Children’s Law Clinic Resources

Students in North Carolina public schools facing suspension from school of more than ten school days have the right to a more formal due process hearing to contest the imposition of the suspension and may be represented by an attorney.  Although the hearing procedures vary significantly from school district to school district, the same core elements should appear in all school discipline hearings:   

1. the student must  be confronted with the charges prior to suspension (same as with short-term suspension);
2. the student must be given an opportunity to respond to the charges and offer any defense prior to suspension (same as short-term suspension);
3. written notice must  be provided to the student’s parents or guardians informing them of the charges and the opportunity to request a hearing;
4. upon request, a hearing must be held, whenever possible, within ten school days of the start of the suspension;
5. the student must be given the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses who present the school’s evidence;
6. the student must be permitted to present his or her own testimony and the testimony of any witnesses on his or her behalf;
7. following the hearing, the principal’s decision to impose a long-term suspension must be approved by the district superintendent;
8. and the student must be given the opportunity to appeal the superintendent’s decision to the board of education.  

School discipline proceedings may be either one-tiered or multi-tiered.  The principal’s decision to long-term suspend is always just a recommendation; only a superintendent has the statutory authority to suspend a child for more than 10 days and only the school board has the authority to permanently expel a child.  In some cases, a fact-finding hearing takes place before the superintendent reviews the recommendation; in other cases, the superintendent reviews the principal’s recommendation and approves it before a hearing is held.  Another model has the superintendent or assistant superintendent as the hearing officer and decision maker.  In any of those cases, the decision of either the superintendent or the hearing officer/panel is appealable to the Board of Education.  In some districts, the initial hearing is before the Board of Education itself.

Board of Education decisions are considered final agency decisions and are subject to judicial review pursuant to N.C.G.S. §150B- 43 et seq.  The Superior Court may review the record produced at the administrative hearing and reverse upon a finding of any of a number of statutory grounds.  Generally, new evidence is not heard, making the hearing record of particular importance.

List of websites/phone numbers for the North Carolina school districts.  Sample forms that may be useful are also provided.