment of students” and cite, as evidence, several reviews left by former families of the school that speak of alleged favoritism and discriminatory treatment by the school director.
