College Recs

High school officials can't be sued by a student just because they fail to write recommendations to colleges on time, a middle-level state appeals court ruled on February 17.

In a unanimous ruling, a five-judged panel of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court said writing recommendations for students appeared to be nothing more than "a custom."

That custom, "if such a custom exists, should not be held to rise to the level of a legal duty," said the judicial panel in upholding a lower court ruling.

The Judges' rulings came on a suit brought by a former student at the Scotia-Glenville Central School in Schnectady Country, N.Y., who charged that school officials had been negligent and had violated her civil rights.

Jan Hunt, according to the court, was accepted at Northeastern University on February 2, 1980, while she was a senior at the school. According to the court, she asked high school officials to write the university to help her secure an athletic scholarship for basketball.

However, it was not until May 6, 1980, that the school's principal, Richard McGuire, got around to writing Northeastern seeking to help Hunt get such a scholarship.

Northeastern wrote back saying Hunt could try out for the team in the fall-after she arrived at the University.

Hunt said that she tried out for the team in the fall but found, according to the court, that "vacancies for the positions she had played were no longer open, although they had been open the prior spring."

She then sued her high school. Associated Press, February 18.