Expulsion Rights: Why Don't They Care About Other Students' Punishments When Punishing My Child?
By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 When a parent suddenly faces the terrible fact that their child is up for expulsion from school, the question always arises: why is my son or daughter being expelled for X action when this other student did much worse and is still at school? This is a valid question, but is it relevant or helpful? In most cases, no. The fact is that schools are obligated by student confidentiality rules not to disclose other students' information. As such, the fact another student is rumored to have "gotten away" with something for which he could have been expelled usually plays no part in the current child's expulsion proceeding. The only exception would be IF that other student's parents could be convinced to come forward to the current child's expulsion hearing and state what the crime was and the punishment they received, in essence urging the expulsion panel to apply the same punishment or less. H...