A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Thursday that circuit courts do not have the authority to order schools to provide alternative educational opportunities for expelled students. The case involved a 15-year-old who was expelled for three semesters from Madison West High School in 2009 after he brought nine bags marijuana into the school. The court’s 4-3 decision upholds an appeals court ruling that said a Dane County circuit court judge should not have ordered the Madison Metropolitan School District to develop and implement an educational plan for the student. The ruling came on the high court’s usual conservative versus liberal split, with conservatives prevailing. The majority opinion was written by Justice David Prosser. State law authorizes circuit courts to order students to attend a variety of programs, but the Supreme Court said it does not give the lower courts the power to order a school district to create programs for students.
John Colbert, WIBA