Suspension and Expulsion

Suspension/Expulsion Definition

Students may be suspended or expelled from this charter school for non-compliance with the terms of the parent-student contract, or any material violation of any of the conditions, standards or procedures set forth in the charter school charter, the school handbook, the school’s policies and procedures, or for practices describes in CA Education Code 48900 quoted below. The Special Education Director will be involved in the suspension/expulsion process for all identified pupils with disabilities. Students who fail to demonstrate adequate and appropriate progress toward the student standards, as determined by the professional judgment of the certificated Education Specialist assigned to that student, will be considered “truant” (as defined by this charter school) and are subject to immediate dismissal from the school. 
 
This charter school will suspend a student from participation in all school events outside of the student’s home if the student is found to have committed any act listed in CA Education Code 48900 that occurs during, or while going to or coming from, a school sponsored class, a school site, an assessment session, or  any other school activity. If the student violates their written requirement to be at home during school hours and not at any location where the school is holding educational events, the suspended student is subject to expulsion from the school. The School Director reserves the right to administer alternative discipline action.

CA Education Code 48900 
“(a) (1) Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause physical injury to another person. (2) Willfully used force or violence upon the person of another, except in self-defense.
(b) Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished any firearm, knife, explosive, or other dangerous object, unless, in the case of possession of any object of this type, the pupil had obtained written permission to possess the item from a certificated school employee, which is concurred in by the principal or the designee of the principal.
(c) Unlawfully possessed, used, sold, or otherwise furnished, or been under the influence of, any controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind.
(d) Unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell any controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind, and either sold, delivered, or otherwise furnished to any person another liquid, substance, or material and represented the liquid, substance, or material as a controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant.
(e) Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.
(f) Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property or private property.
(g) Stolen or attempted to steal school property or private property.
(h) Possessed or used tobacco, or any products containing tobacco or nicotine products, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, miniature cigars, clove cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, chew packets, and betel. However, this section does not prohibit use or possession by a pupil of his or her own prescription products.
(i) Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual profanity or vulgarity.
(j) Unlawfully possessed or unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell any drug paraphernalia, as defined in Section 11014.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(k) Disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.
(l) Knowingly received stolen school property or private property.
(m) Possessed an imitation firearm. As used in this section, "imitation firearm" means a replica of a firearm that is so substantially similar in physical properties to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the replica is a firearm.
(n) Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault as defined in Section 261, 266c, 286, 288, 288a, or 289 of the Penal Code or committed a sexual battery as defined in Section 243.4 of the Penal Code.
(o) Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a pupil who is a complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary proceeding for the purpose of either preventing that pupil from being a witness or retaliating against that pupil for being a witness, or both.
(p) Unlawfully offered, arranged to sell, negotiated to sell, or sold the prescription drug Soma.
(q) Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing as defined in Section 32050.”
 

Expulsion/Suspension Procedure

Expulsions or suspensions will be made by the Charter School Administration based on information provided by the assigned Education Specialist or course instructor according to school policy. The school administration shall notify the student and his/her parents, in writing, of any incident(s) or fact(s) justifying discipline and give the student a reasonable opportunity to cure the violation, unless the school administration determines that the violation constitutes a severe and imminent threat to the health or safety of others in the school. As required by Education Code 48902, a school administrator will notify the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or city in which the school is situated, of any acts of the pupil that may violate Section 245 of the Penal Code.

Expulsion Hearing

The parents of a student who has received an expulsion notice from the school Administration may request a hearing where the parent/student shall be given an opportunity to participate and present facts relevant to the issues set forth in the expulsion notice. In the event of any such request, the school administration shall appoint a Hearing Committee composed of five (5) members of the School Parent Council which shall conduct an expulsion hearing in a closed session meeting. An expulsion hearing, if requested, shall be conducted in accordance with the due process requirements established in Education Code 48918. After an expulsion hearing, the Hearing Committee shall send its recommendation to the school Administration for a final decision. The school Administration will make all final decisions concerning suspension, expulsion, or reinstatement of suspended or expelled students.

Expulsion Follow-up

Whenever a pupil is expelled from this charter school, the school shall notify the pupil and the pupil’s parents/guardians in writing of the pupil’s duty to attend the school district in which the residency of either the parent/legal guardian is located.

The charter school will notify the student’s district of residence of the student’s expulsion.