K.J., a high school student, was initially suspended for three days following a fight at La Jolla High School. Shortly after, a vice principal reviewed surveillance video and medical reports suggesting that K.J. had willfully caused serious injury to another student, a charge not present in the initial suspension. Based on this new evidence, the school extended K.J.'s suspension to five days and recommended his expulsion. K.J. was never informed of these new charges or the evidence supporting them, nor was he given a chance to present his side of the story regarding the allegation of willfully causing serious injury. Although the expulsion recommendation was later withdrawn and K.J. returned to school, the report detailing the extended suspension and the serious injury allegation remained in his disciplinary file. K.J. sued the school officials under Section 1983, alleging a violation of his procedural due process rights. The district court granted summary judgment to the officials, ruling that while due process was violated, the officials were protected by qualified immunity and K.J. lacked standing to seek expungement of his records.
The Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court that the school officials violated K.J.'s due process rights. Under Goss v. Lopez, a student facing suspension is entitled to oral or written notice of the charges, an explanation of the evidence, and an opportunity to present their side of the story. The court emphasized that K.J.'s suspension extension was effectively a second suspension based on new charges and new evidence. Because the officials never informed K.J. of the new allegation that he willfully caused serious injury or explained the video and medical evidence supporting it, K.J. was deprived of a meaningful opportunity to defend himself against these more serious accusations. The court rejected the argument that the initial hearing satisfied due process requirements, noting that the new charge was substantively different from the initial charge of participating in a fight. Regarding qualified immunity, the court held that the unlawfulness of the officials' conduct was clearly established by Goss. Any reasonable official would have understood that extending a suspension based on new charges without notice and a hearing violates the Constitution. The court also addressed the issue of expungement, ruling that it constitutes prospective relief and is not barred by the Eleventh Amendment under the Ex Parte Young doctrine. Furthermore, the court found that K.J. had Article III standing to seek expungement because the disciplinary record posed a concrete threat to his reputation and future prospects, and the claim was not moot since the record remained in his file.
The case is remanded to the district court for a trial on K.J.'s claim for damages and his request for expungement of the disciplinary records. This decision clarifies that school officials cannot extend suspensions based on new charges without providing the student the same due process protections required for an initial suspension. It also confirms that students can seek expungement of unconstitutional disciplinary records as a form of prospective relief, even after returning to school, provided the record remains and poses a future harm.
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