Article 1 - Suspension or Expulsion

California Education Code — §§ 48900-48927

Showing inline text for up to 20 sections. Open a section link to read its full text.

Sections (57)

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 840, Sec. 1. (AB 2711) Effective January 1, 2025.

A pupil shall not be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has committed an act as defined pursuant to any of subdivisions (a) to (r), inclusive:

(a)(1) Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause physical injury to another person.

(2)Willfully used force or violence upon the person of another, except in self-defense.

(b)Possessed, sold, or otherwise furnished a firearm, knife, explosive, or other dangerous

object, unless, in the case of possession of an object of this type, the pupil had obtained written permission to possess the item from a certificated school employee, which is concurred in by the principal or the designee of the principal.

(c)(1) Unlawfully possessed, used, sold, or otherwise furnished, or been under the influence of, a controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind.

(2)Pupils who voluntarily disclose their use of a controlled substance, alcohol, or an intoxicant of any kind in order to seek help through services or supports shall not be suspended solely for that disclosure.

(d)Unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated to sell a controlled substance listed in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind, and either sold, delivered, or otherwise furnished to a person another liquid, substance, or material and represented the liquid, substance, or material as a controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or intoxicant.

(e)Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.

(f)Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property or private property.

(g)Stole or attempted to steal school property or private property.

(h)(1) Possessed or used tobacco, or products containing tobacco or nicotine products, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, miniature cigars, clove cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, chew packets, and betel. However, this section does not prohibit the use or possession by a pupil of the pupil’s own prescription products.

(2)Pupils who voluntarily disclose their use of a tobacco product in order to seek help through services or supports shall not be suspended solely for that disclosure.

(i)Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual profanity or vulgarity.

(j)Unlawfully possessed or unlawfully offered, arranged, or negotiated

to sell drug paraphernalia, as defined in Section 11014.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(k)(1) Disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.

(2)Except as provided in Section 48910, a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive, shall not be suspended for any of the acts specified in paragraph (1), and those acts shall not constitute grounds for a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to be recommended for expulsion.

(3)Except as provided in Section 48910, a pupil enrolled in any of

grades 6 to 8, inclusive, shall not be suspended for any of the acts specified in paragraph (1). This paragraph is inoperative on

July 1, 2029.

(4)Except as provided in Section 48910, commencing July 1, 2024, a pupil enrolled in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, shall not be suspended for any of the acts specified in paragraph (1). This paragraph is inoperative on July 1, 2029.

(5)(A) A certificated or classified employee may refer a pupil to school administrators for appropriate and timely in-school interventions or supports from the list of other means of correction specified in subdivision (b) of Section 48900.5 for any of the acts enumerated in paragraph (1).

(B)A school administrator shall, within five business days, document the actions taken pursuant to subparagraph (A) and place that documentation in

the pupil’s record to be available for access, to the extent permissible under state and federal law, pursuant to

Section 49069.7. The school administrator shall, by the end of the fifth business day, also inform the referring certificated or classified employee, verbally or in writing, what actions were taken and, if none, the rationale used for not providing any appropriate or timely in-school interventions or supports.

(l)Knowingly received stolen school property or private property.

(m)Possessed an imitation firearm. As used in this section, “imitation firearm” means a replica of a firearm that is so substantially similar in physical properties to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the replica is a firearm.

(n)Committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault as defined

in Section 261, 266c, 286, 287, 288, or 289 of, or former Section 288a of, the Penal Code or committed a sexual battery as defined in Section 243.4 of the Penal Code.

(o)Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a pupil who is a complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary proceeding for purposes of either preventing that pupil from being a witness or retaliating against that pupil for being a witness, or both.

(p)Unlawfully offered, arranged to sell, negotiated to sell, or sold the prescription drug Soma.

(q)Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing. For purposes of this subdivision, “hazing” means a method of initiation or preinitiation into a pupil organization or body, whether or not the organization

or body is officially recognized by an educational institution, that is likely to cause serious bodily injury or personal degradation or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to a former, current, or prospective pupil. For purposes of this subdivision, “hazing” does not include athletic events or school-sanctioned events.

(r)Engaged in an act of bullying. For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1)“Bullying” means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils as defined in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be

reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:

(A)Placing a reasonable pupil or pupils in fear of harm to that pupil’s or those pupils’ person or property.

