Children’s Law Clinic Resources

Is the school trying to remove your child from school for more than 10 days?

(Long-term suspensions, 365-day Suspensions, and Expulsions)

The Problem. During the 2004-2005 academic year, more than 150,000 students were suspended statewide in North Carolina, causing them to miss close to a million class days. Students in North Carolina are 45 % more likely to be suspended than the national average. Children who are suspended often suffer long-term harms, such as:

• Students miss class time and fall behind in school. A lot of missed class time increases the chances that a student will be held back.
• Students who are suspended are three times more likely to drop out of school.
• Many students who have been suspended have no alternatives but to pass their time on the street, which leads to greater risk of delinquency and other harms.

Schools have a lot of power in how they can use suspensions: they can impose anywhere from a 10-day to end-of-school-year suspension on “any pupil who willfully violates the policies of conduct established by the local board of education.” Because there is no law limiting what schools can prohibit, the schools basically write their own rules.

What you can do. Even though schools have a lot of power in suspending students, before they can kick a student out for more than 10 days, they must: (1) give notice to parents that their child is being suspended, and (2) allow an opportunity to appeal the suspension. Courts call this requirement due process. Just because you are told by the principal that your child is being suspended, that is not the end of the matter – you can challenge the principal’s decision.

**** Some school district have policies that allow “advocates” (people who are not attorneys) to speak for students and their parents at suspension hearings. If your school district does not allow such advocates, it may be the unauthorized practice of law, which is illegal, for anyone other than the parent or guardian to speak at the hearing. ****

This section of the Guidebook explains how a parent or advocate can increase the chances a child will be able to return to school. It contains four Quick Guides:

• Quick Guide: Long-Term Suspension and Expulsion Proceedings in North Carolina explains the timelines, rules, and rights you have to challenge a suspension or expulsion.
• Quick Guide: What to Look for at the Due Process Hearing helps you prepare to defend your child if you request a hearing to challenge the suspension.
• Quick Guide: School Discipline for Special Education Students explains the special rights and protections that students who qualify for special education services receive.
• Quick Guide: How to Prepare for a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) helps you prepare for the special meeting required before special education students can be suspended for more than 10 days.

Note: All data cited in this section come from “One Out of Ten: The Growing Suspension Crisis in North Carolina,” September 2005, North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute, 311 East Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.