FILE: JDDA

SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION OF HANDICAPPED PUPILS

To insure equal treatment, all students who are responsible for their conduct should expect to be disciplined under the same due process procedures. Because the law gives handicapped students a different status from non-handicapped students, a separate process has been developed to determine if the apparent misconduct of a handicapped student is related to the student’s handicapping condition. If use of the procedure results in a decision that the apparent misconduct of a handicapped student is not related to the student’s handicapping condition, then the handicapped student whose conduct may warrant suspension or expulsion will be provided appropriate due process in the same manner as all other students. If the apparent misconduct is determined to result from the student’s handicapping condition, a review of placement is appropriate, rather than suspension or discipline. In this way, the Board insures that all students in the District will be held responsible for the consequences of their own conduct and be treated equally in view of that conduct, while at the same time recognizing the different status the law affords to the handicapped student.

ADOPTED: August 13, 2002

LEGAL REF: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; Americans with

Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973