(B)Causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the pupil’s physical or mental health.

(C)Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial interference with the pupil’s academic performance.

(D)Causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial interference with the pupil’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.

(2)(A) “Electronic act” means the creation or transmission originated on or off the schoolsite, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(i)A message, text, sound, video, or image.

(ii) A post on a social network internet website, including, but not limited to:

(I) Posting to or creating a burn page. “Burn page” means an internet website created for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1).

(II) Creating

a credible impersonation of another actual pupil for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). “Credible impersonation” means to knowingly and without consent impersonate a pupil for the purpose of bullying the pupil and such that another pupil would reasonably believe, or has reasonably believed, that the pupil was or is the pupil who was impersonated.

(III) Creating a false profile for the purpose of having one or more of the effects listed in paragraph (1). “False profile” means a profile of a fictitious pupil or a profile using the likeness or attributes of an actual pupil other than the pupil who created the false profile.

(iii) (I) An act of cyber sexual bullying.

(II) For

purposes of this clause, “cyber sexual bullying” means the dissemination of, or the solicitation or incitement to disseminate, a photograph or other visual recording by a pupil to another pupil or to school personnel by means of an electronic act that has or can be reasonably predicted to have one or more of the effects described in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of paragraph (1). A photograph or other visual recording, as described in this subclause, shall include the depiction of a nude, semi-nude, or sexually explicit photograph or other visual recording of a minor where the minor is identifiable from the photograph, visual recording, or other electronic act.

(III) For purposes of this clause, “cyber sexual bullying” does not include a depiction, portrayal, or image that has any serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or

scientific value or that involves athletic events or school-sanctioned activities.

(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and subparagraph (A), an electronic act shall not constitute pervasive conduct solely on the basis that it has been transmitted on the internet or is currently posted on the internet.

(3)“Reasonable pupil” means a pupil, including, but not limited to, a pupil with exceptional needs, who exercises average care, skill, and judgment in conduct for a person of that age, or for a

person of that age with the pupil’s exceptional needs.

(s)A pupil shall not be suspended or expelled for any of the acts enumerated in this section unless the act is related to a school activity or school attendance occurring within a school under the jurisdiction of the superintendent of the school district or principal or occurring within any other school district. A pupil may be suspended or expelled for acts that are enumerated in this section and related to a school activity or school attendance that occur at any time, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(1)While on school grounds.

(2)While going to or coming from school.

(3)During the lunch period whether on or off the campus.

(4)During, or while going to or coming from, a school-sponsored activity.

(t)A pupil who aids or abets, as defined in Section 31 of the Penal Code, the infliction or attempted infliction of physical injury to another person may be subject to suspension, but not expulsion, pursuant to this section, except that a pupil who has been adjudged by a juvenile court to have committed, as an aider and abettor, a crime of physical violence in which the victim suffered great bodily injury or serious bodily injury shall be subject to discipline pursuant to subdivision (a).

(u)As used in this section, “school property” includes, but is not limited to, electronic

files and databases.

(v)For a pupil subject to discipline under this section, a superintendent of the school district or principal is encouraged to provide alternatives to suspension or expulsion, using a research-based framework with strategies that improve behavioral and academic outcomes, that are age appropriate and designed to address and correct the pupil’s specific misbehavior as specified in Section 48900.5.

(w)(1) A suspension or expulsion shall not be imposed against a pupil based solely on the fact that they are truant, tardy, or otherwise absent from school activities.

(2)It is the intent of the Legislature that the Multi-Tiered System of Supports, which includes restorative justice

practices, trauma-informed practices, social and emotional learning, and schoolwide positive behavior interventions and support, be used to help pupils gain critical social and emotional skills, receive support to help transform trauma-related responses, understand

the impact of their actions, and develop meaningful methods for repairing harm to the school community.

§ 48900.1

Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 895, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2005.

(a)The governing board of each school district may adopt a policy authorizing teachers to require the parent or guardian of a pupil who has been suspended by a teacher pursuant to Section 48910 for reasons specified in subdivision (i) or (k) of Section 48900, to attend a portion of a schoolday in the classroom of his or her child or ward. The policy shall take into account reasonable factors that may prevent compliance with a notice to attend. The attendance of the parent or guardian shall be limited to the class from which the pupil was suspended.

(b)The policy shall be adopted pursuant to the procedures set forth in Sections 35291 and 35291.5. Parents and guardians shall be notified of this policy prior to its implementation. A teacher shall apply any policy adopted pursuant to this section uniformly to all pupils within the classroom.

The adopted policy shall include the procedures that the district will follow to accomplish the following:

(1)Ensure that parents or guardians who attend school for the purposes of this section meet with the school administrator or his or her designee after completing the classroom visitation and before leaving the schoolsite.

(2)Contact parents or guardians who do not respond to the request to attend school pursuant to this section.

(c)If a teacher imposes the procedure pursuant to subdivision (a), the principal shall send a written notice to the parent or guardian stating that attendance by the parent or guardian is pursuant to law. This section shall apply only to a parent or guardian who is actually living with the pupil.

(d)A parent or guardian who has received a written notice pursuant to subdivision (c) shall attend class as specified in the written notice. The notice may specify that the attendance of the parent or guardian be on the day the pupil is scheduled to return to class, or within a reasonable period of time thereafter, as established by the policy of the board adopted pursuant to subdivision (a).

§ 48900.2

Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 909, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.

In addition to the reasons specified in Section 48900, a pupil may be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion if the superintendent or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has committed sexual harassment as defined in Section 212.5.

For the purposes of this chapter, the conduct described in Section 212.5 must be considered by a reasonable person of the same gender as the victim to be sufficiently severe or pervasive to have a negative impact upon the individual’s academic performance or to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment. This section shall not apply to pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.

§ 48900.3

Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 646, Sec. 25. Effective January 1, 2000.

In addition to the reasons set forth in Sections 48900 and 48900.2, a pupil in any of grades 4 to 12, inclusive, may be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion if the superintendent or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has caused, attempted to cause, threatened to cause, or participated in an act of, hate violence, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 233.

§ 48900.4

Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 643, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2003.

In addition to the grounds specified in Sections 48900 and 48900.2, a pupil enrolled in any of grades 4 to 12, inclusive, may be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion if the superintendent or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has intentionally engaged in harassment, threats, or intimidation, directed against school district personnel or pupils, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to have the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder, and invading the rights of either school personnel or pupils by creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment.

§ 48900.5

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 22, Sec. 1. (AB 1165) Effective January 1, 2024.

(a)Suspension, including supervised suspension as described in Section 48911.1, shall be imposed only when other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct. A school district may document the other means of correction used and place that documentation in the pupil’s record, which may be accessed pursuant to Section 49069.7. However, a pupil, including an individual with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, may be suspended, subject to Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code, for any of the reasons enumerated in Section 48900 upon a first offense, if the principal or superintendent of schools determines that the pupil violated subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of Section 48900 or that the pupil’s presence causes a danger to persons.

(b)Other means of correction include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1)A conference between school personnel, the pupil’s parent or guardian, and the pupil.

(2)Referrals to the school counselor, psychologist, social worker, child welfare attendance personnel, or other school support service personnel for case management and counseling.

(3)Study teams, guidance teams, resource panel teams, or other intervention-related teams that assess the behavior, and develop and implement individualized plans to address the behavior in partnership with the pupil and the pupil’s parents.

(4)Referral for a comprehensive psychosocial or psychoeducational assessment, including for purposes of

creating an individualized education program, or a plan adopted pursuant to Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794(a)).

(5)Enrollment in a program for teaching prosocial behavior or anger management.

(6)Participation in a restorative justice program.

(7)A positive behavior support approach with tiered interventions that occur during the schoolday on campus.

(8)After school programs that address specific behavioral issues or expose pupils to positive activities and behaviors, including, but not limited to, those operated in collaboration with local parent and community groups.

(9)Any of the alternatives described in Section 48900.6.

(c)For a pupil who has been suspended, or for whom other means of correction have been implemented pursuant to subdivision (b), for an incident of racist bullying, harassment, or intimidation, local educational agencies are encouraged to have both the victim and perpetrator engage in a restorative justice practice that is found to suit the needs of both the victim and the perpetrator. Local educational agencies are encouraged to regularly check on the victim of racist bullying, harassment, or intimidation to ensure that the victim is not in danger of suffering from long-lasting mental health issues. Local educational agencies are encouraged to require perpetrators to engage in culturally sensitive programs that promote racial justice and equity and combat racism and ignorance.

