The parents of three Dobson High School students are suing to block a five-day suspension their boys received for drinking beer on a band trip to China.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has scheduled an emergency hearing Monday to consider placing a hold on the punishment, which would begin Wednesday, the first day of school.
The Mesa Unified School District filed a motion Friday to dismiss the case.
The parents in their lawsuit say the punishment isn't fair because the district's employees failed to properly supervise the students. A Chinese tour guide provided beer while spending hours in a hotel room with the teens. The suit says the tour guide took his shirt off because he was hot, then watched the students play drinking games until they were wearing nothing but boxers.
The boys and their parents admit they drank one night during the Jazz Bog Band and Wind Symphony's 10-day trip in June. Parent Danelle Teten said the boys, all minors, had excellent grades and were model students who shouldn't be punished without a more formal disciplinary process.
"We're not trying to say that they shouldn't be punished but we would like to have a fair hearing," Teten said.
The filing by the district claims administrators followed policies for the short-term discipline. The suspensions allow the students to complete their schoolwork and their punishment will not show up on their permanent records, the district wrote. The suspensions won't be disclosed to colleges or anybody else because federal law prohibits that.
The district contends the parents threatened to generate bad publicity if administrators kept the suspensions in place. The parents' suit includes other allegations of sexual conduct and a Chinese sex worker groping a boy in the hotel.
"In any event, Plantiffs' arguments are baseless and meant to do nothing more than embarrass and discredit the school and its staff in an effort to win a tactical advantage," the suit states.
The parents are unfairly blaming the district, the band director and the principal for a violation that the students admit to, the district wrote in its response.
But the attorney for the parents, Jon Paladini, said the district didn't appear to hold its employees accountable for not providing sufficient supervision. In papers filed Friday, the district said it provided one adult for every nine students on the trip, which exceeds the district's chaperone requirements.
"It's too bad that these boys are being held to a standard that the adults aren't being held to," Paladini said. "Nobody else seems to be accepting responsibility."
brainfreeze posted at 7:09 pm on Fri, Aug 6, 2010.
I can't believe these parents are trying to save their little snowflakes from being punished.
If these kids were good kids and getting good grades they should've known NOT to drink. A 5 day suspension might teach them a lesson.
devils66 posted at 10:27 pm on Fri, Aug 6, 2010.
These parents are a joke wanting to sue. They obviously haven't taught their kids to be responsible. Haven't enough parents learned anything from the Halloway story. Kids going away out of the country on trips with their schools need to practice way better reposponsibility.
Ursa Major posted at 11:04 pm on Fri, Aug 6, 2010.
I can. Mrs. Ursa and I spent 6 years with RMHS's band many years ago. Too many parents didn't care what became of their child then, and nothing has changed. Solution is easy. Drop the kids from the program. If they can't be trusted, don't expose the rest of the kids to them, just drop them from the program. Certainly they don't deserve to be part of a program that is as good as Dobson's. They are obviously in at least their middle teens. Either they know right from wrong, or do not. Apparently, they do not. Why reward them by letting them remain in an award winning program. Drop 'em like a hot rock.
FadingSunset posted at 11:59 pm on Fri, Aug 6, 2010.
Well, if that fails, maybe they can sue the beer company for making alcoholic beverages in the first place. Or China for being the place where the beer was consumed. It's sad when we have come to times like these, where parents have to find blame anywhere they can for their bad parenting. From the sounds of it, it's a fair punishment, and a sweetheart deal for the kids to not have it on their permanent records. You can't have enough supervision, at some point the only one you can trust to supervise the situation is the children themselves, and that comes down to how well the parents equipped them to handle the situation.
retired03 posted at 4:58 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
all i can say is unbelievable and I hope someone with common sense, the judge, prevails. Common sense equals throwing this stupid law suit out the window. Mom and dad are doing nothing more than trying to save their kids reputation. Too late for that. They chose to drink, they chose to take their clothes off.. nuf said, there are consequences.. I have been in charge of a large number of kids before and 1 adult for every 9 is plenty. You can't be with them all the time as long as reasonable precautions were taken. If the adults were out playing when this happened,different story then.
Unisex posted at 6:16 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
[wink] As a parent and grandparent these children got exactly what they deserved, It's a shame that the parents want to bail them out! As i told my kids as teens you suffer the consequences of your sins.
Here We Go Again posted at 6:16 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
How about a little personal responsibility? Teenagers know what's right and what's wrong, even when visiting another country. The parents are bringing up the issue of supervision. A question I have is -Did they bother to find out what the ratio of students to adults would be before they trip or if they knew, did they question it then? It's a little to late to complain about that after the fact.
