TO: District Superintendents

FROM: Xxxxxx County Office of Education

SUBJECT: County-Wide Plan

Recent legislation mandates a county-wide plan that identifies, among other things, the educational placements for all expelled students. This county-wide plan must be approved by every district governing board and the county board of education and sent to the Superintendent of Public Instruction no later than June 30, 1997. Given the facts that 1) Xxxxxx is a county with a large number of districts and 2) most of the requirements associated with the county-wide plan become operational on July 1, 1996, we would like to complete the plan for Xxxxxx County in the early months of the 1996-97 school year.

The county-wide plan format for Xxxxxx County was developed by a committee established by Administrative Advisory. This format requires each district, using the attached material, to develop a sub-plan that is specific to that district. All district sub-plans, once approved by their individual governing boards, will be assembled and presented to the county board of education for approval as a county-wide plan. Once approved by the county board of education, copies will be made and distributed to each district superintendent and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The first section of the attached documents titled "Plan for Providing Educational Services to all Expelled Students in Xxxxxx County" is an introductory section for the county-wide plan, should not be changed, and should accompany your district's sub-plan when being presented to the governing board.

The next two sections titled "Existing Educational Alternatives for Expelled Students" satisfy the first requirement of the county-wide plan. All locations that have "District Name" should be replaced with your district's name. You should select one of the two paragraphs at the bottom of the first of these two pages and eliminate the other. If the first paragraph is selected (district level alternatives available), you should list the district level alternatives that the district intends to offer to expelled students (Note: see listing of county level alternatives in following section). If the second paragraph is selected (expulsions served by county programs), no additional information is necessary.

The next section titled "Gaps in Educational Services to Expelled Students and Strategies for Filling those Gaps" satisfies the next two requirements for the county-wide plan.

The final section titled "Alternative Placements for Students who Fail Community Day School Placements" satisfies the final county-wide plan requirement. This section once again requires the "District Name" text to be changed to the actual district name. If the district has any potential for the development of a community day school in the coming three years, this section should be included in the district's sub-plan.

If you would like to suggest changes to the content of the attached sections, please contact us prior to presenting it to your governing board. Significant changes could compromise the integrity of the county-wide plan. If you would like us to make the changes to the document and send you a copy to present to your board, please contact Xxx Xxxxxx at the below listed number.

Please plan on returning the board approved sub-plan for your district to the Xxxxx County Office of Education, Attn. Xxx xxxxxx, by October 31, 1996.

If there are any questions associated with the development of this document, please contact Xxx Xxxxxx at xxx-xxxx for guidance and support.

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Plan for Providing Educational Services to all
Expelled Students in Kern County

California Education Code Section 48926 states "each county superintendent of schools in counties that operate community schools pursuant to Section 1980, in conjunction with superintendents of school districts within the county shall develop a plan for providing education services to all expelled pupils in that county."

The 35 elementary school districts, 4 high school districts and 8 unified school districts of Kern County provide services to 133,702 students at 225 school sites spread over an area of 8,170 square miles. Kern County recognized the need for a continuum of educational services for all students, including expelled students, long before the 1995 legislation mandated educational placements for expelled students. This Kern County Plan for Educational Services for Expelled Students provides the description of the part of that continuum of services that relates directly to expelled students.

California Education Code Section 48916.1 states "At the time an expulsion of a pupil is ordered, the governing board of the school district shall ensure that an educational program is provided to the pupil who is subject to the expulsion order for the period of the expulsion". Every Kern County school district governing board will refer each expelled student to an appropriate educational placement for the period of expulsion. The educational placement will be determined on an individual basis by the school district's governing board based on 1) seriousness of offense, 2) available educational alternatives and 3) other related factors. County level alternatives for expelled students will remain available to all expelled students. District level alternatives for expelled students, if district level alternatives exist, will vary from one district to the next depending on the characteristics of that district. The list of educational alternatives that exist for each of the 47 Kern County districts is identified in that district's sub-plan, included as part of the total countywide plan.

A district sub-plan has been developed and board approved for every district in Kern County. Those district sub-plans are included in this countywide plan to provide the complete "Plan for Providing Educational Services to all Expelled Students in Kern County". Each district sub-plan includes 1) a list of existing educational alternatives for expelled students, 2) gaps in educational services to expelled students, 3) strategies for filling those gaps and 4) alternative placements for students who fail community day school placements (if offered).

Existing Educational Alternatives for Expelled Students

"District Name" School District

All educational alternatives provided by California's school districts are not available to all expelled students and most are not available to any expelled students. Seriousness of offense, location of offense and grade level of the student all have the potential to restrict the district level educational alternatives available to the student during the period of expulsion. Students expelled for any of the offenses listed in subdivision a or c of Section 48915 of the California Education Code shall not be permitted to enroll in any district operated program during the period of the expulsion unless it is a community day school (E.C. 48915.2). All expelled students shall be referred to an educational placement that is 1) not provided at a comprehensive middle, junior or senior high school or any elementary school and 2) not housed at the schoolsite attended by the student at the time of the offense (E.C. 48915). If the expelled student is in grades K-6, the educational placement for the student shall not be merged or combined with educational programs offered to students in grades 7-12 (E.C. 48916.1). In addition to the above listed requirements, such factors as district size, district level alternatives, county level alternatives and district philosophy can impact the determination by a district board of education of what educational alternatives are appropriate for the students who are expelled.

It is the determination of the "District Name" School District Board of Education that the following district level educational alternatives, if deemed appropriate, be available as placements for students expelled from "District Name" School District:

-or-

It is the determination of the "District Name" School District Board of Education that county operated court, community or charter schools will be the appropriate placement for all expelled students from "District Name" School District.

Kern County Superintendent of Schools

The Kern County Superintendent of Schools offers educational alternatives to expelled students through its court, community and charter schools. Court schools require the formal placement of students into the program by the juvenile court or its probation/parole department representatives. These programs can be either residential or non-residential and expulsion status of a student has no negative impact on eligibility or placement. Community schools require referral from the school district of residence and provide services to students in accordance with Education Code Sections 1981a and 1981c. Expulsion status of a student has no negative impact on eligibility or placement of a student in community schools, but may be used for E.C. 1981 classification purposes. Community Learning Center, a charter school established under the umbrella of court and community schools by the Kern County Board of Education, will also be an educational alternative that will be available to all students who are expelled from districts in Kern County. These three county level educational alternatives will be available to all Kern County students who have been expelled from district programs when the district board of education determines they are the most appropriate placement.

Educational alternatives offered by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office include the following:

-Court Schools
-Central School *
-Erwin Owen High School *
-Court Day School *
-Bakersfield Day School *
-Ridgecrest Learning Center (Day School Services)*
-Jamison Children's Center *
-Memorial Center *
-Community Schools
-Bakersfield Elementary Community School
-Blair Learning Center (Community School Services)
-East Kern Community School
-North Kern Community School
-Ridgecrest Learning Center (Community School Services)
-West Kern Community School
-Charter School
-Community Learning Center **

*Placement Required
**Mandatory Placement Prohibited

Gaps in Educational Services to Expelled Students and Strategies for Filling those Gaps

The average district enrollment in Kern County is approximately one third the state average. This smaller district size, together with the rural characteristics of the county, make it difficult to offer the range of alternatives often found in the larger urban districts. The strategy for addressing this problem is to maintain a county community school program that is committed to providing educational services to all school districts in the county and that employs a variety of instructional strategies, including those that are capable of overcoming obstacles associated with providing educational services to rural, often isolated, settings.

Students who commit an expulsion offense during an expulsion period may have limited alternatives that remain available for secondary placement. The strategy for addressing this problem is to maintain a commitment to providing educational services to students, regardless of repeated offenses. These services may be in locations where the distance factor becomes a serious obstacle, but an educational alternative will exist if the necessary commitment exists with student and parent.

Students who are in grades K-6 who are expelled do not have the same educational options available as do their grades 7-12 counterparts. Students in grades K-6 are also expelled at a much lower rate than students in grades 7-12. These two factors, together with the requirement that educational services for students in grades K-6 can not be merged or combined with services to students in grades 7-12 make it very difficult to identify an educational placement for the expelled student who is in grades K-6. The strategy for addressing this problem is to develop a cooperative plan for maintaining a multi-district educational alternative capable of serving this smaller, more isolated student population.

Alternative Placements for Students who Fail
Community School Placements

The community school program operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office maintains a standing policy of accepting all students who have been expelled from their district of residence and exhausted the alternatives offered by the district. If an initial placement is made to a district operated community day school and the student commits an expulsion offense or fails the program, the "District Name" School District Board of Education shall review the plan of rehabilitation that was established at the time of expulsion and make the adjustments necessary. If there is no educational alternative in the "District Name" School District, the student may be referred to the county community school program.