A coffee controversy is brewing in upstate New York.
A high school senior was given an in-school suspension after bringing coffee to class, prompting her to question whether administrators properly followed the public process before introducing a new policy on food and drinks from outside vendors.
Julie Kaputa said she was only minutes into her final first day of school when a teacher challenged her over the cup of coffee she carried into Beaver River Central School in Castorland, New York, on Sept. 3.
“I walked in, I had my coffee with me. I got to my first period class and my teacher said, ‘I’m either going to need you to dump that out or consume it on the spot or go down to the office,’” Kaputa told WTVM.
The honors student, who is preparing to graduate, ultimately received an in-school suspension. School officials reportedly said the drink violated the district’s Code of Conduct, which is intended to “create a safe, instruction-focused environment for all students.”
Kaputa contended that the district had adopted the restriction improperly because the school board did not hold a public hearing when it met in August.
“Julie was put in ISS today for refusing to dump out a ‘banned beverage’ (a latte from moving mountains). I was called down to the school,” her mother, Mary Anne Kaputa, wrote on Facebook.
The upset parent then asked fellow families whether they had seen a public notice about a hearing on the newly adopted student code—a step she said was required before the policy could take effect.
“Meeting minutes from both July and August (where the code may have been discussed) were never published to the website until today when I pointed it out to the District Office, and the district office had no record of a public hearing being conducted. Just wondering if anyone else saw it and I missed it,” Mary Anne Kaputa said.
“I am certain that the school can not enforce a substantial change to the code of conduct without a public hearing,” she added.
The restriction appears in the district’s 2026-2027 Standards for Community-Wide Conduct, issued before the academic year began, and applies to middle and high school students.
“The following food and drink guidelines help minimize distractions, protect students with food allergies, and promote a calm, equitable school experience,” the district’s outside-vendor food policy states. “Students arriving with drinks or food will be asked to finish them before entering school.”
Kaputa questioned school officials on the policy and was allowed to return to class with coffee in hand after speaking with them, her mother said.
“Glad that we have reasonable and rational administrators that are willing to listen….with some prompting…” she said.
The school board will reconvene Monday and hold a public hearing on adopting the new outside food and drink policy while getting feedback from students.
“They will be holding a public hearing at the next board meeting and asking several students to have input into rewriting this section of the code to address both the administrator and student concerns,” Mary Anne Kaputa said.
“There was no public hearing to discuss it. Transparency in government is a big thing that I care about a lot, and it just kind of struck me as odd that there wasn’t a public hearing,” the high school senior told the outlet, adding the suspension won’t be on her record.
