What is a suspension?
A suspension occurs when a student is removed temporarily from school. In most cases a suspension cannot be for more than five days. The only exception is if the student is recommended for expulsion, he or she can be suspended until the hearing only if it is determined after a meeting with the student's parents, that he or she causes an ongoing threat.

What is an expulsion?
An expulsion is when a student is prohibited from attending any school in the district. If a student is expelled, he or she must be allowed to apply to be readmitted no later than the end of the semester after the incident occurred (or one year after, if the incident was possession of a firearm).

Can I be suspended or expelled for just any reason?
No! You must have committed one of the following acts below in order to be suspended:

• Causing, attempting, or threatening physical injury or purposefully using force or violence upon another (except in self-defense).
• Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing any firearm, knife, explosive, or other dangerous object without written permission of a certificated school employee and concurrence by the principal or principal's designee.
• Possessing, use, selling, or being under the influence of a controlled substance, an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind.
• Offering, arranging, or regulating the sale of any controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant of any kind and then selling or delivering the substance representing it as a controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant of any kind.
• Committing robbery, attempted robbery, or extortion
• Causing or attempting to cause damage to school property or private property.
• Stealing or attempting to steal school property or private property.
• Possession or use of non-prescribed tobacco or products which contain tobacco or nicotine.
• Committing an obscene act, or engaging in habitual profanity or vulgarity.
• Possessing, offering, arranging or negotiating to sale any drug paraphernalia.
• Disrupting school activities or purposefully defying the valid authority of school authorities engaged in the performance of their duties.
• Knowingly receive stolen school property or private property.
• Possessing an imitation firearm.
• Committing or attempting to commit sexual assault or sexual battery of staff or a student.
• Harassing, threatening, or intimidating a student who is a witness in a school disciplinary proceeding in order to prevent the student from being a witness or to retaliate against the student for being a witness.
• Committing sexual harassment which is sufficiently severe or pervasive to have a negative impact upon the individual's academic performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment.
• Causing, attempting to cause, or threatening to cause an act of hate violence.
• Intentionally engaging in severe and pervasive on-going harassment, threats, and/or intimidation directed at a student or group of students which has the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder, and invalidating the rights of the student or group of students by creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment.
• Making terroristic threats against school authorities or school property.

You cannot be suspended unless the act was related to a school activity.

top of page

What are the limitations on suspensions?
You can only be suspended if other means of correction have failed. That means, the school must try other ways to solve the problem before turning to suspension. The exception is if you were suspended under one of the first five grounds listed above, or if your presence causes a threat.

What are the limitations on expulsions?
If you commit a "zero tolerance" offense the school board must expel you. Those offenses are: possession of a firearm, drug sales, brandishing a knife and sexual assault. If you are being recommended for any other reason you cannot be expelled unless the school board finds that other means of correction are not feasible or have repeatedly failed or that you are a continuing threat to the physical safety of yourself or others. Even for a zero tolerance offense, the board can order a "suspended expulsion" which means you are on probation, but you can return to school.

Before I am suspended, will I have an opportunity to tell my side of the story?
Yes! Before any student is suspended, the principal, principal's designee, or the superintendent of schools must conduct a conference with the student and, whenever practicable, with the teacher, supervisor, or school employee who referred the student for suspension. At the conference, the student must be told of the reason for the proposed suspension and the evidence against him or her and must be given the opportunity to present his or her version and evidence in his or her defense.

The only time a student is not entitled to a conference right away is when an "emergency situation" exists which means the student presents "a clear and present danger to the life, safety, or health of students or school personnel." If a student is suspended for this reason without a conference, the school must notify both the student and his or her parent/guardian/Caregiver of the student's right to a conference and right to return to school for the purpose of the conference within two days.

top of page

If I am suspended, can my parents meet with the principal?
Yes! At the time of the suspension, a school employee must make a reasonable effort to contact the parent or guardian in person or by telephone. Whenever a student is suspended from school, the parent or guardian must also be notified in writing of the suspension In every school where 15% or more of the students speak a single primary language other than English, such notice is required to be written in both English and the student's primary language. The school must give your parents the opportunity to come in and discuss the suspension. However, schools cannot punish you or keep you out of school if your parent or guardian does not attend the conference.

What are my rights if I am recommended for expulsion?
You can only be expelled by the school board. You can only be expelled after a hearing. You have the right to:

• Notice of the hearing ten days before which tells you exactly what you are being expelled for;
• Look at all documents being used at the hearing, before the hearing;
• Bring your own witnesses to the hearing and/ or ask that the district to subpoena witnesses for you(subpoena means force them to come);
• Question any witness that the school brings to the hearing;
• Bring a lawyer or other advocate;
• Appeal the Board Decision if the hearing was not conducted fairly.

All information on this site is based on California law only, as of June 1, 2001

top of page