Draft
1/29/96San Joaquin County Plan for Expelled Youth: Small School Districts Education Code §48926
Each county superintendent of schools in counties that operate community schools pursuant to Section 1980, in conjunction with superintendents of the school districts within the county, shall develop a plan for providing education services to all expelled pupils in that county.Education Code §48916.1
a) 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, but only to the extent funds are appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act or other legislation, or both.
Overview
Small school districts (could use district name) within San Joaquin County are limited in respect to providing educational alternatives to expelled youth. Small school districts are beginning to experience many of the student behaviors that were once attributed only to students who attended schools in large urban school districts. Small school districts, however, are not experiencing large numbers of students who are exhibiting behaviors which result in expulsion. The fact that large numbers of students are not being expelled from small school districts is naturally quite positive; however, it does create a situation where the development of either district or county specific classes or programs for such students is difficult financially and/or geographically.
Early intervention strategies or pro-active strategies are the major focus of the small district programs and the subsequent student success. Small school districts within San Joaquin County provide early intervention strategies which include, but are not limited to, one-on-one counseling, student study teams, academic and emotional assessments, parent support meetings, in-school suspension, off-campus suspension, special education services, after school activities, conflict management, and student contracts.Existing Educational Alternatives for Expelled Youth
Small school districts located within San Joaquin County offer the following options for expelled youth:1) suspended expulsion with placement on the same school campus;
2) suspended expulsion with placement on District Contracted Study, if the parent agrees; or
3) expulsion with referral to the San Joaquin County Office of Education Court and Community School/Day Center Program.
Gaps in Educational Services
There are six major gaps that exist in respect to providing educational services to expelled pupils:1) A student could be expelled from the District under Education Code §48915 and referred to either a Community Day School, or Court and Community School program. This student could then commit another violation of Education Code §48915, or simply not attend, and ultimately be referred back to the original District.
2) small school districts within San Joaquin County generally expel very few students during the course of a school year; so few students are expelled that having a special class or program for such students, at each district, is not financially possible;
3) students, who are expelled by individual small school districts, and by the combined small school districts within San Joaquin County, vary as to age, grade level, and expulsion offenses. The age and grade-span alone, under current California Education Code, would require separate Community Day School sites for the limited number of expelled students grades K-6 and 7-8;
4) there are significant geographical distances between local small districts, thus district or county operated cooperative school or classroom sites/programs for small school districts would require either extensive busing, which is not financially feasible for the districts, or parent provided transportation, which is often impossible for the parents;
5) the Community Day School option for expelled students, as described in current California Education Code, is unlikely for the following reasons:a) the Education Code that outlines the creation of Community Day School programs does not provide the adequate funding mechanism that will allow small school districts to develop such programs,
b) the six (6) hour, or 360 minute day exceeds the required hours that a regular third, fourth, fifth, or sixth grade student is, by California Education Code, directed to attend school,
c) access to the additional funding is restricted by having the student complete six hours of hour-by-hour attendance accounting in order for the district to receive the additional funding, and requiring additional attendance bookkeeping and record keeping,
d) the Community Day School program limits the available instructional strategies which can be used, such as Contracted Study, which limits the program flexibility required for student success,
e) the separation of students in grades K-6 from students in grades 7-8 also creates boundaries that will be financially and/or geographically difficult.Strategies for Addressing Identified Gaps in Service
The strategies for addressing the identified gaps in educational service for expelled youth are:1) to continue to use existing District educational strategies to meet the needs of expelled students;
2) to refer expelled students to the San Joaquin County Office of Education Court and Community School/Day Center Program. Community School/Day Centers will be an option for those students who have transportation to school sites, and Contracted Study will be an option for those students who cannot arrange for transportation.District Community Day School Alternative Placements/Rehabilitation Plans
Students, at this time, will not be referred to a Community Day School Program due to the fact that both the San Joaquin County small school districts, and San Joaquin County Office of Education Court and Community School/Day Center Program, do not believe that the current Community Day School Program, as described in California Education Code, is a viable option.
Students who are expelled will be provided with the educational options outlined. The School District of residence continues to maintain responsibility for developing a rehabilitation plan for the student, referring the student to an appropriate educational setting, and ensuring that an educational program is provided to the student.
Expelled students who are referred to a San Joaquin County Office of Education Court and Community School/Day Center Program develop an Individual Learning Plan with staff. Part of this plan may include return to the school district of residence. Alternative placement and alternative strategies are developed, with the Court and Community School/Day Center staff, for those students who have difficulty meeting the terms and conditions of their District designed rehabilitation plan.