Suspended in Oklahoma: your appeal, the semester limit, and bullying reports

Oklahoma's compulsory attendance law, meaning the law that says a child must be in school, covers children over age 5 and under 18. A parent can delay kindergarten until the school year after the child turns 6 by sending the district superintendent a notice by certified mail.

A teen over 12 and under 18 who has not finished four years of high school work has a legal duty to attend too, so the law applies to the teen as well as the parents. The State Department of Education describes the same range, ages 5 to 18, for families who homeschool.

Before a student is suspended out of school, Oklahoma law says the school must consider options such as an alternative school setting, a different classroom, or in-school detention, and use them if they fit.

If you are suspended for 10 days or fewer, you have a right to appeal. The district's policy says whether that appeal goes to a committee of administrators or teachers or to the school board. Either way, they must look into the facts and decide whether you did it and whether the length is reasonable.

For more than 10 days, you can ask the district administration to review it. If it stands, you can appeal to the district board of education, which may use a hearing officer. Most suspensions cannot last past the current semester and the next one. A firearm at school is the big exception: at least one year, which the superintendent can change case by case. For suspensions longer than 5 days for breaking a school rule or possessing alcohol or stolen property, the school must give you an education plan for your core classes.

The floor under all of this is Goss v. Lopez (1975). The Supreme Court held that a public school student facing a suspension of up to 10 days must get notice of the charges and a chance to tell their side.

Oklahoma's School Safety and Bullying Prevention Act makes every district adopt a bullying policy. That policy must let anyone report bullying, including anonymously, though no one can be formally disciplined based only on an anonymous report. A school employee with reliable information that a student is being bullied must tell the principal right away.

The principal or someone the principal names investigates and decides whether the bullying is really happening. If it is verified, the school must tell the parents of the student who was targeted and the parents of the student who did it, in a timely way. The policy has to be posted at each school, on the district website, and in the student handbook.