American-specific stuff. Can you answer these two questions for a non-USA citizen?

[Edey]

I would like to direct that question to American readers and authors here, as my main characters live in suburbs of LA.

I have a story set in a small American high school.
Two characters fight with each other in main hallway. What consequences can they expect?
Two cases:
1) no bodily harm, just push
2) minor bodily harm (eyebrow needs stitches)

A visit in the principal office?
Some kind of reprimand?
Some kind of 'social' work for example - tutoring younger students as punishment?
Parents are called?
Some suspension from school?
If there are security camera footage, can it have some legal consequences?

Please, help, as I really have no idea how most schools deal with such situations in the USA

 

[8letters]

Googling around, it appears a multi-day suspension is the most common punishment. Some districts have a zero tolerance policy where a student caught fighting is automatically expelled unless there's extenuating circumstances. There can be some legal consequences. It really depends on the circumstances. A related article.

 

[KatieDoes]

Middle Class to wealthy school district in a primarily white community?

Or lower to low income urban school district with a diverse population and lots of minority students?

 

[SimonDoom]

The "suburbs of LA" can mean a lot of things. There are rich suburbs, and poor suburbs. LA has every possible racial and ethnic demographic. There are some communities with a relatively high level of violence, and a school probably would not expel someone for fighting at school. But there are communities where violence would be far less tolerated, and expulsion would be more likely.

In America, it also depends a lot on whether your story is set in a public school or a private school. A public school has legal obligations to students, and will be loath to expel them, while a private school has far more leeway to set its rules and expel a student who fails to abide by its rules.

I think you can write it however you want it to, and make it work.

 

[Lifestyle66]

As the others have said, it depends on the type of school, the economic/racial/gang status, and the dynamics of the individuals involved.

It could range from just pushing/shoving, to a fist fight, knife fight (even leading to death), or even one of them pulling out a gun (if he was expecting the fight).

This might sound depressing and extreme and make the U.S. look EXTREMELY violent. But these incidents used to be far rarer than they are now.

So, when you say "most schools in the U.S.", that all depends on the location and type of school. MOST are VERY safe. But it only take ONE to make the news. So, you can write just about anything and be credible.

 

[Edey]

The suburb is mostly white/latino/asians moderate income, not 'super 'rich'. The school is public.

So, the situation with just pushing would be meet possibly with a couple of days suspension?
And the situation with cutting the eyebrow could mean expeling? Or no?

 

[NightPorter]

I can give you an answer. I may not have grown up in L.A. but I grew up in the U.S. Southwest at a public school. Anything simular to this and no American reader will question your authenticity.

When I was in school about 10 years ago. Something minor like a push or a shove would get you a 1 day in class suspension. 21 Century equivalent of writing lines. You go into an isolated classroom and do busy work for 8 hours. No talking or interacting with your fellow students. You took your lunch in the classroom with no talking allowed. It would start with a trip to the principles office but you would be allowed to finish out the day and your punishment would start the next day.

Minor bodily harm (you threw a punch) would get you a week suspension from school. A trip to the principles office and you would get picked up your your parents.

Any real bodily harm (stitches) expulsion and the cops get called on you.

For context, I lived in the middle class suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona and in the slightly rougher subburbs of Las Vegas Nevada. Not gangland by any means but my school in Las Vegas had a panic button on the wall of the classrooms and my school in Arizona did not.

 

[Lifestyle66]

The suburb is mostly white/latino/asians moderate income, not 'super 'rich'. The school is public.

So, the situation with just pushing would be meet possibly with a couple of days suspension?
And the situation with cutting the eyebrow could mean expeling? Or no?

Pushing and shoving might be ignored, unless someone (student or teacher sees it and reports a complaint) makes it an issue.

A cut involving a knife would mean at least suspension of the knife wielder, with probable police involved with the student's parent being advised to remove the student to a private school, with threats of prosecution and juvenile detention.

Most U.S. schools (particularly suburb and and inner-city schools) are more into the "Zero Tolerance" policies when it comes to weapons on school property, because ANYONE can go to the media and make it a national issue.

 

[Edey]

I can give you an answer. I may not have grown up in L.A. but I grew up in the U.S. Southwest at a public school. Anything simular to this and no American reader will question your authenticity.

When I was in school about 10 years ago. Something minor like a push or a shove would get you a 1 day in class suspension. 21 Century equivalent of writing lines. You go into an isolated classroom and do busy work for 8 hours. No talking or interacting with your fellow students. You took your lunch in the classroom with no talking allowed. It would start with a trip to the principles office but you would be allowed to finish out the day and your punishment would start the next day.

Minor bodily harm (you threw a punch) would get you a week suspension from school. A trip to the principles office and you would get picked up your your parents.

Any real bodily harm (stitches) expulsion and the cops get called on you.

For context, I lived in the middle class suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona and in the slightly rougher subburbs of Las Vegas Nevada. Not gangland by any means but my school in Las Vegas had a panic button on the wall of the classrooms and my school in Arizona did not.

