lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 When I heard about the group of school districts in Atlanta Georgia purposefully altering students' state test answers to raise the overall scores and get more funding, I would not say I was surprised, but I was saddened.  Wherever there is a money motivation, temptation lurks.  If someone has low ethical standards, they can go the way of the criminal, even school administrators and teachers.  This is a good time for a reminder to all parents to be skeptical of the schools and what (and if) your children are actually being taught.  Are they really learning? The irony from my point of view, is that during the ten years of the Atlanta districts' falsification, I would bet that many students were suspended or otherwise punished for cheating themselves.  Perhaps they were even expelled.  All by the cheaters.  It may be funny if it were a movie, with some cute star as the Superintende...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 No one likes to think about school expulsions or their child getting kicked out of school.  But what if the very worst happens?  What if an expulsion from the school district actually issues? A child who is expelled, unless an exception is made in the expulsion decision and/or agreement, may not attend any school within the district from which they were expelled.  But, they still are entitled to an education.  Per California Education Code section 48915(d) , a student who is expelled shall be referred to a program of study which meets the following conditions: (1)  Is appropriately prepared to accommodate pupils  who exhibit discipline problems. (2)  Is not provided at a comprehensive middle, junior, or senior  high school,  or at any elementary school. (3)  Is not housed at the schoolsite attended by the pupil  at the time of suspension. What this translates to...