Every parent wants to see their child have success in school. Understandably, the road to high school graduation can be bumpy for some, involving mistakes or miscalculations that can seriously jeopardize their future.
Sometimes it takes only one bad decision, or one instance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for a student to face disciplinary consequences such as suspension, expulsion, and/or an assignment to an alternative school.
Although alternative education programs exist in Massachusetts to ensure all students have the right to education regardless of behavioral issues, such disciplinary placements can have an incredibly detrimental effect on a student.
Families understandably have many questions about the ramifications of expulsion and assignment to alternative programs as a result of student discipline. If you are among these parents and guardians seeking answers, we hope these frequently asked questions and answers will help you, and we encourage you to consider consulting a student defense attorney-advisor if you feel you need support in this area.
What Do Disciplinary Consequences Look Like in Massachusetts Schools?
Like many school districts across the country, Massachusetts schools generally take a restorative approach to discipline, acknowledging that too often, school disciplinary practices involve removing students from learning opportunities, which is harmful and perpetuates the losses many students are already experiencing.
A restorative approach to discipline means moving away from consequences, punishment, and exclusionary practices such as suspensions and expulsions and toward restorative discipline that stresses teaching positive behaviors.
Restorative approaches to discipline focus on repairing harm, strengthening relationships, and having vulnerable, candid conversations. Components may also include mediation, counseling, community service, and restorative circles.
In Massachusetts, prior to issuing an expulsion, school, and district leaders must first "consider ways to re-engage the student in the learning process; and avoid using expulsion as a consequence until other remedies and consequences have been employed."
The trend toward restorative practices to address discipline is a positive one, but that doesn't mean schools in Massachusetts no longer suspend or expel students. Egregious misbehaviors, particularly those that pose a danger to students and staff, may warrant removal from the school community.
Can High School Students Be Expelled in Massachusetts?
Yes. When restorative approaches fall short of helping a student resolve a behavioral issue, a school can, at its discretion, remove a student from the classroom or school. It's understandable. Massachusetts high schools are responsible for keeping their students and staff reasonably safe and offering a reasonably orderly educational environment conducive to learning. Sometimes this means having to suspend or expel students who pose a safety concern, as Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H, authorizes.
Which Behaviors Will Most Likely Result in an Expulsion?
Misconduct involving violence, weapons, or drugs is considered serious, and students in Massachusetts who engage in these types of behavior will likely face expulsion from high school. Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H(a), provides that any student "found on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games, in possession of a dangerous weapon, including, but not limited to, a gun or a knife; or a controlled substance… including, but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the principal."
Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H(b), provides that any student "who assaults a principal, assistant principal, teacher, teacher's aide or other educational staff on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games, may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the principal." If your student faces disciplinary action related to violence, weapons, or drugs, Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help.
Can Facing Criminal Charges Be Grounds for Expulsion?
Massachusetts schools and school districts may also suspend or expel a student facing felony criminal charges, regardless of whether the alleged crime took place on school grounds. According to Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H1/2, when "a criminal complaint charg[es] a student with a felony or upon the issuance of a felony delinquency complaint against a student, the principal… of a school in which the student is enrolled may suspend such student … if said principal … determines that the student's continued presence in school would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school." Be sure to consult Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team to make the case that the charges your student is facing do not pose a detrimental effect to your school community.
Can a Student Be Expelled for Other Reasons?
Yes, Massachusetts high schools may expel high school students and place them in alternative education programs for offenses not having to do with violence, weapons, drugs, and crime. Massachusetts law, including Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H3/4, authorizes school districts to expel students for reasons other than those described above. These would be outlined in each school or district's code of conduct or student policy guide. Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H, requires district superintendents to publish school disciplinary policies. The student code of conduct must prohibit tobacco products and bullying on school grounds. Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H, also mentions violence, weapons, illegal substances, vandalism, and civil rights offenses. But the statute does not limit the school district to just those offenses. Student codes of conduct generally do include other offenses. As an example, the Boston Public Schools' code of conduct lists these offenses and allows local schools to add to this list:
- vandalism, defacement, or theft of school textbooks or other property;
- using tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, on school property;
- possessing firearms, knives, tasers, or other dangerous weapons;
- possessing a controlled substance, including marijuana, cocaine, or heroin;
- assault on a student, teacher, or another school employee;
- felony conviction of a crime off-premises affecting the school;
- sexual assault and sexual harassment;
- bullying, cyberbullying, hazing, and other threats of force;
- setting fire endangering others;
- sexting, hacking, and other misuse of electronic devices;
- excessive absences or tardiness;
- giving false identification or refusing to identify oneself;
- trespassing or blocking access;
- disrupting classes and other instruction;
- bomb threats and false fire alarms; and
- unauthorized use of cell phones during school hours.
