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A ninth grader at a public charter school in Anacostia gets sent home for three days after an argument in the hallway. Her mother wants to know two things: is that allowed, and for how long. In the District of Columbia, the answers come from the DC Council, which writes the District's school law, and from a 2018 law usually called the Student Fair Access to School Act. That law put hard limits on when and how long a DC public or public charter school can keep a student out, and those limits are stricter than the federal floor.
School is required from age 5 to 18
DC's compulsory attendance law says a parent or guardian must keep a child in school from the year the child turns 5 (by September 30) until the child turns 18, unless the student has already earned a high school diploma.
That 18 matters for discipline too. A student cannot be suspended or unenrolled for being late or for an unexcused absence. One exception: a school may unenroll a student who has 20 or more consecutive full days of unexcused absence.
How long a suspension can last, and what cannot get you suspended
An out-of-school suspension (being kept off campus as punishment) cannot run longer than 5 consecutive school days for one incident in kindergarten through grade 5, or 10 consecutive school days for one incident in grades 6 through 12. Across a whole school year, no student can be suspended more than 20 school days total unless the head of the school system writes to the student and parent explaining why more is needed. A suspension of 6 days or more counts as 'long-term', which means more due process, the formal steps a school must follow before taking something away from you.
In kindergarten through grade 8, a school cannot suspend a student at all unless an administrator finds the student willfully caused, tried to cause, or threatened bodily injury or emotional distress to someone. In grades 9 through 12, a school cannot suspend anyone for breaking a dress code or uniform rule, for 'willful defiance', or for something that happened off campus outside a school activity.
The federal floor underneath all of this is Goss v. Lopez (1975). The Supreme Court held that a public school student facing even a short suspension must be told what they are accused of and given a chance to tell their side first.
Bullying: every DC school must have a policy with an appeal
The Youth Bullying Prevention Act of 2012 requires every DC school to adopt a written bullying policy. The law lists what the policy must contain: the legal definition of bullying, a way to report it (including anonymously), the name and contact information of the person who investigates, a ban on retaliation against anyone who reports, and an appeal process for a student who is not satisfied with the result of the first investigation.
The policy covers school property, school buses and school-sponsored events, and electronic messages aimed at a student when they interfere with that student's ability to take part in school. So a group chat can count. Ask the front office for it.
What to do, and where the rules are written down
DC law requires every school to post its discipline policy in a visible place on its website and to spell out students' due process rights in it. Read the suspension section, compare the days against the 5, 10, and 20-day limits above, and if they do not match, say so in writing to the principal and ask for the hearing the policy describes. You are allowed to.
Every suspension must come with a plan to keep learning. Ask for the assignments on day one.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is DC's state education agency and oversees discipline practices under this law. If a school will not follow its own policy or the Code, OSSE's website is where to look for the current complaint route; we could not confirm the exact form, so check OSSE directly. The DC Code itself is free to read at code.dccouncil.gov (Title 38, Chapter 2).
記住這些
- School is compulsory in DC from age 5 to 18, and a student cannot be suspended for being late or absent.
- Out-of-school suspensions are capped at 5 straight days in K-5, 10 in grades 6-12, and 20 total per year without written justification.
- High schoolers cannot be suspended for dress code, 'willful defiance', or most off-campus conduct; K-8 students only for injury or threats.
- Every DC school must have a bullying policy with a named investigator and an appeal; ask the office for it.
資料來源
- Council of the District of Columbia: D.C. Code § 38-202, Establishment of school attendance requirements (在新分頁開啟)
- Council of the District of Columbia: D.C. Code § 38-236.04, Limitations on exclusion as a disciplinary action (在新分頁開啟)
- Council of the District of Columbia: D.C. Code § 2-1535.03, Bullying prevention policy (在新分頁開啟)
- Legal Information Institute (Cornell): Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975) (在新分頁開啟)
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