School Expulsions And Pressure To Waive Rights- Be Wary Before You Sign Anything

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

Waivers of rights are significant things.  However, more and more, parents are subjected to high pressure to sign documents waiving their and their child's rights: to hearing, to a properly noticed hearing, to time limits for the hearing...in school expulsion matters.  Waivers under pressure can be disastrous for students.

One parent told me that their school district provided them with a document for a "stipulated" expulsion (meaning you simply consent to the expulsion in writing) and told them to sign by Friday or FACE A HEARING!  The parent had a picture painted of doom and gloom if they DID NOT sign the document.  Yet, the document bound their child to be expelled for the maximum time possible. Nothing at all would have been gained by signing the document and they could potentially have improved their punishment by simply going to hearing, or involving legal counsel.  How could they get worse?  The punishment they were to consent to was the most heinous possible in the situation.

To add to the trauma, the school official had misrepresented the expulsion potential, telling this parent that their child could be expelled for 1 calendar year, when the law actually limited the maximum expulsion time period to two semesters.  This parent was being told she would be getting a break if she signed the document immediately and that this "break" would disappear by X day at X hour.  The truth is, nothing would have been gained by signing the document, which issued the maximum possible punishment and took away the parents rights to be heard (at hearing) and appeal.

Another parent came to me after a district had pressured them to sign a waiver of time limits.  California districts must send notifications of an expulsion hearing out ten days in advance.  This district convinced the parent to sign a waiver of this timeline to have his hearing in a few days.  They also implied that the student would be out of school a shorter period of time if the hearing proceeded quickly. 

If the district wanted the kid back in school, they would have put them there.  The only reason to push the hearing would be to rush a parent through and get the child OUT of the district.  This is exactly what happened.  When this parent called me to explain, I was all over the breached time limit and the right to appeal--- until I found out about the waiver, which prevented an appeal on this issue.  

Parents mistakenly believe that if the hearing panel quickly hears their child, they will be returned to school.  Sadly, this may not be the case, so rushing is not the answer.  Had the parent not waived the time limit, he could have brought in legal counsel and may have had a better outcome.

Resist the tactics to get you to waive your rights in expulsion hearings unless there is a benefit for your child.  In my experience, there usually is not, unless REAL negotiations have occurred (e.g. with equal footing).  When in doubt, review with legal counsel BEFORE signing.

Best,

Michelle BallEducation Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Email: help@edlaw4students.com

Best,

Michelle Ball

Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdLaw4Students

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Law-Office-of-Michelle-Ball/191273330901857

[please like my office on Facebook, subscribe via twitter and email, and check out my videos on Youtube!]

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

School Expulsion Hearings: Parents Have The Right To Request Witnesses Be Subpoenaed

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

School expulsions seem to be everywhere now.  Expulsion hearings are very important, and parents need to know their rights.  One of these rights is the right to request that subpoenas be issued to potential witnesses when a school expulsion is pending.

The right to subpoena witnesses (order to appear before a body or face consequences)  is an important part of our judicial system.  Courts and other agencies must be able to hear the complete case, listen to all the evidence, and see if the "story" turns out to be true.  This subpoena right also exists in the context of school expulsion hearings, but the subpoena power rests with the school district in question.

California Education Code section 48918(i)(1) states as follows:
"Before the hearing has commenced, the governing board may
issue subpoenas at the request of either the superintendent of
schools or the superintendent's designee or the pupil, for the
personal appearance of percipient witnesses at the hearing. After the
hearing has commenced, the governing board or the hearing officer or
administrative panel may, upon request of either the county
superintendent of schools or the superintendent's designee or the
pupil, issue subpoenas..."

What this means is that parents may request that the district involved issue subpoenas for any actual witnesses who may have seen what occurred.  So, if Johnny is alleged to have stolen money and there was a witness, parents may ask that that person be ordered to testify at the hearing.  Often districts do NOT subpoena witnesses unless a parent asks them to.  Rather, districts instead attempt to get a child expelled based on sworn statements alone with no direct testimony.  This could cause trouble for a district on appeal if there is no confession.

If there is an important witness who will help the child's case, parents cannot expect the district involved to subpoena that person.  In fact, why would the district want to subpoena them as it would ruin their case?!  As such, parents need to actually request that witnesses be subpoenaed by the district in advance.  If the district will not issue the subpoenas, well that is another story for another day and a potential appeal to the board looms.  Chances are that most districts will subpoena witnesses when this is requested by parents.

This all may be confusing, so don't go it alone.  Parents, if you don't know your rights, bring someone in who does...

Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Email: help@edlaw4students.com

Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdLaw4Students

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Law-Office-of-Michelle-Ball/191273330901857

[please like my office on Facebook, subscribe via twitter and email, and check out my videos on Youtube!] 

Parent and Student Rights In School Expulsion Hearings

A family came to my office about a month ago with a scenario which was absolutely baffling to me.  Their son had been expelled in a remote district in California for an interaction with a coach.  That was not the shocking part.  The stunner was HOW the expulsion went down. The "hearing" was not a hearing at all and the family was left to observe the whole process.  Their rights were severely trampled.  Needless to say, I went in and the expulsion was immediately reversed and expunged.  The boy is now back in school and everyone pretends the whole ordeal never happened.  What a joke.  The sad thing is, the school did not reverse itself until I officially got involved as even when the parents asserted their rights, they were ignored.  This is because districts don't listen to parents on legal matters, they only listen to lawyers.

Let me tell you just some of the violations which took place:
-  The family was not allowed into the "hearing."
-  The family was not informed of their procedural rights.
-  The family was not provided the ability to cross examine any witnesses.  In fact, there were no witnesses presented by the district.
-  The Superintendent was in the room while the Board of Education was deliberating.
-  The County Board of Education (who the family had to appeal the matter to) was composed of the exact same board members as the school board, and the county board refused to move the matter to a neighboring county board of education.  In other words, Mary Smith, Jane Doe, and Jim Black were on the school board who expelled AND were on the county school board who was to review the "school board" expulsion decision!

The list goes on and on, and I could almost not believe my ears when the parents told me this tale.  I thought I was being read a fictional story.  Sadly, this was not the case.  As such, I want to describe in brief form some of the rights in a California school expulsion hearing:

1)  The right to a hearing within 30 schooldays after the date the principal or superintendent determines a breach of the education code occurred.

2)  The right to an automatic postponement for up to 30 days no questions asked.

3)  The right to have written notice of the hearing forwarded at least 10 calendar days prior to the hearing date.

4)  The right to have that notice include, among other things:

-  the student's right to be represented by legal counsel.

-  the date and place of hearing,

-  a statement of the facts and charges on which the proposed expulsion is based,

-  notice regarding your procedural rights at hearing (e.g. right to present witnesses, cross examine, etc.),

-  a copy of the disciplinary rules of the district which relate to the matter.

5)  The right to appear at the expulsion hearing.

6)  The right to confront and question all witnesses and all evidence.

7)  The right to present evidence and witnesses, on the student's behalf.

8)  The right to have NO expulsion recommended based on hearsay (he said she said) alone.

and many more....

The above list is not exhaustive.  These rights are listed in California Education Code section 48918.

Please, if your child is up for expulsion, seek advice from an attorney and know your rights.  Had this family not met me, their illegal "hearing" would have stood and the student would still be expelled.

Hopefully this district and county board of education will now review and change their ways.  (Yes I am a dreamer...)

The lesson from this story, children, is: Never trust your school or school district to do the right thing and ALWAYS have someone on your side.

Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page [http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/]. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

Students Have A Right To Postpone A School Expulsion Hearing for 30 Calendar Days

Parents of students attending public schools often feel helpless when they are facing a school expulsion hearing.  After they receive notice of the hearing, they may have less than 10 days to prepare.  It is usually a new experience and is confusing.  As such, parents should be aware of their AUTOMATIC right to a postponement of any public school expulsion hearing in California.

Per California Education Code section 48918(a), a student is entitled to at least one postponement up to 30 calendar days no questions asked.

If a parent wants to get prepared or discuss the matter with an attorney, and time is tight, a postponement request can be made in writing to the school district.  Parents may request a mutually agreeable date be provide for the new hearing and can even let the district know some good dates for the family.  There is no guarantee the district will set the hearing on those dates, but it is worth a try.

Parents sometimes come to my office (Law Office of Michelle Ball, Sacramento California) after the expulsion hearing has been held stating that they thought the school would "do the right thing," and would "listen and change their mind."  While we may all have hopes and dreams, it is not my experience that this will occur. Rather, the expulsion hearing is very important and should be approached with all your ducks in a row.  If a simple postponement means the difference between being prepared or unprepared and/or seeking legal advice and/or representation, a parent might want to exercise their option to postpone.  Their attorney, if they have one, may also request such a postponement.

If an attorney will be involved, the postponement is best coming from legal counsel.

Best of luck.

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209http://www.edlaw4students.com/

http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page [http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/]. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.