In fighting discretionary high school expulsion in Massachusetts, the state's legislature has given the student a statutory tool, in effect requiring that the school principal use expulsion only as a last resort. Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H3/4(b), states expressly that "[a]ny … person acting as a decision-maker at a student meeting or hearing, when deciding the consequences for the student, shall exercise discretion; consider ways to re-engage the student in the learning process; and avoid using expulsion as a consequence until other remedies and consequences have been employed."
What Are the Educational Options for a Student Who Has Been Expelled?
When a school in Massachusetts expels a student, it is required to develop a plan for them to continue to receive a free and appropriate education elsewhere, such as an alternative education program.
Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H(e), requires that any "school district that suspends or expels a student under this section shall continue to provide educational services to the student during the period of suspension or expulsion…." Options may include identifying an existing alternative high school or program for the student to attend in the district, helping them secure a spot at an alternative program run by another school district, or creating their own alternative program, if necessary. Mass. G.L. ch. 69, §1N, provides for state grants for school districts to create such programs.
The Massachusetts Department of Education lists the state's alternative education programs, the names of which typically include "Alternative," "Alt," "Extension," "Challenge," "Collaborative," "Gateway," "Opportunities," "Options," "Reach," "Recovery," or other signifiers that the school is for at-risk students. While these programs offer a needed space for students to continue their learning, the reality is that placement at such a program can be stigmatizing and limiting, impacting a student's future opportunities in school, in the community, and in the job market.
With 641 traditional high schools and approximately 200 alternative high schools across the state, when a student gets expelled and must attend an alternate school, their choices are much more limited.
How Does a Student Get Sent to Alternative Education in Massachusetts?
If a student is being sent to an alternate high school as a punishment, it's generally because they've been expelled from their current school. Each school has a code of conduct or behavior procedures to follow, but common prohibited behaviors in Massachusetts include:
- Drug and alcohol use
- Gang-related activity
- Assaulting a student
- Assaulting a teacher
- Bringing weapons to school
- Bullying, harassment, hazing
- Dating and relationship violence
How Long Can Massachusetts Expulsions or Disciplinary Placements Last?
In Massachusetts, high school students can be expelled from schools indefinitely or permanently if the offense is serious (weapons, drugs, violence). For less serious misbehavior, the expulsion could last the duration of the school year or less.
Are Students Offered a Hearing Before They Get Expelled?
Students will be notified of an opportunity for a hearing, which is an opportunity to bring legal representation and present evidence and witnesses.
Public schools are required to grant students due process when they are being expelled or suspended from school for more than ten days, per federal law. Due process usually involves a hearing, at which the student (and you, as a parent) can hear what rules the school thinks your child has broken and what the possible next steps are. The school should provide explanations for the charges against your child, cite the parts of the code of conduct that have been supposedly violated, and provide evidence to back up their claims.
You should be able to attend this hearing with your child and bring your attorney-advisor with you. You can negotiate with your school about the disciplinary action the school will take and ensure that the school is actually within its rights to expel your child.
Can My Student Appeal Their School Expulsion?
A school principal's decision to send your student to disciplinary placement is not the end of the matter. Your student has a statutory right to appeal the principal's decision. In Massachusetts, an appeal from the principal's decision to move the student to an alternative education program is an especially attractive option to pursue reinstatement. Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H(d), provides for an appeal from the principal's decision to the school district's superintendent. The same section guarantees the appealing student's right to retain an attorney to appear at the appeal hearing: "The student has the right to counsel at a hearing before the superintendent." In Massachusetts, appeals from school discipline are more than just a paper submission. They permit a factual redetermination of the principal's findings. Indeed, the superintendent may even go beyond factual redeterminations to consider other matters. Under Mass. G.L. ch. 71, §37H(d), "[t]he subject matter of the appeal shall not be limited solely to a factual determination of whether the student has violated any provisions of this section."
If you've hired a student defense attorney-advisor, they can put together a compelling argument asking for an appeal and submit it to your school's administrators. You may also be able to appeal more than once, depending on the processes in your district.
Your first appeal will likely be to the school, but if you don't receive the resolution you're seeking, you can look into filing an appeal with your school district's board of education or the Massachusetts Department of Education.
Filing appeals shows the school that you understand the seriousness of the situation. Your attorney-advisor can also use the appeal as a foundation for later negotiations. It's possible you may end up filing a lawsuit, and having these appeals on file will help your case.
Does Disciplinary Alternative Education Have Downsides for My Student?
