By NATHAN KOPPEL

WSJ

Herald Bulletin / Associated Press

Seniors at Anderson High School in Indiana in May covered an entrance with Post-it Notes, imitating a prank at Cascade High School in Clayton, Ind.

AUSTIN—It is a time-honored ritual for high-school students: flouting authority one last time before graduation.

But this year, the senior prank has been no laughing matter at schools around the country. Administrators have suspended or even filed criminal charges against students for pranks that have ranged from the classic food fight to creative uses of animals to cause an uproar.

"Schools understand that students want to leave their mark on the way out the door, but a better way to do that is to take up a donation and plant an oak tree," said Mark Goulet, a lawyer for the school board in Smithville, Texas, where students last month were suspended after a cafeteria food fight involving burritos.

"Some kids ordered double lunches," Mr. Goulet said. "It was a melee."

School officials in Brentwood, Calif., have suspended students and are considering barring some from taking final exams for their roles in a prank at Heritage High School that included smearing paint on school walls and chaining a lamb to a pole.

At Greenbrier High School in Evans, Ga., five students were arrested and face felony charges for allegedly putting superglue in the locks of 43 school doors.

"When you are dealing with thousands of dollars of damage, it's beyond a prank," said Captain Steve Morris of the Columbia County, Ga., sheriff's office.

A lawyer who represents three of the students facing charges didn't return a call for comment. Lawyers for the other two couldn't be identified.

It isn't clear whether pranks have become more common and elaborate or if they are simply garnering more attention, thanks to students who broadcast their efforts on social media. Andra Hutchins, a Massachusetts lawyer specializing in representing students facing expulsion, says schools can be too heavy-handed in dealing with errant behavior.

"In a lot of cases where students are being silly or stupid or are just using their 17-year-old teenage brains, school officials should decide, let's not punish you but figure out how we teach you about what you did wrong," she said.

Parents in some cases are rallying to the defense of their children, saying it is improper for school administrators to punish students for lighthearted stunts.

"The zero-tolerance posture of our schools has gone overboard," said Robert Canaday, whose son was among a group of seniors at Cascade High School in Clayton, Ind., suspended for decorating the school with more than 10,000 Post-it Notes.

"It was all done in good taste; there was no profanity," said Mr. Canaday, a supply-chain consultant, adding that he was able to persuade school administrators to revoke the suspensions.

The superintendent for Cascade High School didn't respond to requests for comment.

In Keller, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, some parents filed formal complaints this month with the school district after their children were punished for participating in senior pranks. At Timber Creek High School, for example, students purportedly released rats and a canary.

About 30 Keller students were punished: 12 were barred from a June 2 graduation ceremony while others were allowed to attend on the condition they be sequestered from their classmates and "closely monitored" by school officials, according to a statement by the school district, which declined further comment.

In Laredo, Texas, school officials are considering asking next year's seniors to sign a contract agreeing graduation ceremonies are a privilege that can be revoked for bad behavior, said Veronica Castillon, a spokeswoman for the Laredo Independent School District.

"Students are getting way more creative about pranks," she said. "We just used toilet paper when we were kids."

Write to Nathan Koppel at nathan.koppel@wsj.com