suspended for a school project

you have a high-school aged daughter in a business and communications class. a video assignment "to create a persuasive promo or advertisement" is given and she chooses to create an anti-bullying message.



she creates the story of a fictional girl named "Hailey", who is viciously bullied and it results in her suicide (mentioned only). she portrays "Hailey" and it is clear from the beginning that this is a character, not a real person. she also creates a fake facebook page for "Hailey", again clearly stating it is fiction and part of the project, and includes statistics and a message to stand up for victims in the video. when the video is posted, your daughter goes to school the next day and receives many compliments from classmates, saying how moved they were by the story she created.

however, the principal then calls your daughter into the office and tells her she will be suspended for a week for "disrupting the school" and she cannot return pending a hearing that will decide if she is even allowed back for the rest of the year. their reason being, another parent saw the video, somehow missed the fact that it was a fictional story, and complained to the school board.



what is your response to the principal's claim? to the implication that your daughter might be suspended for the remainder of the year over this?

inspired by this story