Resolving An Expulsion Through Pre-Hearing Negotiation
By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Have you been hit by notice that a school expulsion hearing is being scheduled against your son or daughter? Should you go to hearing? How do you get rid of it? Most parents get a notice and don't do anything but show up at the hearing. However, that may not always be the best strategy. With school expulsion hearings, there often is no "winning." Schools line up a myriad of student statements which may conflict with each other to prove guilt. The accused student's statement is ignored, along with his/her friends' statements. When the hearing occurs, many schools do not even bring any live witness testimony to the hearing (this is a whole different evidentiary issue), and the panel evaluating the matter is made of school district employees already biased against the student. Does this sound like a fair system? Regardless, it is the system that exists for students and their pa...