§ 48900.6

Amended (as amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 972) by Stats. 2000, Ch. 225, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2001.

As part of or instead of disciplinary action prescribed by this article, the principal of a school, the principal’s designee, the superintendent of schools, or the governing board may require a pupil to perform community service on school grounds or, with written permission of the parent or guardian of the pupil, off school grounds, during the pupil’s nonschool hours. For the purposes of this section, “community service” may include, but is not limited to, work performed in the community or on school grounds in the areas of outdoor beautification, community or campus betterment, and teacher, peer, or youth assistance programs. This section does not apply if a pupil has been suspended, pending expulsion, pursuant to Section 48915. However, this section applies if the recommended expulsion is not implemented or is, itself, suspended by stipulation or other administrative action.

§ 48900.7

Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 405, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1998.

(a)In addition to the reasons specified in Sections 48900, 48900.2, 48900.3, and 48900.4, a pupil may be suspended from school or recommended for expulsion if the superintendent or the principal of the school in which the pupil is enrolled determines that the pupil has made terroristic threats against school officials or school property, or both.

(b)For the purposes of this section, “terroristic threat” shall include any statement, whether written or oral, by a person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death, great bodily injury to another person, or property damage in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), with the specific intent that the statement is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out, which, on its face and under the circumstances in which it is made, is so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat, and thereby causes that person reasonably to be in sustained fear for his or her own safety or for his or her immediate family’s safety, or for the protection of school district property, or the personal property of the person threatened or his or her immediate family.

§ 48900.8

Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 677, Sec. 33. Effective October 7, 2005.

For purposes of notification to parents, and for the reporting of expulsion or suspension offenses to the department, each school district shall specifically identify, by offense committed, in all appropriate official records of a pupil each suspension or expulsion of that pupil for the commission of any of the offenses set forth in Section 48900, 48900.2, 48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7, or 48915.

§ 48900.9

Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 303, Sec. 104. (AB 731) Effective January 1, 2016.

(a)The superintendent of a school district, the principal of a school, or the principal’s designee may refer a victim of, witness to, or other pupil affected by, an act of bullying, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (r) of Section 48900, committed on or after January 1, 2015, to the school counselor, school psychologist, social worker, child welfare attendance personnel, school nurse, or other school support service personnel for case management, counseling, and participation in a restorative justice program, as appropriate.

(b)A pupil who has engaged in an act of bullying, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (r) of Section 48900, may also be referred to the school counselor, school psychologist, social

worker, child welfare attendance personnel, or other school support service personnel for case management and counseling, or for participation in a restorative justice program, pursuant to Section 48900.5.

§ 48901

Amended by Stats. 2016, 2nd Ex. Sess., Ch. 7, Sec. 9. (SB 5 2x) Effective June 9, 2016.

(a)No school shall permit the smoking or use of a tobacco product by pupils of the school while the pupils are on campus, or while attending school-sponsored activities or while under the supervision and control of school district employees.

(b)The governing board of any school district maintaining a high school shall take all steps it deems practical to discourage high school students from smoking.

(c)For purposes of this section, “smoking” has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of Section 22950.5 of the Business and Professions Code.

(d)For

purposes of this section, “tobacco product” means a product or device as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 22950.5 of the Business and Professions Code.

§ 48901.1

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 840, Sec. 2. (AB 2711) Effective January 1, 2025.

Notwithstanding Section 47610 or any other law, the following provisions apply to charter schools:

(a)(1) A pupil enrolled in a charter school in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive, shall not be suspended on the basis of having disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties, and those acts shall not constitute grounds for a pupil enrolled in a charter school in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to be recommended for expulsion.

(2)A pupil

enrolled in a charter school in any of grades 6 to 8, inclusive, shall not be suspended on the basis of having disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. This paragraph is inoperative on July 1, 2029.

(3)Except as provided in Section 48910, commencing July 1, 2024, a pupil enrolled in a charter school in any of grades 9 to 12,

inclusive, shall not be suspended for any of the acts described in paragraph (1). This paragraph is inoperative on July 1, 2029.

(4)(A) A certificated or noncertificated employee may refer a pupil to charter school administrators for appropriate and timely in-school interventions or supports from the list specified in

subdivision (b) of Section 48900.5 for any of the acts described in paragraph (1).

