Bitter Grounds
A high school senior in New York found herself suspended for bringing a cup of coffee to class. She’s now pushing back against school officials for allegedly implementing a new outside food policy without properly informing the community.
Julie Kaputa recounted that just minutes into her final first day at Beaver River Central School in Castorland, NY, she was confronted by a teacher regarding her coffee on September 3. “I walked in with my coffee and got to my first period class. The teacher told me, ‘I’m either going to need you to dump that out or drink it right now or go to the office,’” she recalled in a conversation with WTVM.
This honors student was given an in-school suspension (ISS) due to her drink, which was claimed to violate the school’s Code of Conduct aimed at maintaining a “safe, instruction-focused environment” for all students.
Kaputa stated that the school district’s policy change was made unlawfully, considering there hadn’t been a public hearing when the school board convened in August.
“Julie was put in ISS today for not getting rid of a ‘banned beverage’ (a latte from Moving Mountains). I was called down to the school,” her mother, Mary Anne Kaputa, shared on Facebook.
Frustrated, Mary Anne questioned other parents if they had noticed any announcements about a public hearing regarding the newly enacted student code, which is typically necessary before such policy changes are finalized.
“The meeting minutes from both July and August, where this code might have been discussed, were only posted online today after I pointed it out. The district office had no record of any public hearing taking place. I’m just curious if anyone else caught it and I missed it,” she remarked.
“I really believe that the school can’t enforce major changes to the code of conduct without having a public hearing,” she emphasized.
The recently added policy appears in the school district’s 2026-2027 Standards for Community-Wide Conduct and impacts both middle and high school students.
According to the district’s guidelines on Food from Outside Vendors, “The following food and drink guidelines help minimize distractions, protect students with food allergies, and promote a calm, equitable school experience. Students arriving with drinks or food will be asked to consume them before entering school.”
After some discussion with school officials, Kaputa was allowed back to class with her coffee, as her mother shared, “I’m relieved we have reasonable and rational administrators willing to listen… with a bit of nudging…”
The school board is scheduled to meet again on Monday, during which they will conduct a public hearing on the new outside food and drink policy while seeking feedback from students.
“They will hold a public hearing at the next board meeting and are inviting several students to contribute feedback for rewriting this section of the code to address both administrative and student concerns,” her mother noted.
“There was no public hearing to discuss it. I care deeply about transparency in government, so it struck me as odd that one hadn’t occurred,” Julie told the news outlet, mentioning that the suspension wouldn’t appear on her record.