Marcus Gallio posted at 6:46 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
Mesa Unified School District MUST file a counter-suit against these 3 sets of parents. Time is over for this type of craziness where valuable school funds must be used by a District to defend itself against crazy behavior. These students were responsible for their own actions. What if they swallowed DRAINO, would you sue the school or hold the parents responsible for failing to raise intelligent and moral children.
AZMomma posted at 6:47 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
Oh my...the little Precious (s) got caught drinking and prancing around semi-nude with a male foreign adviser (who was also semi nude)? Hummm. Hope no one had their video or cell phone camera on, or the pics would have gone viral by now.
Hey Parental Units: You need to slap your little Precious Pups across the head and scream "Life Lesson" in their faces a few times a day. Boot Camp 101 for their upcoming entry into Adulthood.
[beam]
Carolyn posted at 7:46 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
These parents are ridiculous. "Excellent grades and model students? School Districts are NOT babysitters and should not have to supervise students supposedly mature enough to make a trip like this. The school district should win this one easily - and the court should make these parents pay all legal fees incurred by the school district to defend itself. And - any lawyer who took this case on behalf of the parents in the first place should be ashamed of himself for not advising these people in the first place that this lawsuit was frivolous; i.e.,a lawsuit that has no merit.
teacherman posted at 8:47 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
You wonder why education is in decline. I spend hours each month on the phone "negotiating" with parents regarding their little kiddos behavior.
This set of parents is teaching their little children, rules are not applicable, all actions are the fault of someone else, and if you can waste money on meaningless lawsuits, the world is yours.
The state legislature is advocating stricter standards and accountability for teachers. Teachers should demand stricter standards and accountability for parents. They are the root of education's decline.
MrsKinAJ posted at 8:53 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
Looks like I am in agreement with the other commenters on this pathetic story. I can't believe these parents would actually sue for this. These are teenagers, they should have known better. Blaming the school for not supervising them is not sending them the right message. When you mess up, you suffer the consequences and accept responsibility. See how far the blame game gets them in the real world.
BillyBob117 posted at 9:51 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
You sure can tell who is in charge of those households. It sure is not the parents.
What a pathic suituation.
If that judge rules in favor of the students, then that judge should be recalled.
ofuque2 posted at 9:55 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
Another case of parents with more money than sense. Want to bet who wins this one? Just follow the money. Great way to show the world how responsible we are!!
goofrn posted at 9:58 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
You parents make me sick!!!! No wonder this generation has no ethics, morals, clear right or wrong!! Maybe you should be like our parents were, I'm 44, and say, "well, that's what happens when you do the things you did on a school trip!!" You suck as parents!!!!! I agree, why don't you just Sue the beer company for making the beer or sue yourselves for having kids and not the GUTS to stand up to a clear and reasonable punishment!!!! That's why our parents of our generation were to much BETTER, we didn't have kids shooting eachother, police inour schools, or just THE whole FREAKING GOVERNMENT trying to raise OUR KIDS, because our parents took that responsibility seriously and I am forever and ever grateful!! You parents should be ashamed of yourselves and starting grounding and taking away daylight to your kids and teach them there are things are just arent' acceptable!!!!!
goofrn posted at 10:03 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
One more thing, I got a MIP when I was a sophmore, along with 2 other couples, before prom! Do you think my parents sued the school or the police that gave us the ticket?!! Hell, no!! I had to pay for my classes myself and the fines myself with my babysitting and job money!! It was a lesson my parents had to teach me and let the punishment fit and by God I never did that again!!!! Again, you parents are an embarrassment to the rest of us trying to raise our children with morals, ethics, and down right good sense of what's right and wrong and that there are consequences and sometimes serious ones when you make mistakes!!!! Buck it up students and be better than your parents and take your punishment with respect!!!!!!!!
mathteach posted at 10:34 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
The end result will most likely be that there will be NO more overnight band trips, thus eliminating the costly expenditure of a possible lawsuit from demented and money grubbing parents. These kids KNEW what they were doing, the possible consequences, and proceeded to do it anyway. My favorite part, however, is that one of their fellow bandmembers was STUPID enough to put it on Facebook. The bottom line is these parents are embarrassed and so they are taking it out on the school and not the people responsible, THEIR OWN KIDS!
CrosleyV8 posted at 10:38 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
The suspension is proper.. the parents need to look in the mirror to locate the problem with their children.
