COBB COUNTY, GA — The Cobb County Board of Education has filed an appeal of a judge’s order reversing the expulsion of a middle school student who reported an online threat to his friends last year.

District officials say the student, identified only as G-D, alerted fellow students in September to a threat he saw online. The school system determined that his actions caused a disruption and violated school policy, leading to his expulsion.

Last month, a judge ruled that G-D did not intentionally cause a disruption and ordered him reinstated. The district is now appealing that decision. A ruling on whether the appeal will be heard is expected soon. The student remains enrolled in the district.

In a recent interview, Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Claire Sherburne, who represents the student, said the expulsion has had a lasting academic and emotional impact.

“Unfortunately, expulsions cause real harm that can’t always be undone,” Sherburne said. “Even when a student takes their case to court and wins, that process takes a long time.”

Sherburne said her client has fallen behind in his studies and no longer has the same level of trust in school.

She also described what she called a broader pattern in the district’s approach to discipline.

“This has clearly been a pattern that we have seen in Cobb County, which is this knee-jerk reliance on expulsions and out-of-school suspensions,” Sherburne said, “instead of taking an approach to student discipline that is more centered around teaching.”

The district has previously said it takes all reports of threats seriously and that investigations into hoax threats require extensive time and resources from both local and district staff.

Officials say online threats to schools are on the rise and, even when they turn out to be hoaxes, they create fear, anxiety and frustration for educators, students and parents and are considered serious crimes.

A decision on the appeal is expected soon.

WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.