Two teenagers expelled from an elite Catholic High School in California have been awarded $1 million by a jury after proving they were just wearing a pore-cleansing face mask.
The former students of Saint Francis High School in Mountain View took a photo wearing the dark green face masks when they were just 14 years old.
According to the lawsuit, the mask went on light green but dried dark green. The mother of one of the boys bought it because he was struggling with acne.
The boys took a selfie wearing the mask during a sleepover in 2017. Three years later, the selfie resurfaced and went viral during Black Lives Matter's race riots over the death of George Floyd.
Amidst the backlash, the boys were told to withdraw from school or be expelled. They were not given a hearing or allowed to present evidence to defend themselves.
The lawsuit claimed that the school had breached an oral contract and did not give them due process before expelling them. This week, a jury agreed.
The school was ordered to pay each of the boys $500,000 and reimburse their tuition, which was about $70,000 each.
“This case is significant not only for our clients but for its groundbreaking effect on all private high schools in California, which are now legally required to provide fair procedure to students before punishing or expelling them,” Krista Baughman, one of the attorneys for the students, told the Los Angeles Times. “The jury rightly confirmed that Saint Francis High School’s procedures were unfair to our clients and that the school is not above the law.”
Representatives for the school said in a statement to the Times that they “respectfully disagree with the jury’s conclusion as to the lesser claim regarding the fairness of our disciplinary review process.” They added that they are “exploring legal options,” such as an appeal.
