Alternative Educational Programs for Expelled Students
Expulsion, exclusion, or withdrawing, refers to the removal/banning of a student from a school system or university for an extensive period of time due to a student persistently violating that institution’s rules, or for a single offense of appropriate severity in extreme cases. The school board must offer an alternative educational program to an expelled student under age 16 during his/her expulsion period. It must also offer an alternative educational program to any student between the ages of 16 and 18 who is expelled for the first time unless the expulsion is for carrying a dangerous weapon or selling or distributing illegal drugs on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity.
Eligibility
Eligible students between 16 and 18 must be offered an alternative educational program only if they comply with the school board’s conditions. Boards do not have to offer alternative programs to expelled students who have turned 18, unless they are special education students. All special education students must be offered an alternative educational program consistent with their educational needs until they are 21.
In determining whether a student over age 16 is being expelled for the first time, the board must count any expulsions imposed on the student before he/she turned 16. The board’s alternative education program for a student between 16 and 18 can include placement in an adult education program.
When a school board notifies a student between the ages of 16 and 18, or his/her parents, that it will hold an expulsion hearing, the notice must state that the board of education is not required to offer an alternative educational program to any student found to have carried a dangerous weapon or sold or distributed illegal drugs on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity.
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