No school ball, no footy for Lucan
Court ruling favours long-haired student but college still takes hard line
A STUDENT who took on his school over his long locks may have won a court battle – but he’s lost the fight to go to his school ball tonight.
Schools would have to ‘‘lawyer-up’’ after the decision, Secondary Principals’ Association president Tom Parsons said.
Lucan Battison, 16, was kicked out of class on May 22 after ignoring requests from St John’s College to cut his hair. He offered to tie it back in a bun but this was unacceptable to the school.
Yesterday, Justice David Collins ruled in favour of the year 12 Hastings student, saying his suspension was unlawful – as was the hair rule set out by the school.
Lucan returned to college on Wednesday after Collins, during Monday’s hearing, asked the school to take him back pending his decision. But the school put its foot down and told Lucan he wouldn’t be attending the school ball, and when he showed up with his boots for first XV rugby practice earlier this week, he was told he couldn’t train.
While yesterday’s decision went in favour of Lucan, he had already told his date for the ball they wouldn’t be going.
The Battisons’ lawyer, Jol Bates, said while the court decision was a ‘‘landmark judgment’’ he found it remarkable the school had made a stand with the ball. ‘‘It’s a highly questionable decision for the school to make considering the judge’s ruling.’’
Lucan and his parents, Troy and Tania, said they were pleased with the judgment but disappointed it had to go to the High Court. ‘‘Our preferred option all along was mediation.’’
While rules had a place, they needed to be ‘‘reasonable and certain’’, they said.
‘‘Lucan never broke the rules. The rules which we signed up for, were ‘off the collar and out of the eyes’. Lucan’s hair, whether in a hair-tie or not, has conformed to this, but the new principal shifted the goal posts.’’
In this case it was the school that did not follow the law, they said. ‘‘If people never questioned certain issues, we would be a very backward society today.’’
While support had been overwhelming, criticism they had received had been ‘‘hurtful and unnecessary’’.
‘‘We love our son and we’ve always taught him to stand up for what he believes in. This is different to not having a respect for rules. He wears his uniform with pride and that will not change.’’
St John’s College principal Paul Melloy said the school was disappointed by the decision. The board would be considering the judgment ‘‘in terms of its impact, both on our school and on other schools’’.
‘‘It is not about the individual student but being able to manage our school in a positive equitable environment. This includes compliance with our rules.’’
SCHOOL lawyers will be on high alert after a Hastings student went to the High Court to get his suspension overturned, says a school union leader.
St John’s College student Lucan Battison successfully fought his suspension for refusing to cut his hair and yesterday Justice David Collins, a former solicitor-general, ruled the suspension and the school’s hair policy was unlawful.
Secondary Principals’ Associ- ation president Tom Parsons said the consequence was that schools would have to ‘‘lawyer-up’’.
The intention of the hair rule ‘‘off the collar and out of the eyes’’ was clear.
‘‘To have that overturned by the court of law indicates once more that there is law and there is justice. This is not a case of justice,’’ Parsons said.
He said there would be greater compliance costs for schools as they look to tighten up policies.
‘‘You can’t tell me there aren’t rules for a reason.’’
The New Zealand School Trustees Association provides guidance and support to school boards and president Lorraine Kerr said she was surprised when she heard the case was before the High Court.
‘‘Rules have been in place since schools were invented and they need to be for safety reasons, equal rights reasons and many others.’’
The ruling would be a lesson for boards but she hoped they wouldn’t be left ‘‘scrambling’’ following the decision and didn’t hold back on disciplining as a result.
Naenae College principal John Russell said schools would have to be careful in future about what constituted gross misconduct and continual disobedience.
Schools scrapping uniform as a result of the judicial review would be a ‘‘sad situation’’, Russell said.
Ministry of Education spokeswoman Katrina Casey said that the judgment would be reviewed carefully and the ministry would consider whether additional guidance needed to be provided to schools.
The Battison’s lawyer, Jol Bates, said the judgment didn’t signal a need for school boards to panic and they would still be able to set rules providing they were ‘‘precise and clear’’.
‘‘It’s a landmark judgment in my view and signals a new approach by the courts geared towards acknowledging that students have certain rights.’’
Bates said he had ‘‘copped a lot of flak’’ taking on the case.
Collins, in his decision, said that while Lucan’s behaviour ‘‘constituted disobedience’’, it wasn’t serious enough to warrant a suspension.
‘‘Even if Lucan’s continued dis- obedience was continued disobedience that was a harmful or dangerous example to others, [the principal] Mr Melloy was still obliged to use suspension as a last resort,’’ he said.
The court also ruled that Melloy failed to impose a penalty that minimised disruption to Lucan’s attendance.
Collins said other options, for example prohibiting Lucan from representing the school in sport until he cut his hair, could have been considered first. Justice Collins ordered the school board to cover Lucan’s court costs.