West Hartford parents sue Cheshire Academy claiming school expelled son over his conservative views

Theodore and Sonia Mancini, the parents of a West Hartford teenager, are suing Cheshire Academy because they say their son Michael was expelled for his “politically incorrect views.”

The lawsuit, served on the school but not yet filed in Superior Court, seeks money damages, but its primary goal is to have Michael Mancini, a sophomore, reinstated at Cheshire Academy, said Theodore Mancini.

“Because of Michael’s politically incorrect views, he was suspended for five days and Cheshire Academy will not renew its contract with the Mancinis to have Michael attend Cheshire Academy until he graduates in 2021,” the lawsuit states.

Cheshire Academy Head of School Julie Anderson said politics did not enter into the school’s decision to expel Michael Mancini, 16.

“There are political debates that take place every day at the school, and that’s encouraged. But this was behavior that violated the school’s code of conduct,” Anderson told The Courant.

Summons and Complaint

In a letter to the school community, Anderson said that Michael Mancini was given “a number of chances to adhere to our expectations and the rules and the code of conduct.”

“It is always distressing when the school must ask a student to leave since we are all invested in each other here at [Cheshire Academy]; at the core of the school’s mission is fostering the healthy development of young people, maximizing their potential and seeing them through to graduation, to ultimately thrive as global citizens. Contrary to what you may have read, our decision was not based on an opposition to political dialogue.”

Cheshire Academy is a private day and boarding school with 360 students in grades 9 through 12.

The Mancinis say they enrolled their son at Cheshire Academy after being assured the school community would “tolerate their conservative views,” according to the lawsuit. Had they been told otherwise, the lawsuit reads, they would not have enrolled their son.

Once at the school, the lawsuit claims, “Michael was scrutinized and tormented for his conservative views on subjects, views which he defended with facts. He was ultimately told that he could not come back to school next year because he was not a good fit with the progressive culture that pervades the academy.”

During an English class discussion of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” according to the lawsuit, some students said the play put transgenderism in a positive light because a female character dressed as a male. Michael Mancini disagreed, according to the lawsuit, telling his classmates that “up until the 20th Century that kind of behavior was frowned upon in England.” As a result, Michael Mancini said two students “screamed at him” for making those comments.

When asked to “tell us something that is obvious about your identity,” Michael Mancini replied, “Obviously, I’m black.” He claimed his statement was a joke and said several students, both white and black, laughed, according to the lawsuit. Michael Mancini subsequently apologized. The teacher reported the comment to disciplinary authorities, the lawsuit charges.

Theodore Mancini said he talked to school officials with the hope of having his son continue as a student. He asked if there was any way to get rid of a five-day suspension the school imposed and any comments placed in his son’s record. “I tried to approach it nicely with them,” he said, but school officials refused.

“Now I’ve got my son with this black mark on his record that you guys put there because of his opinions and beliefs, and statements of fact that they called harassment,” he said.

Cheshire Academy expelled Michael Mancini last week after his father posted a website called The Real Cheshire Academy, in which he explains his views on what happened to his son. The site also includes snippets of conversations Michael Mancini secretly recorded with schools officials during a disciplinary hearing.

Enrollment contracts between the school and students’ families have a provision called “continuing association,” which reads: “The school believes that a constructive and positive working relationship between the school, the student, and the parents or guardian(s) is essential to the fulfillment of the school’s mission. Therefore, the school reserves the right to discontinue enrollment or to refuse to re-enroll any student if the school concludes the actions of the student and/or the parent(s) and/or guardian(s) interfere with such constructive and positive relationship or with the school’s ability to accomplish its educational goals.”

James Sullivan, the Mancini’s attorney, said he intends to go to court quickly to seek a court order to have Michael Mancini reinstated at Cheshire Academy. In the interim, Michael Mancini is attending Conard High School in West Hartford.

Theodore Mancini said his son is handling the attention and pressure well, his father said. “He has no problem standing up for what he believes in,” he said.

But he does want to return to Cheshire Academy, prepare for the upcoming football season and eventually graduate with his friends, his father said.