Expelled high school student sues school

A freshman expelled from Bolingbrook High School in suburban Chicago is suing the school, claiming that they falsely made gang affiliation accusations against him, and that the expulsion was racially motivated:

Roger Coronado Jr., 15, of Bolingbrook filed a complaint Saturday in U. S. District Court, listing Valley View Public School District 365U and an unidentified Bolingbrook police officer among the defendants.

Coronado said he was eating his lunch in the cafeteria Feb. 4 when a group of Mexican-American youths sat alongside him at a mostly empty table.

Shortly after, the Hispanic youths sitting beside him got into a verbal argument with a group of black students. Coronado said he stood up to move out of the way, thinking there would be a physical fight between the two groups.

The boy said he heard nothing more about the incident until Feb. 7, when he was sitting in his first-period class. That’s when he was told to report to a small police office inside the school. A Bolingbrook police officer told Coronado that he would have to pay a $50 fine.

“I said, ‘For what?’ He said, ‘Don’t act stupid.’ He said I flashed gang signs,” Coronado said.

The school refuses to provide details because Coronado is a minor, but do say that the case was handled fairly.

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Filed under: Education
Tags: bolingbrook, bolingbrook high school, expelled, freshman, high school, illinois, roger coronado jr.