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An eighth grader in Farmington is pulled out of class after a fight in the hallway, and by lunchtime the assistant principal says the word 'suspension.' What happens next is set by New Mexico's state rule on student rights and responsibilities, known as 6.11.2 NMAC (part of the New Mexico Administrative Code, the book of state agency rules). Your district adds its own policy, but it cannot give you fewer protections than the state rule.
Who has to be in school
In New Mexico, a 'school-age person' is someone who turns 5 before September 1 of the school year and has not finished high school. The state's truancy rule, 6.10.8 NMAC, says the goal is to keep students in school until age 18. A student with 10 or more unexcused absences in a school year is a 'habitual truant,' which triggers interventions. The same rule says truant students should not be suspended or expelled for missing school.
Short suspensions and long ones
A 'temporary suspension' is removal from school for 10 school days or less. Before it starts, the school must tell you the charges. If you deny them, it must explain the evidence and let you tell your side. This talk can be informal and can happen minutes after the incident. The school must try to reach your parent, and if it has not by the end of the first full day, it must mail a written notice that day.
This matches the federal floor. In Goss v. Lopez (1975), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a public school must give a student notice of the charges and a chance to respond before a suspension of 10 days or less.
A 'long-term suspension' (more than 10 school days) or an 'expulsion' (removal permanently or for an indefinite time) needs a formal hearing. Your parent must receive written notice, and the hearing must be held no sooner than 5 and no later than 10 school days after that notice arrives. You have the right to be represented by a lawyer, a parent, or another person, if you file a written notice at least 72 hours before the hearing. The person who decides cannot be someone who witnessed the incident.
After a long-term suspension or expulsion, you can ask for a review, usually within 10 school days of the decision. The review cannot make the punishment harsher. Ask for the hearing and the review. You are allowed to.
What a school must do about bullying
Under 6.12.7 NMAC, every New Mexico district and charter school must have a bullying prevention policy that covers school property, school events, school buses, and cyberbullying. You can report out loud, in your preferred language, or anonymously, and parents can file a written report. Retaliation, meaning punishment for reporting, is forbidden.
A school employee who sees or hears about bullying must tell the designated administrator within two calendar days. The administrator must investigate promptly and notify the parents of both students. A student who was targeted gets a safety support plan, and either student can appeal the result. Schools must keep these records for at least four years.
Where to start
Ask the school office for the district's discipline policy and its bullying policy. State law requires the bullying policy to be in the student handbook. If you get a written notice of a long-term suspension, read it the same day. It must list the rule you are accused of breaking, the hearing date, and a contact person you can call to see the evidence or ask for a delay.
If the district's own review does not fix the problem, the New Mexico Public Education Department is the state agency over schools. We could not confirm a single PED complaint form for discipline cases, so call PED and ask which office handles your concern.
À retenir
- A suspension of 10 school days or less needs notice and a chance to tell your side, as Goss v. Lopez (1975) requires.
- Longer suspensions and expulsions need a formal hearing 5 to 10 school days after written notice, and you can bring a representative.
- Staff must pass bullying reports to an administrator within two calendar days, and targeted students get a safety plan.
- Ask for the district's discipline and bullying policies in writing before you need them.
Sources
- New Mexico State Records Center and Archives: 6.11.2 NMAC, Rights and Responsibilities of the Public Schools and Public School Students (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- New Mexico State Records Center and Archives: 6.12.7 NMAC, Bullying Prevention (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- New Mexico State Records Center and Archives: 6.10.8 NMAC, Compulsory School Attendance (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Legal Information Institute: Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975) (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
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