lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 School suspensions are issued for almost anything nowadays.  Wearing a costume, talking back, getting a drink of water when not authorized- all items for which I have seen suspensions issued.  Are there ANY prerequisites to issuing a school suspension in California?  Are any alternatives to suspension authorized or mandated?  Yes and no. Per California Education Code 48900.5 , suspension "shall be imposed ONLY when other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct."  This strong language requires "other means of correction" first right?  Right???  Yes, BUT it will depend on the offense. First, what does "other means of correction" mean?   A good talking to, detention, Saturday School, sitting in the office, or other punishment which will teach the kid a lesson. The words "shall be imposed only when..." seem obvious enough, but are they?  Unfortunately, 489...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 When a student leaves a private school midyear, due to moving, a change of heart, or a discipline exclusion, parents may be surprised to know that depending on their private school contract, they may still be obligated to pay tuition to the school after the student is gone. Whether the family is obligated or not depends on the contract with the individual private school.  Was it written to obligate the family to cover a whole school year or to cover each month of attendance?  The answer is important. Some private schools write contracts to cover a whole year of attendance.  In other words, a parent agrees to pay a set amount and it covers that entire school year.  The parent may opt to pay in advance, or monthly, but regardless, the amount is intended to cover a whole year.  Often the private school will win if this is the type of contract in place.  The "logic" applied in these scenari...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Many students are suspended or placed up for expulsion for possession of a "knife," pursuant to California Education Code 48900(b) .  Although what a "knife" is, seems somewhat obvious, it is specifically defined in  the Education Code and the definition is important. A sister section, 48915(g) contains the definition of a knife as it relates to suspension or expulsion.  Per 48915(g) a "knife" is: [A]ny dirk, dagger, or other weapon with a fixed, sharpened blade fitted primarily for stabbing, a weapon with a blade longer than 3 1/2 inches, a folding knife with a blade that locks into place, or a razor with an unguarded blade. Okay- you may feel like you are somewhere back in time when trying to figure out what a " dirk " or " dagger " is, but click the links to find out.  For our purposes, the two most important definitions are: 1)  Weapon with a blade longer than 3...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 California Education Code 51101 has a handy list of public school parents' rights neatly packaged for use when push comes to shove in California schools.  Some of these rights may come as a surprise to parents who are being denied a simple parent-teacher conference, can't get their child's records, are denied volunteer opportunities, were never given the school policies, or are having other difficulties in the public school environment. Section 51101 affords the following rights to California public school parents (be advised this is an abbreviated list and is paraphrased): 1)  To be "mutually supportive and respectful partners" with the school. 2)  Within a reasonable time to observe their child's current classroom(s) and/or future classrooms if transferring. 3)  To meet with the teacher(s) or principal within a reasonable time of their request. 4)  To volunteer in the school or class...