Section 5-B2504. POLICY FOR SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSIONS

 

2504.1The policies and procedures described in § 2504 shall apply to all on-site and off-site Suspensions and Expulsions.

 

2504.2Off-site Suspension and Expulsion shall not be used in response to unexcused tardiness or absence.

 

2504.3Principals shall consider all extenuating circumstances before recommending Expulsion.

 

2504.4A student may be suspended prior to a conference pursuant to § 2505 if he or she is contributing to an emergency situation in a school. An emergency situation may exist either because of general conditions in the school (e.g., a series of fires or False Alarms; a manifestly high level of student tension; an increasing number of fights or physical attacks; a large number of abuses of property) or because the behavior of an individual student is so disruptive or dangerous that he/she poses a very real and immediate threat to the health and safety of other members of the school community, or to the ability of the school community or the school or portion thereof to continue normal operations.

 

2504.5A student may be expelled from DCPS only for the commission of an infraction as set forth in § 2502.5.

 

2504.6Students who have been suspended or expelled shall not be eligible to participate in any school function for the duration of their Suspension or Expulsion.  The only exceptions that may be authorized by the Chancellor or his or her designee shall be for system-wide testing, or College Board or admission examinations.

 

2504.7Any Suspension, including on-site Suspension, in excess of two (2) in a single semester must be approved by a person designated by the Chancellor.

 

2504.8In accordance with the An Act To provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, approved February 4, 1925 (43 Stat. 806; D.C. Official Code § 38-201 et seq.), all children of compulsory school age are required to attend school or receive an equivalent education approved by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.. Notwithstanding the parent’s responsibility to ensure that the child attends a school, a student may be subject to Suspension or Expulsion from DCPS pursuant to this chapter.

 

2504.9The principal or other school official may establish, or make a referral to, a special class or other supervised program for students who are suspended, subject to the approval of a person designated by the Chancellor. This special class or other supervised program may be located within a student’s home school or at another appropriate DCPS site.

 

2504.10A student who has been suspended or expelled shall have access to an Education Plan as follows:

 

(a)If a student is suspended for fewer than eleven (11) days, the principal initiating the Suspension shall provide an Education Plan that meets the student’s educational needs and allows the student to make up any class and homework assignments and exams without penalty.

 

(b)If a student is suspended for eleven (11) days or more or expelled, the student shall be placed in an Alternative Educational Setting that will allow the student the opportunity to continue to earn credits towards promotion or graduation requirements.

 

2504.11Restitution and/or school service may be required in any case involving school property (e.g., arson, vandalism, burglary, robbery). The amount of restitution or type of school service shall be determined by a person designated by the Chancellor.

 

2504.12If a student’s Suspension or Expulsion is for a period exceeding the number of school days remaining in the school year, any remaining part of the term of the Suspension or Expulsion may be applied to the succeeding school year.

 

2504.13Students younger than the age of fourteen (14) who have been suspended or expelled shall not be allowed to leave school grounds during school hours unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, or his or her designee. Students older than fourteen (14) who have been suspended or expelled shall not be allowed to leave school grounds during school hours until a parent or guardian, or his or her designee, has been contacted by phone or in person and given a reasonable opportunity to arrange for proper supervision of the student. If the parent or guardian of a suspended student cannot be notified by phone or in person, the student must remain at school until the end of the school day.

 

2504.14If the parent or guardian of a student who has been suspended cannot be contacted by phone or in person before the next school day, and the student arrives at school, he or she must remain in the building until a parent or guardian can be contacted and given a reasonable opportunity to arrange for proper supervision of the student or until the end of the school day.  The student may be segregated and must be appropriately supervised during this time. Any such day will count toward fulfilling the term of the student’s Suspension.

 

2505.15Except in cases of immediate emergency Suspensions pursuant to § 2504.4, students shall remain in their regular assigned classroom or education setting until the final determination of the Suspension has been made.

 

2504.16For students seeking to enroll in DCPS and who have been suspended or expelled from their current school, or who have withdrawn while disciplinary action is pending, a person designated by the Chancellor shall review the facts and circumstances regarding the student’s Suspension, Expulsion, or withdrawal pending Expulsion, if the infraction for which the student was disciplined is one for which the student could have been disciplined within DCPS. The purpose of this review is to determine the appropriate placement within DCPS.