lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Waivers of rights are significant things.  However, more and more, parents are subjected to high pressure to sign documents waiving their and their child's rights: to hearing, to a properly noticed hearing, to time limits for the hearing...in school expulsion matters.  Waivers under pressure can be disastrous for students. One parent told me that their school district provided them with a document for a "stipulated" expulsion ( meaning you simply consent to the expulsion in writing) and told them to sign by Friday or FACE A HEARING!  The parent had a picture painted of doom and gloom if they DID NOT sign the document.  Yet, the document bound their child to be expelled for the maximum time possible. Nothing at all would have been gained by signing the document and they could potentially have improved their punishment by simply going to hearing, or involving legal counsel.  How could they ge...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 School expulsions seem to be everywhere now.  Expulsion hearings are very important, and parents need to know their rights.  One of these rights is the right to request that subpoenas be issued to potential witnesses when a school expulsion is pending. The right to subpoena witnesses   (order to appear before a body or face consequences)  is an important part of our judicial system.  Courts and other agencies must be able to hear the complete case, listen to all the evidence, and see if the "story" turns out to be true.  This subpoena right also exists in the context of school expulsion hearings, but the subpoena power rests with the school district in question. California Education Code section 48918(i)(1)  states as follows: "Before the hearing has commenced, the governing board may issue subpoenas at the request of either the superintendent of schools or the superintendent's de...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 A family came to my office about a month ago with a scenario which was absolutely baffling to me.  Their son had been expelled in a remote district in California for an interaction with a coach.  That was not the shocking part.  The stunner was HOW the expulsion went down. The "hearing" was not a hearing at all and the family was left to observe the whole process.  Their rights were severely trampled.  Needless to say, I went in and the expulsion was immediately reversed and expunged.  The boy is now back in school and everyone pretends the whole ordeal never happened.  What a joke.  The sad thing is, the school did not reverse itself until I officially got involved as even when the parents asserted their rights, they were ignored.  This is because districts don't listen to parents on legal matters, they only listen to lawyers. Let me tell you just some of the violations...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Parents of students attending public schools often feel helpless when they are facing a school expulsion hearing.  After they receive notice of the hearing, they may have less than 10 days to prepare.  It is usually a new experience and is confusing.  As such, parents should be aware of their AUTOMATIC right to a postponement of any public school expulsion hearing in California. Per California Education Code section 48918(a), a student is entitled to at least one postponement up to 30 calendar days no questions asked. If a parent wants to get prepared or discuss the matter with an attorney, and time is tight, a postponement request can be made in writing to the school district.  Parents may request a mutually agreeable date be provide for the new hearing and can even let the district know some good dates for the family.  There is no guarantee the district will set the hearing on those dates,...