Suspended in Hawaii? Chapter 19, appeals, and bullying reports

Hawaii's compulsory attendance law covers a child who is at least 5 years old by July 31 of the school year and has not turned 18 by January 1 of that year.

Before any suspension, Chapter 19 (section 8-19-8) says the principal or a designee must investigate first. If you or your parent deny the charge, the school must tell you what evidence it has, and you get a chance to tell your side. A parent gets verbal notice of every suspension plus a written notice listing the acts alleged, which ones were substantiated, the discipline, and a date for a parent conference. The U.S. Supreme Court set that floor nationwide in Goss v. Lopez (1975): a public school must give a student notice of the charges and a chance to respond before even a short suspension.

The principal can approve one to ten school days. Once suspensions in a semester pass ten school days in total, the fuller due process rules apply.

For a suspension over ten days, a disciplinary transfer, or dismissal, section 8-19-9 makes the school get verbal authorization from the complex area superintendent (the administrator over a group of schools) and then mail a written notice with an appeal form within three school days. The notice must say you may appeal, present evidence, question witnesses, and bring a lawyer.

The deadline is tight: the written appeal must reach the complex area superintendent by the close of business on the seventh school day after the notice. Ask for it. You are allowed to. While the appeal is pending you may keep attending school unless the principal finds your presence a substantial risk. The superintendent must schedule the appeal within ten school days and decide in writing within seven school days after it ends.

If you lose, a second appeal goes to the state superintendent of education, again within seven school days. Possessing a dangerous weapon or coming to school under the influence of alcohol or drugs can mean exclusion for up to ninety-two school days.

Chapter 19 defines bullying as any written, verbal, graphic, or physical act that hurts, harms, humiliates, or intimidates a student, when it is severe, persistent, or pervasive enough to create an abusive school environment. Cyberbullying is the same thing done by phone, internet, or other electronic means, and it counts even off campus if it affects the school environment. Both are Class B offenses under the rule.

HIDOE gives students two ways to report: the Chapter 19 Complaint Form, and the Speak Now HIDOE app, which takes anonymous reports from grades 4 through 12. After a report, the principal or a designee investigates, logs the case in the department's student support database, and provides support to both students involved. The anti-bullying page publishes no deadline for that investigation, so ask the school for one in writing.