lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 School records created by a high school, elementary school, private school, or school district, can loom as an unknown for many parents.  Parents often don't even think about what may be in these files.  One way to debunk the mystery of what may be being documented on your child is to make a written request for the education records to be released. Per California Education Code section 49069 , a parent has an absolute right to access their child's records.  This right transfers to a student when they turn 18. Section 49069 states as follows: Parents of currently enrolled or former pupils have an absolute right to access to any and all pupil records related to their children that are maintained by school districts or private schools.  The editing or withholding of any of those records, except as provided for in this chapter, is prohibited. What this means is that parents of students of all sch...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Can a student say what they want about witnesses who report a problem at school?  What about statements which may intimidate that student: comments such as "nark," "snitch," or other modern equivalent?   Intimidating a witness is strictly prohibited and could result in suspension or expulsion for the student uttering such statements. Per Education Code section 48900(o) witnesses to a school discipline matter who come forward cannot be threatened, harassed, or intimidated because they are, or were, witnesses.  Specifically, this section states that a student can be suspended or expelled if a pupil: Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a pupil who is a complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary proceeding for purposes of either preventing that pupil from being a witness or retaliating against that pupil for being a witness, or both. This can lead to a tricky situation if a student ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 One of the vaguest and most troublesome sections of the California Education Code for public school students is the portion which allows schools to suspend, or even expel, students for disruption or defiance.  The problem with this is that the code can be (and is) applied to practically every type of behavior which brings extra work or difficulty to the school staff (what doesn't?).  Parents need to know what is going on when they receive a call saying their child is being suspended for disruption or defiance. Under section 48900(k) of the Education Code , a child may be punished if they: Disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. Now, isn't that clear? This is the "catch-all" discipline section of the Education Code.  It catches almos...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 School staff willfully inflicting physical pain to students is considered corporal punishment and prohibited in California unless certain exceptions exist.  As such, hitting, pulling hair, pinching, kicking, and other forms of physically painful contact with a student, usually is unacceptable and illegal. In California Education Code 49001 , "Corporal Punishment" is defined as: " willful infliction of, or willfully causing the infliction of, physical pain on a pupil ."  This means that any PHYSICAL PAIN caused intentionally to a student, by a person employed or engaged by a school, is not okay.  Would purposefully slamming a student into a wall, spanking a student, slapping their hand with a ruler, and/or lifting a student out of a pool by their hair be considered "corporal punishment?"  To determine this, ask yourself: was physical pain caused to the student?  Was the physical pain in...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 There are a multitude of bases for student discipline as described in my earlier blogs.  One of those bases involves fighting (aka "mutual combat"), threats, and/or physical violence to another.  Such conduct may or may not get a student suspended or placed up for expulsion. Per California Education Code 48900(a)(1) for a student to be suspended or expelled for this type of conduct, they must have: - Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause physical  injury to another person, or - Willfully used force or violence upon the person of another,  except in self-defense. But, what does this mean in "real life?"  It means student fighting, threats to hurt someone (even vague ones), and responding in a physical way when attacked by another student, can get a student punished. Fighting is obvious as far as a basis for discipline, but what about defending yourself?  Although self defen...