can you sue a public school for grades

[Wethepeople]

Jurisdiction

Texas

Hi everyone, I'll try to keep it short, your feedback and responses are greatly appreciated.

I was recently a victim in an assault by contact incident (no injuries) where I was followed and grabbed by another student at a local public community college for simply not wanting to partake in small talk with this individual. After the incident, both parties and bookstore staff were interviewed (to my best knowledge) and the officer and the dean shared with me that the suspects statements confirmed mine, but that there would not be a problem moving forward and that I should go back to class and cease communications with this individual. I explained I wished to press charges if it was within my rights to do so and later filed a complaint with the college stating proper actions were not taken, and that it was within my right to press charges and further, this individual should have been removed from all shared classes and requested the video footage, witness testimonies along with the police report...etc. From that point, I received nothing but retaliation and resistance from the school, including attempts to withhold evidence, and threats that I would fail all four classes if I choose not to return back to campus where all instructors were directed to mandate attendance, and new attendance policies and quizzes were implemented, and despite have straight A's on all assignments, I am told that I will fail at least 3/4 classes. There were other discriminatory statements made by the Dean, Deans office and the officers that night that I believe influenced their treatment which would constitute discrimination, and I have filed a complaint with the department of Education, however given that the school is refusing to provide body camera/voice recordings, along with all the other evidence, I'm unsure how much of the incident will be uncovered by the DOE. The story goes on, but mainly I wanted to know, regardless of the DOE's final determination, what recourses are available to me post final grade submission. I have taken every step with the school internally and also considering hiring a lawyer. However, My Ideal course would be to proceed through small claims if possible. I'm not sure if small claims will have the authority to recover my grades, and more so whether I'm even able to sue a public institution through small claims. I have also just received confirmation from the Attorney generals office, that per the colleges request, I would not be granted the requested information pursuant to section 552.108(a)(2), since the incident did not result in an arrest etc. Will I be able to request all documents and recordings if a lawsuit is in place. What if the school destroys the critical evidence by the time a lawsuit is in action?

Your feedback or advice is much appreciated. I'm also interested in Lawyer referrals within Texas.

Thank you.

 

[Zigner]

Small claims would not be the appropriate avenue to achieve what you wish. In order to do that, you will need the assistance of an attorney.

With that said...
Someone grabbed your arm. It happens. Get over it.

 

[zddoodah]

From that point, I received nothing but retaliation and resistance from the school, including attempts to withhold evidence, and threats that I would fail all four classes if I choose not to return back to campus where all instructors were directed to mandate attendance, and new attendance policies and quizzes were implemented, and despite have straight A's on all assignments

Retaliation such as?

Resistance to what?

Beyond that, do you find it surprising that, if you don't show up for class, you might fail your classes?

I am told that I will fail at least 3/4 classes.

Told by whom?

There were other discriminatory statements made by the Dean, Deans office and the officers that night that I believe influenced their treatment which would constitute discrimination

Statements made to whom? What evidence exists that the dean made these statements? How are they "discriminatory"?

can you sue a public school for grades

Anyone can sue anyone for anything. No court can force your school to give you a particular grade.

As far as I can tell, the gist of your post is that, following a class, a fellow student grabbed you. You are unhappy with how the school has handled the investigation and don't want to finish your classes. I doubt you have any recourse for that, and if you don't finish your classes, you'll likely fail.

Feel free to consult with a local attorney.

 

[Wethepeople]

Small claims would not be the appropriate avenue to achieve what you wish. In order to do that, you will need the assistance of an attorney.

With that said...
Someone grabbed your arm. It happens. Get over it.

Thanks for your response, the incident is a bit more complicated than explained here, I did not feel comfortable returning back to campus, both due to this individuals conduct, and the institutions response to the incident. I believe I took the only recourse available to me to avoid further escalation of this incident. Legal action is my last resort due to the implications this may have towards my academic career moving forward. The semester is now over and I am simply waiting for my grades and DOE's response to my complaint.

 

[Zigner]

Thanks for your response, the incident is a bit more complicated than explained here, I did not feel comfortable returning back to campus, both due to this individuals conduct, and the institutions response to the incident. I believe I took the only recourse available to me to avoid further escalation of this incident. Legal action is my last resort due to the implications this may have towards my academic career moving forward. The semester is now over and I am simply waiting for my grades and DOE's response to my complaint.

You made a choice, and sometimes choices come with consequences. That's not a judgment on you, rather, it's just a statement of fact.

 

[adjusterjack]

egal action is my last resort

Then you should be consulting with an attorney.

 

[justblue]

Posting History.

 

[Wethepeople]

Posting History.

what is your point?

 

[Tax Counsel]

Hi everyone, I'll try to keep it short, your feedback and responses are greatly appreciated.

However, My Ideal course would be to proceed through small claims if possible. I'm not sure if small claims will have the authority to recover my grades, and more so whether I'm even able to sue a public institution through small claims.

You won't be able to sue for that in small claims court. There are several reasons why, but the most significant thing here is that all that the small claims court does is award money damages for harm caused by a tort or breach of contract. If you seek an order to have grades changed, that's known as equitable relief and you need to go another route. Also note that generally suing pubic entities often requires certain steps to be taken first before you can sue.

Finally, the Supreme Court has held that in most circumstances a student does not have a recourse to the courts for grades given by a school, college or university. The courts don't want to be in the business of trying to determine whether the grade given was correct, especially considering that most judges would not have the expertise needed to determine grades for a particular course. As a result, you normally only have the recourse that the school provides for grade appeals.

Note, too, that victims do not have right to insist on any particular degree of investigation of their complaints. The agency taking the compliant has discretion to determine what do with it.

You do have the right to seek a protective order against the person that grabbed you but this kind of one time encounter generally won't be enough to get you a protective order. There isn't any indication here that he is posing any continuing threat to you.

Just my two cents based on your description of things: I suggest you just let this go and move on. You'll have a number of unpleasant encounters in life for which there is no legal recourse. You've already let this aggravate you and cost you considerable time trying to get what you want, and focusing on that is not going to help you with studying to get the grades you want. If you really feel you can't get past this, perhaps a therapist would be of help. There isn't anything wrong with talking things over with a therapist and you might learn some things you can do to get this from taking up so much space in your head.

 

[Wethepeople]

thanks for your thorough response, and you are correct, this has caused me considerable pain, time, and financial investment, however I believe in standing up for what is right or you are simply transferring this responsibility to the next person. I will fight for what I believe is right to my best ability and fully expect to lose against the unlimited resources available to such public institution intended to serve the community at the tax payers expense.

 

[Zigner]

thanks for your thorough response, and you are correct, this has caused me considerable pain, time, and financial investment, however I believe in standing up for what is right or you are simply transferring this responsibility to the next person. I will fight for what I believe is right to my best ability and fully expect to lose against the unlimited resources available to such public institution intended to serve the community at the tax payers expense.

You are going to have a tough life.

 

[Red Kayak]

thanks for your thorough response, and you are correct, this has caused me considerable pain, time, and financial investment, however I believe in standing up for what is right or you are simply transferring this responsibility to the next person. I will fight for what I believe is right to my best ability and fully expect to lose against the unlimited resources available to such public institution intended to serve the community at the tax payers expense.

There is working hard and working smart. You've been tilting windmills when you should have been taking advantage of the existing system.