An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law Compendium

Communicating Final Discipline to the Student/Family and to Third Parties: (The following are recommendations for best practices, but please be reminded that schools must always be following their current process or procedure.)

Communicating with the student/family: 

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Have a criteria in place to determine when it is appropriate to allow a student to withdraw in the face of expulsion or dismissal (i.e. when parents are past-due in tuition payments, or where a student’s conduct may be related to a medical condition that cannot be reasonably accommodated).  Have a process in place for communicating the decision for expulsion/dismissal/withdrawal to the student/family.  Unambiguously advise the student/family of the reason for the expulsion/dismissal/withdrawal.  Give the student/family ample opportunity to communicate with the school during and after the disciplinary process.  Consider whether to have a procedure in place for escorting expelled students off-campus emergency situations.  Communicating with third parties:  Schools should generally seek a waiver of liability as a condition of releasing details about student discipline to third parties.  Schools likely have a duty not to misrepresent the character of their students: to the extent that information is released, particularly if it is in the form of a letter of recommendation to a new school, the information must be accurate and must not be misleading.  Determine whether the school has a policy that puts families on notice that it may report discipline (or discipline that rises to a certain level, such as suspension or expulsion) to third parties, including other schools and/or colleges and universities. In the absence of such a policy, consult legal counsel before responding to questions from colleges/universities regarding student discipline.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law - Compendium ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 224