GROUNDS FOR SUSPENSION

A student, including a student with disabilities, shall not be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion under Education Code 48900 as illustrated below, unless the Superintendent, principal, or principal’s designee of the school determines that the student has committed an act as defined pursuant to any of the following subdivisions:

Physical altercations: Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause physical injury to another person, willfully used force or violence upon the person of another, except in self-defense; or committed as an aider or abettor,  OR a crime of physical violence in which the victim suffered great or serious bodily injury.

Possession of a dangerous object: Possessed, sold, or furnished any firearm, knife, explosive or other dangerous object, unless, in the case of possession of an object of this type, the student had obtained written permission to possess the item from a certificated school employee with the principal or principal designee’s concurrence. 

Use or possession of a controlled substance: Unlawfully possessed, used, sold, otherwise furnished, or was under the influence of any controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind.

Providing a controlled substance to another student: Unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell any controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind, and either sold, delivered, or otherwise furnished to any person another liquid, substance or material and represented the liquid, substance, or material as a controlled substance, alcohol beverage or intoxicant.

Robbery: Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.

Vandalism: Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property or private property.

Theft: Stole or attempted to steal school property or private property.

Tobacco and tobacco products: Possessed or used tobacco, or products containing tobacco or nicotine products, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, electronic cigarettes & paraphernalia, cigars, miniature cigars, clove cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, chew packets, and betel.

Profane or vulgar: Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual profanity or vulgarity.

Drug paraphernalia: Unlawfully possessed or unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell any drug paraphernalia.

School disruption and defiance: Disrupted school activities or willfully defied valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, other school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.

Received stolen property: Knowingly received stolen school property or private property.

Intimation firearm: Possessed an imitation firearm.

Sexual assault or battery: Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault or committed a sexual battery.

Harassing a complaining witness: Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a student who is a complaining witness or witness in a school disciplinary proceeding for purposes of either preventing that student from being a witness or retaliating against that student for being a witness, or both.

Hazing: Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing. For the purposes of this subdivision, hazing means a method of initiation or pre-initiation into a student organization or body, whether or not the organization or body is officially recognized by an educational institution, which is likely to cause serious bodily injury or personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to a former, current, or prospective student.

Bullying: Engaged in the act of bullying. For the purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings: 1) Bullying means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a student or group of students as defined in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4 directed to one or more students that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: 

• 1. Placing a reasonable student or students in fear of harm to that student’s or those students’ person or property.
• 2. Causing a reasonable student to experience a substantially detrimental effect on his/her physical or mental health.
• 3. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with his/her academic performance.
• 4. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with his/her ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. 

Aid or abet: A student who aids or abets,  the infliction or attempted infliction of physical injury to another person.

Terroristic threats: Made terrorist threats against school officials and/or school property. A terrorist threat includes any written or oral statement by a person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, or property damage in excess of $1,000, with the specific intent that the statement is to be taken as a threat, even if there is not intent of actually carrying it out. Student may also be recommended for expulsion of the principal determines the terroristic threats were against school officials and/or school property.

Sexual harassment: Committed sexual harassment. The conduct must be considered by a reasonable person of the same gender as the victim to be sufficiently severe or pervasive to have a negative impact upon the victim’s academic performance or to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment. 

Hate violence: Caused, attempted to cause, threatened to cause, or participated in an act of hate violence. Hate violence means any act punishable under Penal Code 422.6, 422.7, or 422.75. Such acts include injuring or intimidating a victim, interfering with the exercise of a victim’s civil rights, or damaging a victim’s property because of the victim’s race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation; a perception of the presence of any of those characteristics in the victim; or the victim’s association with a person or group with one or more of those actual or perceived characteristics.

Harassment of school personnel or students: Intentionally engaged in harassment, threats, or intimidation, directed against school district personnel or students, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to have the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder, and invading the rights of either school personnel or students by creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment.