A New York school district has amended its outside food and drink policy after an honors student was suspended for bringing coffee into class as an act of “civil disobedience.”
Julie Kaputa received an in-school suspension after arriving at her first class of senior year at Beaver River Central School with a cup of coffee on September 3.
As Dexerto previously reported, a teacher told Kaputa to throw away the drink, consume it immediately or report to the office.
Kaputa chose the office and was suspended for violating a new rule banning outside food and drinks. The school reportedly classified her refusal as insubordination.
However, Kaputa maintained that her decision was a deliberate protest against how the district introduced its new code of conduct.
“I brought my coffee in as an act of civil disobedience in order to bring awareness to the fact that the administration and the board of education had not held a public hearing,” she told WWNY.
“While I do disagree with the policy as well, I think the issue that was more important is transparency in government.”
Teachers will decide if outside drinks are allowed
Kaputa and her family argued that the policy was invalid because the district had not held a properly advertised public hearing before it took effect.
“Our family has always promoted transparency in government and proper representation of the people. This new policy was overly broad, unenforcible, and open to wide interpretation and inconsistent implementation, which is how abuse of power has always started throughout history,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I would hope that this encourages students to pay attention to local politics, read documents before signing them, and get curious about their civic rights and responsibilities.”
Superintendent Todd Green previously acknowledged that an August board meeting had been treated as the hearing, but conceded that it was not properly announced.
The school board subsequently held a public hearing on September 14, drawing a large crowd of students, parents and other members of the community.
After hearing their concerns, the board amended the policy. Teachers will now decide whether to permit outside food and drinks in their classrooms on a case-by-case basis.
“I believe it is up to the teacher to decide what they would like in their classroom to happen,” Kaputa said. “I don’t think the code should dictate that for each classroom.”
Board President Holly Aucter also acknowledged that the reasons behind the original policy should have been presented at a public hearing in August.
The reversal comes amid wider scrutiny of school discipline policies. Parents in the UK recently condemned “barbaric” rules that placed students in isolation for infractions including clapping and wearing incorrect clothing.
Elsewhere, a six-year-old autistic student was suspended after biting his sandwich into the shape of a gun.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
