The Expulsion Process And Resources
Information Gathering
The school district has decided that your child has violated a school rule or a provision of the education code. Misconduct may have occurred, warranting, at a minimum, a short-term removal from school such as a suspension. The next steps that you as your child’s representative take can make or break the outcome of your case. A suspension can lead to an expulsion, which is a removal from public school, forcing the family to scramble to find an academic alternative.
Dealing with expulsion can be stressful, but the expulsion lawyers at Leigh Law Group are here to help. We can provide you with knowledgeable and cost-effective services to get you through this tough situation.
How Can You Help Your Child?
The phone rings and you are asked to come to school because your child has been suspended. At this meeting, you are possibly thinking, “This is embarrassing, but it’s is no big deal.” The problem with this thinking is that you are only at the initial stages of the legal process leading to an expulsion, and the determination has likely not even been made as to whether the student will be expelled.
Steps To Gather Information To Protect Your Child’s Rights
You can take specific steps to safeguard your child in case of an expulsion. The attorneys at Leigh Law Group can personally guide you through all of them, including:
- Attending all meetings being requested by you that involve the notice of suspension or expulsion
- Asking for all evidence. Take the time to review it and ask questions about the who, what, where, why and how the school district concluded that misconduct occurred.
- Advising you about how to take notes and include who you spoke with when you arrived at school, the time and date you met with the school’s representative, and what you were told about the case, the next steps and the length of the suspension
- Helping you understand and communicate to third parties like hospitals or police agencies. If the school district representatives told you they conducted an investigation, especially one that involved the police, get names of who the school district staff spoke with, whether your child provided a statement and whether you can have a copy of that statement before you leave. Find out if a report will be generated and whether and when you can get a copy of that report.
- Advising you how to be involved in asking the right questions. Get a sense of whether the school district intends to expel your child and ask what the basis of that determination is.
- Notifying the police that you want an attorney present, if the police are involved and your child has not been questioned
- Making sure you take your child to a doctor or therapist immediately, if your child has been injured, to document the injury
- Speaking to your child immediately after the charge that forms the basis of the suspension or expulsion, so you can gather all relevant evidence
- Identifying witnesses who may be able to rebut the charges and share what actually occurred
- Preparing you for every step of the investigatory and expulsion stages
Contact Our Skilled Expulsion Attorneys Today
You have resources available to you to protect your child’s best interests against expulsion. Leigh Law Group is one of those resources. Our attorneys have extensive experience in issues of education law, and we are committed to protecting students’ rights.
If you are interested in a consultation, call our San Francisco offices at 800-424-5297, or contact us online.
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