Schools & School Boards – Reassignment – Civil Practice – Judicial Review – Subject Matter Jurisdiction

After the petitioner-student’s involvement in two fights, he was reassigned to an alternative high school. Since that school allowed petitioner to progress towards graduation, he was not entitled to judicial review of the school board’s decision upholding the reassignment. G.S. § 115C-390.7(e).

We affirm the dismissal of the petition for judicial review.

Respondent moved to dismiss petitioner’s appeal as moot because petitioner had graduated. However, petitioner contends that he was “graduated” without receiving the education due him (for example, respondent purportedly rushed him through a semester-long English course in one week, alone in a room with a computer), allowing respondent to end its obligation to provide special education services to petitioner. Because there is a factual dispute regarding whether petitioner has actually completed his high school education and graduated, we deny respondent’s motion to dismiss petitioner’s appeal as moot.

Concurrence

(Tyson, J.) The trial court properly concluded it lacked subject matter jurisdiction for judicial review of a “[d]isciplinary reassignment of a student to a full time educational program.” As such, it is unnecessary to reach the parties’ arguments on mootness or the factual dispute of petitioner’s purported high school graduation or award of a high school diploma. I vote to affirm the superior court’s order.

D.W. v. Onslow County Board of Education (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-051-23, 17 pp.) (Donna Stroud, C.J.) (John Tyson, J., concurring in the result) Appealed from Onslow County Superior Court (Henry Stevens, J.) Carlton Powell, Jennifer Richelson Story, Crystal Ingram, Celia Pistolis, Carl Sanders and Callie Thomas for petitioners; Stephen Rawson, Daniel Clark and Deborah Stagner for respondent; Peggy Nicholson, Crystal Grant, Aly Martin and Hayley Lampkin Blyth for amici curiae. N.C. App.