Abella

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Riverside County holding that the defendant, Riverside Unified School District, legally exempted the plaintiff, Cherie Abella, from school attendance under Education Code section 12152.

Statement of Facts

Plaintiff, Cherie Abella, was an eighth grade pupil at University Heights Middle School in defendant school district during the school year 1973-1974. Before coming to middle school, Cherie Abella had done exceptionally well throughout elementary school, and had received the “Student of the Year” award during the sixth grade. Her grades during the last year of elementary school were A’s and B’s.

Upon coming to middle school, Cherie began having problems, and did below average work throughout most of the seventh grade. She was defiant toward teachers, created disturbances, and was truant. When Cherie began the eighth grade on September 17, 1973, and her problems continued, the school administrators decided that Cherie should be in a “special opportunity class” established for children who are in danger of becoming habitually truant or insubordinate. Cherie resented this arrangement, became bored with the class,…