Suspension, expulsion, and bullying in Connecticut schools: what the law promises you

Connecticut's attendance law covers every child who is 5 or older and under 18. A parent can choose to wait until the child is 6, or even 7, by signing an option form at the school district office. At the other end, a student who is 18 or older may withdraw by going to the district office in person and signing a withdrawal form. Until then, school is required unless the student has already graduated or is getting equivalent instruction somewhere else, such as an approved home-school program.

That matters for discipline because the state cannot simply push a 16-year-old out. Under state law, a student under 16 who is expelled must be offered an alternative educational opportunity, meaning another way to keep learning, such as an alternative education program with an individual learning plan.

In Connecticut a suspension means being kept out of school, or off the bus, for no more than ten consecutive school days. Unless there is an emergency, the school must hold an informal hearing before suspending you. Informal means the principal or another administrator tells you the reason and lets you explain your side. That is not a favor. The U.S. Supreme Court required it in Goss v. Lopez (1975), which held that a public school student facing a suspension of up to ten days must get notice of the charges and a chance to respond. Connecticut's statute follows that rule and adds a cap: a student cannot be suspended more than ten times, or more than fifty days total, in one school year without a formal hearing.

The state also protects its youngest students. For children in preschool through grade 2, an out-of-school suspension is allowed only in narrow cases, such as conduct at school that causes physical harm, and the school must arrange support services for the child. If a school in Hartford suspends a first grader for talking back, the parent should ask the principal which part of the law allows it.

An expulsion is an exclusion from school for more than ten consecutive school days, and state law says it cannot last longer than one calendar year. A principal cannot expel anyone. Only the local board of education, meeting with at least three members present, or an impartial hearing board it appoints, can expel a student in grades 3 through 12, and it takes a majority vote with at least three votes in favor.

Before that vote there is a formal hearing. The statute says an attorney or other advocate may represent the student, and it gives the parent the right to postpone the hearing for up to one week to find one. The board must also tell the family about free or reduced-cost legal services available locally. Some cases carry a mandatory one-year expulsion, for example bringing a firearm to school, though the board may shorten it case by case.

Ask for the hearing and use the week. A family in New Haven that shows up with the school's own written policy, the incident report, and a lawyer or advocate is in a very different position from one that shows up alone.