Alternative education programs generally seek to do their best for the "challenged" or "at-risk students" they serve with limited resources on hand. But know that the practices that alternative education programs use can vary considerably from traditional high school instruction. Your student won't generally have the support of student peers in a large and dynamic classroom setting. Alternative education programs typically involve individualized placement plans for each removed student. Each student tends to proceed at their own pace. While the necessary structure and detailed requirements of those special programs may serve struggling students, they can feel burdensome, even crippling, to the student who was succeeding in a traditional program. Success or not, there is still the matter of what disciplinary placement will look like on a student's transcript. Colleges, universities, vocational programs, and employers generally ask about prior school discipline, which the student will have to disclose even if the academic record doesn't already reflect it. Take the potential impact of disciplinary placement seriously. Consider consulting with a legal advisor such as Joseph D. Lento and his Student Defense Team.
Student records follow people for years and decades. It could hurt their chances of getting into a reputable college or securing a good job. These long-term effects may impact your child years after they attend the alternative education program.
Can My Child Be Sent to Alternative Education in Massachusetts More Than Once?
Yes, students can have more than one disciplinary placement in Massachusetts high schools. There is already a chronic shortage of qualified teachers throughout Massachusetts and nationwide. Alternative programs are not immune to these issues.
Further, at the end of the placement, if a student returns to a comprehensive high school, they may have difficulty catching up. Trouble in the classroom puts more stress on a student, which can eventually lead to more behavior problems.
What Should I Do If I Fear My Child Will Be Expelled?
If you become aware of anything that indicates your child will soon face a major disciplinary event at school, we recommend the following:
- Call your child's school right away and get the facts. Learn what has happened and what kind of disciplinary action your child is facing.
- Consult with a student defense attorney-advisor. Once you have the information you need, you can start working with an expert to devise a strategy.
- Talk with your child to see how they are feeling. Ask about recent events that may have made them feel uncomfortable at school, and write down what they say.
- Take pictures and document evidence, including notes from teachers, feedback on homework, or injuries.
- Keep records of communication with school administrators. Take notes on what was said and write down the date the conversation took place.
- Keep hard copies of all letters, emails, or messages you receive from the school, as well as anything you send to the school.
- Find the school's code of conduct and the rules your child has supposedly violated.
What Are Some of the Long-Term Effects of Alternative Disciplinary Education on Students?
Alternative high schools can have lasting effects on a student's physical, mental, and emotional health. One situation that most students and their families rarely anticipate is the difficulty of re-entering a traditional high school once the disciplinary placement is over. If they do manage to return to their old school, the likelihood that they'll get another placement soon after is high.
When students are treated like criminals, their self-confidence suffers. It's not uncommon for kids who have gone through an alternative education program to enter the juvenile justice system as well. Attending an alternate high school with fewer resources can feed into the school-to-prison pipeline.
Can Expelled Students Go to College in Massachusetts?
A student may still be able to be admitted to a college or university after attending an alternative program. But keep in mind an expulsion will not look favorable on their record. That may be the reason a student is not admitted. Most schools will also look closely at the circumstances of the expulsion and may admit a student who was expelled for a serious offense.
Can an Attorney Help With a High School Expulsion?
While an appeal may be your student's best route to overturning a Massachusetts disciplinary placement, you don't need to attempt that appeal on your own or without skilled and experienced school discipline defense attorney-advisor representation. An appeal requires a strategic approach to presenting evidence and arguments, which is understandable given that an appeal happens only after a student has been unsuccessful in their hearing. An appeal needs to demonstrate convincing grounds that would reverse the principal's decision. National school discipline defense attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have experience with appeals. It may be unwise to trust your student's appeal to a local criminal defense attorney or civil litigator without academic administrative experience. Academic administrative appeals differ from court appeals and proceedings. Trust attorney- advisor Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team with your student's appeal of high school disciplinary placement.
A legal advisor with experience defending high school students from disciplinary placements can be of great help to you and your child. Consider enlisting the help of a competent and experienced student defense attorney-advisor.
Your advisor will be able to attend the expulsion hearing with you and help you negotiate with your child's school. They can also help you keep accurate records of your documents and evidence. They'll have the experience needed to hold your child's school accountable.
Get the Help You Need to Deal With a High School Disciplinary Placement in Mass.
For years, Joseph D. Lento and the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm have helped students across the country navigate disciplinary matters. They understand that you and your student may be going through a challenging time and can provide support and guidance. Don't let a mistake or misunderstanding become a barrier to your child's success in school.
The Lento Law Firm is a premier National Education Law firm serving students with disabilities and their families. They are passionate and experienced advocates who will protect your or your student's rights. Call 888-535-3686 for a consultation now, or use the online service.
