After a ten-year-old Detroit Public Schools student with special needs was accused of throwing toilet paper, she was dragged to the principal’s office and placed in handcuffs by a police officer.  The girl panicked, and as she struggled she allegedly kicked the officer.  The child was accused of assaulting school personnel and designated for expulsion on those grounds as the 2016 school year was drawing to a close.  Counsel from the ACLU of Michigan attended the expulsion hearing in August 2016 and urged that she not be expelled, as such a severe punishment would prevent the enrollment of the child in all Michigan school districts.  The hearing officer decided to reclassify the offense to one that does not carry expulsion as a penalty. 

(ACLU Attorney Mark Fancher.)