
CYAP v. Wilson
What's at Stake
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit challenging South Carolina’s “disturbing schools” law. The law allows students in school to be criminally charged for normal adolescent behaviors including loitering, cursing, or undefined “obnoxious” actions on school grounds. The ACLU is also challenging a similarly vague “disorderly conduct” law, which prohibits students from conducting themselves in a “disorderly or boisterous manner.” The statutes violate due process protections of the Constitution.
Summary
The ACLU found that hundreds of students — some as young as 7 years old — are being charged under a far-reaching and nebulous “disturbing schools” law for behaviors such as loitering, cursing, or undefined “obnoxious” actions on school grounds. The statute also has a chilling effect on students who speak out against policing abuses in schools. Black girls and boys are nearly four times as likely to be targeted under the law.
Plaintiff Niya Kenny, 19, is a former student at Spring Valley High School in Columbia. As a student last October, she witnessed a violent, headline-grabbing altercation in her classroom when a school resource officer flipped a classmate over in her desk and dragged her across the room. Kenny, who is African-American, spoke up against the officer’s actions. She was arrested and hauled off to a detention center.
Other plaintiffs include:
- Taurean NeSmith, 21, an African-American student at Benedict College in Columbia, was arrested because he criticized a police officer for racial profiling during the stop of a fellow student.
- S.P., 15, a white student with behavioral and emotional disabilities at Travelers Rest High School in Greenville, was charged with a crime after failing to comply with instructions to leave the school library and cursing at a student who was making fun of her.
- D.S., 17, an African-American student at Stall High School in Charleston, who has learning disabilities and a heart condition, was charged with disturbing schools after a minor physical altercation. In the adult criminal justice system, she faced possible detention for her inability to pay fines and fees.
- Girls Rock Charleston, a nonprofit organization that provides mentorship, music and arts education, and leadership development to young people in Charleston. Girls Rock operates an afterschool program serving at-risk youth and youth who have been involved in the criminal justice system.
The ACLU is challenging the statutes on grounds they violate the U.S. Constitution’s due process protections. The complaint, Kenny v. Wilson, was filed in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina.
Update: 3/16/18:
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday handed down a victory for students’ rights, ruling that South Carolina’s “disturbing schools” law endangers plaintiffs freedom of expression and due process, entitling them to their day in court.
The law allows children to be arrested and prosecuted for any behavior a school deems “obnoxious,” such as failing to follow a teacher’s instruction or cursing at lunchtime. The law also is the font of racial disparities in the school system. Under South Carolina’s “disturbing schools” law, Black students are nearly four times as likely to face criminal charges as their white classmates. As a result of the law, Black students have been disproportionately saddled with criminal records and a litany of other burdens that come with charges and arrests, deepening the harms of the school-to-prison pipeline.
Legal Documents
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05/15/2017
Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants -
05/17/2017
Joint Appendix -
03/15/2018
Opinion -
07/14/2017
Reply Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants -
02/11/2022
Brief of Defendant-Appellant -
03/16/2022
Response Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellees -
03/21/2022
Amicus Brief of the Juvenile Defender Advocate -
03/23/2022
Amicus Brief of National Police Accountability Project -
03/23/2022
Amicus Brief of National Women's Law Center, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Disability Rights Network, National Center for Youth Law, and additional Advocacy Organizations -
04/18/2022
Reply Brief of Defendant-Appellants -
02/22/2023
Published Authored Opinion
Date Filed: 05/15/2017
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 05/17/2017
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 03/15/2018
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 07/14/2017
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 02/11/2022
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 03/16/2022
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 03/21/2022
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 03/23/2022
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 03/23/2022
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 04/18/2022
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
Date Filed: 02/22/2023
Court: Appeals Court (4th Cir.)
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08/11/2016
Complaint -
08/16/2016
Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Memorandum -
08/17/2016
Motion for Class Certification and Memorandum -
10/19/2016
Motion for Preliminary Injunction Reply Brief -
10/19/2016
Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification -
11/28/2016
Statement of Interest of the United States -
02/24/2021
Opinion and Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification -
07/23/2021
Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement -
07/23/2021
Analytics Declaration -
10/08/2021
Opinion and Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment
Date Filed: 08/11/2016
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 08/16/2016
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 08/17/2016
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 10/19/2016
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 10/19/2016
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 11/28/2016
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 02/24/2021
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 07/23/2021
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 07/23/2021
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Date Filed: 10/08/2021
Court: District Court (D.S.C.)
Press Releases
Fourth Circuit Rules that South Carolina Laws Allowing School Students to be Criminally Charged Were Unconstitutional
Federal Appeals Court Affirms Students’ First Amendment and Due Process Rights in School
ACLU Challenges South Carolina ‘Disturbing Schools’ Law