53A-11-904.   Grounds for suspension or expulsion from a public school.
     (1) A student may be suspended or expelled from a public school for any of the following reasons:
     (a) frequent or flagrant willful disobedience, defiance of proper authority, or disruptive behavior, including the use of foul, profane, vulgar, or abusive language;
     (b) willful destruction or defacing of school property;
     (c) behavior or threatened behavior which poses an immediate and significant threat to the welfare, safety, or morals of other students or school personnel or to the operation of the school;
     (d) possession, control, or use of an alcoholic beverage as defined in Section 32A-1-105;
     (e) behavior proscribed under Subsection (2) which threatens harm or does harm to the school or school property, to a person associated with the school, or property associated with that person, regardless of where it occurs; or
     (f) possession or use of pornographic material on school property.
     (2) (a) A student shall be suspended or expelled from a public school for any of the following reasons:
     (i) any serious violation affecting another student or a staff member, or any serious violation occurring in a school building, in or on school property, or in conjunction with any school activity, including:
     (A) the possession, control, or actual or threatened use of a real weapon, explosive, or noxious or flammable material;
     (B) the actual or threatened use of a look alike weapon with intent to intimidate another person or to disrupt normal school activities; or
     (C) the sale, control, or distribution of a drug or controlled substance as defined in Section 58-37-2, an imitation controlled substance defined in Section 58-37b-2, or drug paraphernalia as defined in Section 58-37a-3; or
     (ii) the commission of an act involving the use of force or the threatened use of force which if committed by an adult would be a felony or class A misdemeanor.
     (b) A student who commits a violation of Subsection (2)(a) involving a real or look alike weapon, explosive, or flammable material shall be expelled from school for a period of not less than one year subject to the following:
     (i) within 45 days after the expulsion the student shall appear before the student's local school board superintendent, the superintendent's designee, chief administrative officer of a charter school, or the chief administrative officer's designee, accompanied by a parent or legal guardian; and
     (ii) the superintendent, chief administrator, or designee shall determine:
     (A) what conditions must be met by the student and the student's parent for the student to return to school;
     (B) if the student should be placed on probation in a regular or alternative school setting consistent with Section 53A-11-907, and what conditions must be met by the student in order to ensure the safety of students and faculty at the school the student is placed in; and
     (C) if it would be in the best interest of both the school district or charter school, and the student, to modify the expulsion term to less than a year, conditioned on approval by the local school board or governing board of a charter school and giving highest priority to providing a safe school environment for all students.

     (3) A student may be denied admission to a public school on the basis of having been expelled from that or any other school during the preceding 12 months.
     (4) A suspension or expulsion under this section is not subject to the age limitations under Subsection 53A-11-102(1).
     (5) Each local school board and governing board of a charter school shall prepare an annual report for the State Board of Education on:
     (a) each violation committed under this section; and
     (b) each action taken by the school district against a student who committed the violation.

Amended by Chapter 161, 2007 General Session
Amended by Chapter 79, 2007 General Session
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Last revised: Thursday, May 01, 2008