(B)A charter school administrator shall, within five business days, document the actions taken pursuant to subparagraph (A) and place that documentation in the pupil’s record to be available for access, to the extent permissible under state and federal law, pursuant to Section 49069.7. The charter school administrator shall, by the end of the fifth business day, also inform the referring certificated or noncertificated employee, verbally or in writing, what actions were taken and, if none, the rationale used for not providing any appropriate or timely in-school interventions or supports.

(b)A pupil enrolled in a charter school in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,

inclusive, who voluntarily discloses their use of a tobacco product, controlled substance, alcohol, or an intoxicant of any kind in order to seek help through services or supports shall not be suspended solely for that disclosure.

§ 48901.5

Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 253, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2003.

(a)The governing board of each school district, or its designee, may regulate the possession or use of any electronic signaling device that operates through the transmission or receipt of radio waves, including, but not limited to, paging and signaling equipment, by pupils of the school district while the pupils are on campus, while attending school-sponsored activities, or while under the supervision and control of school district employees.

(b)No pupil shall be prohibited from possessing or using an electronic signaling device that is determined by a licensed physician and surgeon to be essential for the health of the pupil and use of which is limited to purposes related to the health of the pupil.

§ 48901.7

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 284, Sec. 1. (AB 962) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)The governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school shall, no later than July 1, 2026, develop and adopt, and shall update every five years, a policy to limit

or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school. The goal of the policy shall be to promote evidence-based use of smartphone practices to support pupil learning and well-being. The development of the policy shall involve significant stakeholder participation in order to ensure that the policies are responsive to the unique needs and desires of pupils, parents, and educators in each community. The policy may also include enforcement

mechanisms that limit access to smartphones.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a pupil shall not be prohibited from possessing or using a smartphone under any of the following circumstances:

(1)Unless explicitly addressed in a comprehensive school safety plan adopted pursuant to Section 32282, in the case of an emergency or in response to a perceived threat of danger.

(2)When a teacher or administrator of the school district, county office of education, or charter school grants permission to a pupil to possess or use a smartphone, subject to any reasonable limitation imposed by that teacher or administrator.

(3)When a licensed

physician and surgeon determines that the possession or use of a smartphone is necessary for the health or well-being of the pupil.

(4)When the possession or use of a smartphone is required in a pupil’s individualized education program.

(c)This section does not authorize monitoring, collecting, or otherwise accessing any information related to a pupil’s online activities.

§ 48901.8

Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 891, Sec. 1. (SB 1283) Effective January 1, 2025.

(a)(1) The governing board of a school district, a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school may adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of social media while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school.

(2)This section does not authorize monitoring, collecting, or otherwise accessing any information related to a

pupil’s online activities.

(b)For purposes of this section, “social media” means a “social media platform” as that term is defined in Section 22675 of the Business and Professions Code.

§ 48902

Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 76, Sec. 41. (AB 383) Effective January 1, 2014.

(a)The principal of a school or the principal’s designee shall, before the suspension or expulsion of any pupil, notify the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or city in which the school is situated, of any acts of the pupil that may violate Section 245 of the Penal Code.

(b)The principal of a school or the principal’s designee shall, within one schoolday after suspension or expulsion of any pupil, notify, by telephone or any other appropriate method chosen by the school, the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or the school district in which the school is situated of any acts of the pupil that may violate subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 48900.

(c)Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the principal of a school or the principal’s designee shall notify the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or city in which the school is located of any acts of a pupil that may involve the possession or sale of narcotics or of a controlled substance or a violation of Section 626.9 or 626.10 of the Penal Code. The principal of a school or the principal’s designee shall report any act specified in paragraph (1) or (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 48915 committed by a pupil or nonpupil on a schoolsite to the city police or county sheriff with jurisdiction over the school and the school security department or the school police department, as applicable.

(d)A principal, the principal’s designee, or any other person reporting a known or suspected act described in subdivision (a) or (b) is not civilly or criminally liable as a result of making any report authorized by this article

unless it can be proven that a false report was made and that the person knew the report was false or the report was made with reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the report.

(e)The principal of a school or the principal’s designee reporting a criminal act committed by a schoolage individual with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, shall ensure that copies of the special education and disciplinary records of the pupil are transmitted, as described in Section 1415(k)(6) of Title 20 of the United States Code, for consideration by the appropriate authorities to whom he or she reports the criminal act. Any copies of the pupil’s special education and disciplinary records may be transmitted only to the extent permissible under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g et seq.).

