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Smyrna parent asks board to reconsider student’s long-term consequences after prank
Summary
A Smyrna parent urged the board to reduce a student’s punitive point sanction and restore the shorter suspension, saying the penalty outweighs the mistake and harms the student’s academic record.
At the public-comment portion of the meeting, Stacy Hardy, a parent, asked the board to reconsider a recent student discipline decision for her son.
Hardy said her son — a high-performing student with a 3.8 GPA who volunteers and participates in extracurriculars — made an immature prank that was not malicious or dangerous. She said he originally received a nine-day out-of-school suspension that was later changed without notice to a sanction described in the meeting as "4,500 points at Smyrna West," which she said carries suspension, exclusion from events and a lasting record.
Hardy asked the board whether the consequence matched the intent, urging the district to treat the case as a teachable moment rather than impose a punishment that she said would "erase years of good character." She said her son had apologized and taken responsibility, and she requested the board restore the original suspension.
The board did not announce any immediate reversal during the meeting; the disciplinary appeal docket contained two cases earlier in the agenda and the board affirmed the disciplinary hearing authority's decisions on two appeals during the meeting.
