Suspensions and expulsions
A school sent your child home. That decision can be reviewed.
Short suspensions can happen fast. Long ones and expulsions usually come with a hearing. A student with an IEP or a 504 plan has extra protections, including a review of whether the behavior was connected to the disability.
We help you get the facts in writing, prepare you for any hearing, and plan your child’s return to class. Most weeks that means reading records and writing letters, not standing in a hearing room.
Notice letters and dates, checked
Records requested on day one
A look at whether the behavior was tied to a disability
A written plan for getting back to class
The first days
What to do before the next school morning
- 01
Ask for the reason in writing
A phone call isn’t a record. Ask for a letter or an email that says what happened and for how long.
- 02
Write down what you were told
Who called, when, and what they said. Do it tonight, while it’s fresh.
- 03
Ask for your child’s records
Discipline and special education records are yours to ask for. Do it in writing and keep a copy.
- 04
Find the date on any hearing notice
Hearings and appeals have deadlines. If the letter has a date, tell us before anything else.
Questions
What parents ask us about discipline
Can the school suspend a child with an IEP?
Yes, but there are limits once the days add up, and a team has to look at whether the behavior was connected to the disability.
Does a hearing mean my child will be expelled?
No. A hearing is the place to be heard, to question what the school says, and to offer a different outcome.
Will this stay on my child’s record?
It can. Part of our work is asking what the school will keep, and asking for it to be written fairly.
Got a notice with a date on it?
Send it with the date, the same day if you can. Discipline deadlines are short.