Thank you very much for this information! I will use two of your proposed punishment:
- for push the person will have one day suspension
- for the cut the attacker will have one week suspension - no cops/legal stuff involved because of principal sympathy (ex football player and the boy who was the attacker is a current football player).
But there will be quiet suggestions that it should have legal consequences, and there is camera footage, but the family will secretly pay the victim family.

I hope the story will be credible enough.

PS
This suspension its sitting at home or in class alone and studying something extra?

 

[NotWise]

The suburb is mostly white/latino/asians moderate income, not 'super 'rich'. The school is public.

So, the situation with just pushing would be meet possibly with a couple of days suspension?
And the situation with cutting the eyebrow could mean expeling? Or no?

Rules vary by district, but there are usually different levels of suspension. Here, they can be for anywhere from one day to the remainder of the school year. Suspension is an administrative process with some penalties coming with an automatic appeal.

The school administration has a lot of freedom in how the rules are applied, so for something like a shoving match anywhere on school property, they're likely to consider the specifics of the case and the personalities involved, and they may combine a suspension with counseling.

Expulsions are permanent and rare. Here, they're a legal process rather than simply an administrative process, because by expelling a student you are taking away their civil right to public education.

Heck, if the shoving match didn't involve artillery, then the administration might even look the other way.

 

[NightPorter]

Hands off policy- There are no warnings and there is no such thing as play fighting. If you put your hands on another student its a trip to the principles office.

Zero Tolerance was no joke. There was no leeway on campus for weapons of every kind. And if a weapon was found on campus, the campus was put on lock down until the police could sort it out.

 

[Edey]

Pushing and shoving might be ignored, unless someone (student or teacher sees it and reports a complaint) makes it an issue.

A cut involving a knife would mean at least suspension of the knife wielder, with probable police involved with the student's parent being advised to remove the student to a private school, with threats of prosecution and juvenile detention.

Most U.S. schools (particularly suburb and and inner-city schools) are more into the "Zero Tolerance" policies when it comes to weapons on school property, because ANYONE can go to the media and make it a national issue.

The cut is just from the fist punch, the wound on the skin of an eyebrow arch tend to look like "cut" rather than a bruise or a tear as it is thin, and the person had a ring on a finger so it 'looked' like cut. No knives involved.

 

[Edey]

The school administration has a lot of freedom in how the rules are applied, so for something like a shoving match anywhere on school property, they're likely to consider the specifics of the case and the personalities involved, and they may combine a suspension with counseling.

Thank you so much for that! It's the important info, so even if the person caused a cut on somebody eyebrow, there is still a chance that it will not be met with the most severe consequences as being expelled or cops interv. Good That's what I need

 

[NightPorter]

An in-class suspension was only for the most minor of offensives. A real suspension was typically a week spent at home or maybe longer. A lot of it depends on circumstances.

 

[Edey]

Thank you very much to you all for your answers!
You helped me a lot and I hope my story will be even better now

 

[NightPorter]

Keep in mind that a school is likely to already have a police officer on campus. They're called School Resource Officers. They're real police officers who are assigned one to a school.

 

[Edey]

Keep in mind that a school is likely to already have a police officer on campus. They're called School Resource Officers. They're real police officers who are assigned one to a school.

I thought they were removed from the schools some time ago I remember hearing news that there was a protest in the USA against armed cops in schools? (I'm sorry if I misinterpreted smth)

 

[Lifestyle66]

Some of this depends on the school districts, local and state issues, and even local school district policies and politics.

That's generally what we're trying to say: The U.S. has a population of over 330 MILLION people, and not every area is a war zone. Some of what you might read in the news is called "ambulance chasing" and is the worst case. There are still a few rural school districts in the U.S. where a principal might even beat a punk. But you won't hear about them.

 

[SimonDoom]

Some of this depends on the school districts, local and state issues, and even local school district policies and politics.

That's generally what we're trying to say: The U.S. has a population of over 330 MILLION people, and not every area is a war zone. Some of what you might read in the news is called "ambulance chasing" and is the worst case. There are still a few rural school districts in the U.S. where a principal might even beat a punk. But you won't hear about them.

Something for citizens of other countries to keep in mind about the USA is that it is a very decentralized country. Schools are run by the states, not the federal government, and state systems vary widely. And we have a substantial system of Catholic schools, other religious schools, and secular private schools. The rules are all over the map.

That's why I think you are fairly safe just to set up whatever system you want to and not worry too much about it.

 

[Voboy]

Something for citizens of other countries to keep in mind about the USA is that it is a very decentralized country. Schools are run by the states, not the federal government, and state systems vary widely. And we have a substantial system of Catholic schools, other religious schools, and secular private schools. The rules are all over the map.

That's why I think you are fairly safe just to set up whatever system you want to and not worry too much about it.

100% this.

I went to school in suburban LA. The school was big by the standards of much of the USA, but small by Southern California standards: about 3,000 students.

The buildings there were not comprehensively planned and constructed all at once. All the schools I went to for track meets and such were old buildings that had been added on to over the years in a random and slipshod fashion, spread (like everything in LA) over a wide area rather than built up high.

The result? Large, open campuses with many places to hide. Experienced fighters at my high school found it easy to post a couple of lookouts and swedge away without ever being discovered.

Had the administration gotten wind of a fight needing stitches, though, a 1-3 day suspension was probably in the offing.

As others have said, states here are autonomous. All 50 of them have different school laws and policies, and then those are further decentralized to cities and towns. Most of the ones I'm familiar with still have school resource officers, sometimes several.

 

[PennameWombat]

I hate to be THAT wombat, but... when I read HIGH SCHOOL I wonder if the author is going to be back here in a short while complaining their story get bounced back for underage... (Yeah, yeah, we've discussed it endlessly, but only seniors, and only some of them, are actually 18 or over during the most common American high school years. In fact, two good friends of mine didn't actually turn 18 until after we all had graduated from high school. And even, if IRL, most of the students are already knocking nasties as sophomores... this is Literotica, not real life.)

So, to the OP, pay careful attention to ages and making all that very clear, especially where the sexual activities come in... Or, well, you'll be back here complaining your story got rejected. To my mind, a blanket disclaimer is going to be hard here, because, well, your story is set in a US high school.

 

[SimonDoom]

when I read HIGH SCHOOL

I don't know if you know this, but there are few phrases that reveal one being NOT American more than this one. No American says this. We say "When I went to high school." The use of "read" in this context is foreign to Americans.

A few more:

Americans don't use the word "uni." Usually, we say, "I went to college." We say that even if it is a university, not a college.

Americans don't say "I went on holiday." We say, "I went on vacation."

 

[PennameWombat]

I don't know if you know this, but there are few phrases that reveal one being NOT American more than this one. No American says this. We say "When I went to high school." The use of "read" in this context is foreign to Americans.

I'm not quite sure how to parse this, nor who the "you" is. Me, since I'm the one being quoted? That sentence had nothing to do with when I, personally, attended a US high school. Yeah, last century, but that's what my diploma still says. Our colors were blue and gold.

I was not trying to use the British English usage of "read" in conjunction with an educational institution. To quote myself, this is what I wrote. There might also be a bit of the English conflation of (past tense) read with (current tense, what I meant) read.

when I read HIGH SCHOOL I wonder if the author is going to be back here in a short while complaining their story get bounced back for underage...

Rather than capitalizing, would quoting "high school" make it clearer? My sentence was terse, I will admit.

What I meant was: "When I read the words 'high school' in the OP's posting that started this thread..."

My only point being that in the US, the majority of students in every high school are under 18. Some, like my friends, graduate before they turn 18. Setting a story in a US high school will need to be carefully done to steer clear of Lit's under-18 rules.

A few more:

Americans don't use the word "uni." Usually, we say, "I went to college." We say that even if it is a university, not a college.

Americans don't say "I went on holiday." We say, "I went on vacation."

I'm not going to disagree with any of these. I encounter these differences in my (now) daily life.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm not quite sure how to parse this, nor who the "you" is. Me, since I'm the one being quoted? That sentence had nothing to do with when I, personally, attended a US high school. Yeah, last century, but that's what my diploma still says. Our colors were blue and gold.

I was not trying to use the British English usage of "read" in conjunction with an educational institution. To quote myself, this is what I wrote. There might also be a bit of the English conflation of (past tense) read with (current tense, what I meant) read.

Rather than capitalizing, would quoting "high school" make it clearer? My sentence was terse, I will admit.

My only point being that in the US, the majority of students in every high school are under 18. Some, like my friends, graduate before they turn 18. Setting a story in a US high school will need to be carefully done to steer clear of Lit's under-18 rules.

I'm not going to disagree with any of these. I encounter these differences in my (now) daily life.

My bad. I misunderstood what you wrote.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm not quite sure how to parse this, nor who the "you" is. Me, since I'm the one being quoted? That sentence had nothing to do with when I, personally, attended a US high school. Yeah, last century, but that's what my diploma still says. Our colors were blue and gold.

I was not trying to use the British English usage of "read" in conjunction with an educational institution. To quote myself, this is what I wrote. There might also be a bit of the English conflation of (past tense) read with (current tense, what I meant) read.

Rather than capitalizing, would quoting "high school" make it clearer? My sentence was terse, I will admit.

My only point being that in the US, the majority of students in every high school are under 18. Some, like my friends, graduate before they turn 18. Setting a story in a US high school will need to be carefully done to steer clear of Lit's under-18 rules.

I'm not going to disagree with any of these. I encounter these differences in my (now) daily life.

I am not a stupid person, despite recent evidence to the contrary. I'm laughing out loud at that last exchange.