503.02 Student Expulsion

Only the board may remove a student from the school environment for more than ten (10) consecutive school days.

Students may be expelled for violations of board policy, school rules or the law. It is within the discretion of the Board to discipline a student by using an expulsion for a single offense or for a series of offenses depending on the nature of the offense and the circumstances surrounding the offense.

It is within the discretion of the Superintendent to recommend to the Board the expulsion of a student for disciplinary purposes. Only the Board may take action to expel a student and to re- admit the student. The principal will keep records of expulsions in addition to the Board's records.

When a student is recommended for expulsion by the Board, the student is provided with:

  1. Notice of the reasons for the proposed expulsion;
  2. Notice of the date, time, and place of the expulsion hearing sufficiently in advance of the hearing; 
  3. Notice that the student is entitled to a closed hearing unless an open hearing is specifically requested;
  4. The names of the witnesses and an oral or written report on the facts to which each witness testifies unless the witnesses are students whose names may be released at the discretion of the Superintendent;
  5. Notice that the student will be given an opportunity to present a defense against the charges and to provide either oral testimony or written affidavits of witnesses;
  6. Notice that the student has the right to be represented by counsel; and
  7. The results and finding of the Board in writing open to the student's inspection.

At the hearing, the student will have all of the rights given in the notice and may give an opening and closing statement in addition to calling witnesses and addressing adverse witnesses. 

After the Board has heard the expulsion matter, it shall go into deliberations. No one who advocated a position at the hearing of the matter should be present during the Board’s deliberations unless the other party or parties are also permitted to attend deliberations.  Following the Board’s deliberations, the Board shall reconvene in open session and render its decision on the Superintendent’ recommendation for expulsion. 

In addition to these procedures, a special education student must be provided with additional procedures. A determination should be made of whether the student is actually guilty of the misconduct. A staffing team should determine whether the student's behavior is caused by the student's disability and whether the conduct is the result of inappropriate placement. Discussions and conclusions of this meeting should be recorded.

If the special education student's conduct is not caused by the disability, the student may be expelled or suspended for a long-term period following written notice to the parent and pursuant to the school district's expulsion hearing procedures. If the misconduct is caused by the disability and a change in placement is recommended, the change must be made pursuant to the placement procedures used by the District. 

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Approved:  1/9/73                           Reviewed: 6/10/19                              Revised:  11//9/09; 5/13/13; 7/14/25