Suspended in Virginia? Notice, hearings, and the 24-hour bullying rule

In Virginia, school is required for a child who turns 5 on or before September 30 of the school year and has not passed the 18th birthday. That is a wide window, so suspension rules touch almost every student.

A school needs 'sufficient cause' to suspend or expel. The law says that cause cannot be only truancy (skipping school), and it cannot be only a violation of the school's cell phone policy.

Younger students get extra protection. A student in preschool through grade three cannot be suspended for more than three school days, or expelled, unless the offense involved physical harm or a credible threat of it, or the school finds aggravating circumstances.

A short-term suspension is 10 school days or fewer. A principal, an assistant principal, or (if they are absent) a teacher can impose it. First they must tell you the charges, out loud or in writing. If you deny them, they must explain the facts they have and let you give your side. That rule comes from Goss v. Lopez (1975), where the U.S. Supreme Court said students facing a suspension of 10 days or less have a right to notice and a chance to be heard. Virginia wrote it into its own code.

A long-term suspension is 11 to 45 school days. The school must send written notice to you and your parent, with the reasons and your right to a hearing. If the superintendent or a designee holds the hearing, you can appeal to the full school board, which must decide within 30 days. A long-term suspension can run past 45 school days, up to 364 calendar days, only for certain serious offenses, serious bodily injury, or aggravating circumstances.

An expulsion bars a student from every school in the division for 365 calendar days, and only the school board (or its committee) can impose it.

Virginia defines bullying as aggressive, unwanted behavior meant to harm, scare, or humiliate someone, with a real or perceived power imbalance, that is repeated or causes severe emotional trauma. Ordinary teasing and one-time arguments do not count.

Every school board's code of conduct must ban bullying. The principal or a designee must notify the parent of every student involved in a reported incident within 24 hours of learning about it. The policy must also cover cyberbullying between students in the division even when it happens off school property, protect students who report it from retaliation, and list the support services, including mental health support, a student can use.