These kids very poorly represented the school and their family
Butters posted at 10:48 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
I'm in no way wanting anyone to excuse the bad behavior ot the teens. I am going to play devil's advocate.
"A Chinese tour guide provided beer while spending HOURS in a hotel room with the teens."
Can anyone tell me why the teens were not checked on over the course of HOURS? My guess is the more they drank, the louder their partying got. How did any of the chaperones not know about this WHILE it was going on, not afterwards?
loubator posted at 11:41 am on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
these "parents" are worse losers than their offspring. the teens were old enough to know what they were getting into, and now must pay the consequences. it is called "responsibility". may their "parents" should get a little of that, too! losers.
exit526 posted at 2:56 pm on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
"MODEL" students? "Model" is defined as a small replica of the real thing. I guess Moms and Dads were right in their descriptions of the kids.
mesamom10112 posted at 6:56 pm on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
The only way to stop the frivolous suing on behalf of stupid parents and children is to make the lawyers financially responsible if they loose. Now, the judiical system is too costly for the school district to defend so they will cave and the stupid parents and children will learn that they can get away with anything.
The students will go to school thinking that they got one over. The parents will get cash. All because it costs less than the legal fees.
Then when the kids grow up and do even dumber they have been taught to get a lawyer and get off. Our taxpayers will keep paying through the nose until we finally step up and take back our high-jacked judicial system.
Geepers posted at 8:37 pm on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
Parents, for once in your life allow your children to be held accountable for their poor decisions. They are now kids, once they become adults you will no longer be able to save them.
whocares posted at 9:20 pm on Sat, Aug 7, 2010.
This one time, at band camp.....
anonmom posted at 12:05 am on Sun, Aug 8, 2010.
A five-day suspension is a cake walk! If I was the band director, I would boot them out of the program for sullying the reputation of the group as a whole.
Now, the parents have added very-public humiliation to the punishment for their kids. This should be a fun year for those band kids. They will be mocked relentlessly at school.
Have the parents proposed a supposedly fair punishment for their children's admitted wrong-doing?
Fingers crossed for a reasonable judge to throw this mockery of a suit out.
teacherman posted at 5:56 am on Sun, Aug 8, 2010.
I wonder if the parents are now wondering if their choices were improper reviewing the comments posted. Doubtful though, self-absorb individuals rarely consider others or the opinions of others.
snipes posted at 9:04 am on Sun, Aug 8, 2010.
Chaperons wanted for half-naked drunken teens.
SIGN ME UP!
rmaaz6 posted at 9:29 am on Mon, Aug 9, 2010.
What a shame that the parents of these students have spoiled them by taking this to court and what a disgrace for the judicial system that a Superior Court judge is actually hearing this case choosing money over righteousness. How could these people think these young adults are above school rules because they are "good students"? These kids might get good grades but they, their parents and the judge all earn a big fat F in citzenship!
AZ Granny posted at 10:46 am on Mon, Aug 9, 2010.
These parents are pathetic. Apparently they felt there was enough supervision to let their kids go on the trip. Yet when there is a problem, they holler there wasn't enough supervision.
Perhaps the real problem lies with the parents and their inability to understand personal responsibility and accountability. If the teens were old enough to go on the trip. had good grades, then there is no excuse for their behavior. They made a bad decision and should be held accountable. Suspension from school will help the kids - not punish them.
karmagirl posted at 10:58 am on Mon, Aug 9, 2010.
[sad][sneaky]
karmagirl posted at 11:19 am on Mon, Aug 9, 2010.
Thank you to all the Mesa School District teachers and employees for their comments. So all of you would not have a problem sending your children to a foreign country where you expect your child to be chaperoned by a responsible adult and then when they arrived home you found out they were given beer by a shirtless guide who watched them play in their underwear. Let me see ... then you would side with the school district in their decision that these minors who were served liquor should of known better than the adults who served them. These " snowflakes" who were groped by sex workers probably brought it on by their looking like rich americans men. There is not a one of you who would not defend your child in this situation. If this were a teacher in this situation you would now be under arrest waiting for trial without a job. Bottom line is when you are responsible for children on a school trip you are responisble period. The comment about these parent not caring about their children is insane. These are good kids who through their hard work were able to take a dream trip and were not supervised properly. They should have consequences as should the school distrist. How can you blame parents who were across an ocean for not keeping tabs on their children.
Desrat posted at 3:39 pm on Mon, Aug 9, 2010.
Yay, judge refused to grant the injuction! Now please make this stupidity go away!
Poorman posted at 7:15 am on Tue, Aug 10, 2010.
