If your child has been expelled from school, you may feel like there is little you can do to help them – and that may be true. However, it could also be true that there is plenty you can do to help them. At Law Office of Michael L. Fell we have worked on many cases involve juvenile crime and the office of student conduct. If there is a way to fight the expulsion, we will find it.

Keep reading to get the facts. Then call our offices at (949) 585-9055 at your earliest convenience. We will begin with a free consultation so that you know exactly what your options are.

You Must Act Quickly

California Education Code does allow a student and / or their parent to appeal an expulsion in certain circumstances but it only allows a limited amount of time to do so. From the date of the expulsion, you will have 30 days to submit your written appeal. If you do not appeal the decision within that time frame then you will have lost your right to do so.

The specific documents that are required will vary based on the board of education you must present it to. It is up to the student to get the correct documents filled out, to gather evidence, witnesses, etc. This is why we strongly recommend that you hire a defense attorney who has experience with this process. You do not want to lose the appeal simply because the wrong form was filled out. Though the school board may give the option to correct any errors, the clock does not start over so the timeframe to do so may be extremely limited.

Potential Grounds to Appeal an Expulsion

You cannot appeal an expulsion for any reason you would like – there are only a few specific issues, all of which involve constitutional rights – most notably the right to due process. This means that you should have the right to a hearing and the chance to defense yourself.

When the state considers whether there are grounds for appealing an expulsion, they will look at whether the school board acted without proper jurisdiction, if there was a fair hearing with the school board, and if there was a prejudicial abuse of discretion. This could include the school officials not following the requirements of the procedure, or the student being expelled despite the findings not supporting that decision.

There Are Three Potential Outcomes and They Are Final

If you win a right to appeal the expulsion, you will do so with the county board of education in most cases. After hearing the case they will have three days to decide whether to reverse the decision, uphold the decision, or require the school board to reconsider the decision. Once the county has made there decision there is no further appeals process so it is important to have the help of an attorney from the beginning. Call Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 now to request a free legal consultation.