Student Suspended for Posting Principal’s Mug Shot Online
Keandre Varner, a high school student in Riverdale, Georgia, found his principal's mug shot online and posted it on Instagram. For doing so, he received a four-day suspension.
In addition to posting the publicly available photo, Varner wrote that the principal, Jamille Miller Brown, had been arrested for DUI, which wasn't true. When Miller Brown found out, she called Varner to her office and suspended him. Officially, the reason for Varner's vacation was that he caused a disruption and acted belligerently toward the principal.
Varner's mother, Nakesha Thomas, thinks the punishment goes way too far—and she thinks she knows the real reason for the suspension. Rather than the official explanation, she says her son was suspended for passing "misinformation," which is what the note she received informing her of the punishment said.
The real reason Miller Brown's mug shot was online was for her failure to report to court for a speeding ticket, not a DUI. She did reduce Varner's suspension to two days, but still, that seems too much for Varner. "I need to be in school," he said.