Santa Ynez Vice Principal Involved in Controversial Student Arrest Is Demoted
Peter Haws Will Be Assigned Clerical Duties and Will No Longer Oversee Student Behavior
A vice principal of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School involved in the forced sedation and arrest of a student suspected of vaping has been demoted.
The Board of Education voted at its June 20 meeting to downgrade the position of Peter Haws, a full-time administrator and the school’s head disciplinarian for the last nine years, to part-time administrator and part-time teacher.
The exact nature of Haws’s new role is unclear, though sources within the district say he will no longer oversee student behavior and will instead be given ministerial responsibilities. As a teacher, he will reportedly work within the school’s independent study program.
Haws did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the school’s superintendent, Andrew Schwab. The Board of Education also declined to comment.
The January arrest of the 16-year-old Latino student prompted widespread community outcry and calls for Haws’s removal. A public petition accusing Haws of meting out harsher punishments to students of color throughout his career generated over 4,000 signatures.
Haws had recommended that the student, who was found in possession of a marijuana vape pen and cartridges, be immediately expelled. The Board of Education, however, overruled his recommendation and instead transferred the student to an alternative school within the district.
The student’s pending criminal case will be dropped and his record cleared if he completes six months of probation and its accompanying terms, his family said. A third-party investigation into the incident is pending.