§ 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 32B-1-102;

(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 276, 2010 General Session