Suspended, bullied, or told to leave: student rights in Alaska schools

Alaska law requires a child to attend school from age 7 until age 16. Below 7 and above 16, whether you attend is a family decision, but the right to a free public education lasts longer than the duty: the Alaska Bar Association's Youth Law Guide explains that school age runs until you turn 20 or graduate, whichever comes first. So a 17-year-old who dropped out can still go back.

A student aged 7 through 16 who skips school without a valid reason is a truant (a legal word for an unexcused absentee), and Alaska treats truancy as a violation of law that can lead to school discipline. Homeschooling by a parent is one of the listed exceptions to the attendance rule, along with private school, correspondence programs, and a few others.

The floor comes from Goss v. Lopez (1975), where the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public school student facing even a short suspension must be told the charge, told the evidence, and given a chance to tell their side, because public education is a property right that cannot be taken without due process (fair procedures). In Alaska, the Bar Association's guide describes the same three steps for any out-of-school suspension under 10 days, and it says the conversation can be informal and immediate.

For a suspension of 10 days or more, or an expulsion, Alaska students get more: written notice of the possible punishment, a hearing before an impartial person (someone with no reason to favor the school or the student), the right to bring a lawyer, the right to present witnesses and evidence, and a final written or recorded decision with reasons. Appeals generally go to the principal, then the superintendent, and in some cases the school board.

One detail Alaska families often miss: state law lists a student who has been suspended or expelled as excused from the compulsory attendance rule, so a suspension is not itself truancy. Ask for the hearing. You are allowed to.

In 2006 Alaska enacted statutes on harassment, intimidation, and bullying that cover every public school in the state. The Department of Education and Early Development (DEED, the state education agency) summarizes what they require: every school district must adopt a policy prohibiting bullying of any student, must report to DEED any incident that ends in a suspension or expulsion for bullying, and must protect from reprisal anyone who reports a suspected incident to school officials.

That last part matters for the student in Bethel or Kodiak who is afraid to say anything. Retaliation for reporting is itself a violation of the district's required policy. DEED posts a sample policy written by the Association of Alaska School Boards, and your own district's version should be in the student handbook or on its website. If you cannot find it, ask the front office for the district's harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy by that name.