Suspended or expelled in Idaho: the 5-day rule, the 10-day extension, and your hearing

Idaho's compulsory attendance law, section 33-202, covers every child who is 7 when school starts in their district and has not yet turned 16. The parent must have the child taught, in a public, charter, private, or religious school or at home.

An expelled student under 16 does not simply leave the system. Under section 33-205, the school board must send written notice of the expulsion to the county prosecuting attorney within five days, and the student comes under Idaho's juvenile corrections act, the state law that governs juvenile court.

A principal in Idaho may temporarily suspend a student for up to 5 school days. The district superintendent may extend that by 10 more school days. Beyond 15 school days, only the board of trustees can keep a student out, and only after finding in a closed session that the student's return would be a danger to other students' health, welfare, or safety.

Expulsion is different. Before a board can expel a student or refuse to enroll one, it must send the parent or guardian a written notice that states the reasons, gives the time and place of the hearing, and lists the student's rights: to bring a lawyer, to call witnesses, to submit evidence, and to question any adult witness who speaks against them. The board must leave a reasonable gap between the notice and the hearing so the family can prepare, and then hold what the statute calls a full and fair hearing. Ask for that hearing. The notice exists so that you can.

Underneath the Idaho rule is Goss v. Lopez (1975), where the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public school student facing a suspension of up to 10 days must at least be told the charge and given a chance to tell their side first.

Idaho Code section 18-917A makes it against the law for a student to harass, intimidate, or bully another student on school property or at a school activity. The definition is specific: an intentional gesture, word, or act that a reasonable person would know will harm a student, damage their property, or put them in fear of either, or that is severe or persistent enough to create an intimidating or abusive school environment. Texts and anything sent online count. A student who breaks the law may be charged with an infraction, a minor offense that usually means a fine.

The same law appears in section 33-205 as a reason a principal may suspend. What a specific school must do after a report, such as who investigates and how fast, comes from the district's own policy, which is public. Ask the front office for it by name.