§ 48903

Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 527, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1999.

(a)Except as provided in subdivision (g) of Section 48911 and in Section 48912, the total number of days for which a pupil may be suspended from school shall not exceed 20 schooldays in any school year, unless for purposes of adjustment, a pupil enrolls in or is transferred to another regular school, an opportunity school or class, or a continuation education school or class, in which case the total number of schooldays for which the pupil may be suspended shall not exceed 30 days in any school year.

(b)For the purposes of this section, a school district may count suspensions that occur while a pupil is enrolled in another school district toward the maximum number of days for which a pupil may be suspended in any school year.

§ 48904

Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 589, Sec. 10. (AB 2662) Effective January 1, 2013.

(a)(1) Notwithstanding Section 1714.1 of the Civil Code, the parent or guardian of any minor whose willful misconduct results in injury or death to any pupil or any person employed by, or performing volunteer services for, a school district or private school or who willfully cuts, defaces, or otherwise injures in any way any property, real or personal, belonging to a school district or private school, or personal property of any school employee, shall be liable for all damages so caused by the minor. The liability of the parent or guardian shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), adjusted annually for inflation. The parent or guardian shall be liable also for the amount of any

reward not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), adjusted annually for inflation, paid pursuant to Section 53069.5 of the Government Code. The parent or guardian of a minor shall be liable to a school district or private school for all property belonging to the school district or private school loaned to the minor and not returned upon demand of an employee of the school district or private school authorized to make the demand.

(2)The Superintendent annually shall compute an adjustment of the liability limits prescribed by this subdivision to reflect the percentage change in the average annual value of the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services for the United States, as published by the United States Department of Commerce for the 12-month period ending in the prior fiscal year. The

annual adjustment shall be rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100).

(b)(1) Any school district or private school whose real or personal property has been willfully cut, defaced, or otherwise injured, or whose property is loaned to a pupil and willfully not returned upon demand of an employee of the school district or private school authorized to make the demand may, after affording the pupil his or her due process rights, withhold the grades, diploma, and transcripts of the pupil responsible for the damage until the pupil or the pupil’s parent or guardian has paid for the damages thereto, as provided in subdivision (a).

(2)The school district or private school shall notify the parent or guardian of the pupil in writing of the pupil’s alleged misconduct before

withholding the pupil’s grades, diploma, or transcripts pursuant to this subdivision. When the minor and parent are unable to pay for the damages, or to return the property, the school district or private school shall provide a program of voluntary work for the minor in lieu of the payment of monetary damages. Upon completion of the voluntary work, the grades, diploma, and transcripts of the pupil shall be released.

(3)The governing board of each school district or governing body of each private school shall establish rules and regulations governing procedures for the implementation of this subdivision. The procedures shall conform to, but are not necessarily limited to, those procedures established in this code for the expulsion of pupils.

§ 48904.3

Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 492, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2003.

(a)Upon receiving notice that a school district has withheld the grades, diploma, or transcripts of any pupil pursuant to Section 48904, any school district to which the pupil has transferred shall likewise withhold the grades, diploma, or transcripts of the pupil as authorized by that section, until the time that it receives notice, from the district that initiated the decision to withhold, that the decision has been rescinded under the terms of that section.

(b)Any school district that has decided to withhold a pupil’s grades, diploma, or transcripts pursuant to Section 48904 shall, upon receiving notice that the pupil has transferred to any school district in this state, notify the parent or guardian of the pupil in writing that the decision to withhold will be enforced as specified in subdivision (a).

(c)For purposes of this section and Section 48904, “school district” is defined to include any county superintendent of schools.

(d)This section and Section 48904 shall also apply to the state special schools, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 48927.

§ 48905

Repealed and added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 498, Sec. 91. Effective July 28, 1983.

An employee of a school district whose person or property is injured or damaged by the willful misconduct of a pupil who attends school in such district, when the employee or the employee’s property is (1) located on property owned by the district, (2) being transported to or from an activity sponsored by the district or a school within the district, (3) present at an activity sponsored by such district or school, or (4) otherwise injured or damaged in retaliation for acts lawfully undertaken by the employee in execution of the employee’s duties, may request the school district to pursue legal action against the pupil who caused the injury or damage, or the pupil’s parent or guardian pursuant to Section 48904.

§ 48906