Students challenge expulsions over white powder video

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Two teenage boys launched High Court challenges against their expulsions after videos were posted on social media of another pupil snorting a white powder during class. The proceedings were reported on 13 November 2018. The boys cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The court heard the substance was sugar. The school board found that the boys’ conduct posed a serious threat to good order and discipline after their classmate asked them to record him. The report said the videos were not believed to have been seen by many people.

The boys’ lawyers argued that the board’s decisions breached fair procedures and constitutional justice and were disproportionate. The report said the board had failed to take into account the principal’s recommendation that the boys should not be expelled.

The students sought orders quashing the expulsion decision and allowing them to return to school. Mr Justice Seamus Noonan granted permission to bring the actions on an ex parte basis. The report said the matter would return before the court on Thursday.

This case may have concluded differently. The outcome has not yet been confirmed by a public source we could find.