I guess the big censor in the sky got my first comment,so here goes again,HooRay for the judge,At least he has the guts to put the blame and responsiblty were it should be,on the students. HooRay judge!
ginger posted at 9:02 pm on Tue, Aug 10, 2010.
Sorry but I am for the parents. If a parent threw a party for their underaged kid and they servered beer they would be charged for it. It was the job of the chaperone to watch out for these kids and that person failed. Sure they shouldn't have been drinking because they were to young. If they are getting punished for this what about the chaperone?
AmosENeuman posted at 7:58 am on Wed, Aug 11, 2010.
And people wonder "what's wrong with kids these days"..............
They raise them to believe they're 'entitled' to whatever they want and that they shouldn't have to be held accountable for inappropriate/unacceptable behaviors!
Scary thing is, these are the products entering our workforces and involving themselves in politics ....
anod12 posted at 9:02 am on Wed, Aug 11, 2010.
So the kids are responsible enough to go on a trip to China, but not to have a beer? Were they under the drinking age in China? If so, then maybe they should be punished. If not, why all the fuss?
mesaresident posted at 11:03 am on Wed, Aug 11, 2010.
Parents' fault, period. They need to be taught some parenting skills so that they don't raise drunks! I am a parent of a teenager too, and she has the highest moral and ethical values; these people know nothing about this. They are whiners who are after some quick money. I hope our Mesa School district sends them packing and kicks them out the door for good. Garbage raises garbage. I saw one of the parents on Fox news, disgusting. They are teaching their drunken kids to be irresponsible and not take account of what they did. So let me ask them: if someone tells them to jump off a cliff, will they do it? Same as if someone tell them to have an illegal drink of alcohol, will they do it? It's all about accountability, folks.
Masterrogue666 posted at 9:14 am on Thu, Aug 12, 2010.
This was a BAND TRIP. There are rules and regulations that I'm sure both parents and students were made aware of. You break a rule or reg, you SHOULD BE PUNISHED....
desertrose posted at 12:01 am on Fri, Aug 13, 2010.
One...If the kids were such good "models" of conduct why didn't one of them call mom or dad while this was going on? Go directly to one of the chaparones and say hey, we were given beer against our better judgement and molested by a Chinese guide. They were stupid, period. They didn't use the good judgement God gave them and the school busted them for their inappropriate behavior. Hopefully the school/district won't suffer any financial cutbacks because of this lapse in judgement.
Two...the kids deserved the suspension. Parents were aware of conduct regulations and rules when they went into the music program at the school. You break a rule, there are consequenses. Parents are lucky the students were only suspended and not permanently barred from participating in any school organization or club.
Three...Just serve the suspension and be glad it won't "appear" on your transmittals or interfer with your collegiate aspirations. Lesson learned. Underage drinking isn't appropriate anywhere, anytime!
irishkat posted at 6:59 am on Fri, Aug 13, 2010.
I suppose that as parents you guys watch your kids so closely that they've never snuck out or drank or engaged in any bad behavior? Right! Please. If these kids were comfortable playing drinking games with a half naked Chinese tour guide, chances are this was not their first rodeo. Stop blaming others for your bad parenting.
Shame on these parents for THEIR behavior. STOP BLAMING OTHERS! How do you expect your children will ever learn to be responsible?
aleutianflyer posted at 10:29 am on Fri, Aug 13, 2010.
Shame to the teens that made a poor decision and perhaps even worse not learning from it. Double shame to the parents of these teens who have set a bad example of acountability. You have failed to be good role models and parents for your children and have now taught them it is all right not to take responsibility for their mistakes but divert it to someone else. The judge should reovke your parenting rights and force you to attend a "How to be Better Parents" class. I would be ashamed If I knew you personally and you were my friend or worse if I was your father. You have not been honorable. Please take time to look hard inside you and make yourself a better person and show your child who they should emulate.
Philip H posted at 7:37 pm on Fri, Aug 13, 2010.
I'm out here in Indiana and saw this on CNN. What a riot.[beam]
I found this quote from the article particularly funny:
"The district contends the parents threatened to generate bad publicity if administrators kept the suspensions in place."
It looks like just the opposite has happened. All but two of the comments on here support the district. I'm not sure what the parents wanted - more supervision? Come on *rolls eyes*? Did you want a teacher sleeping in the same room as your kid?
Get over it.
And Mesa School District - don't cancel future trips because of a few whiny parents and some bad (actually good) press. The rest of us Americans would have no problem sending our kids to your schools.