8.3.2 Suspensions

Under La. R.S. 17:416, a student may be suspended from school or the school bus for any of the following offenses: willful disobedience; intentional disrespect or false charges made against a school employee; using profane language; tobacco, alcohol, or drug use, unless of a prescribed drug with evidence of a prescription; disturbing the school or habitually violating any rule; defacing school property; writing profanity or obscenity; carrying firearms, knives, or any other weapons, unless for school use; throwing missiles; fighting; violating safety and traffic rules; leaving school grounds, class, or detention without permission; habitual tardiness or absences; bullying; or any other serious offense.1  Note that La. R.S. 17:416 explicitly prohibits the discipline of a student for reasonable self-defense.2

For all out-of-school suspensions, the student must be advised of the “particular misconduct of which he is accused as well as the basis for such accusation.”3  The student must also be “given an opportunity at that time to explain his version of the facts to the school principal or his designee.”4  Additionally, the school must contact the parent/legal guardian of the student by telephone, electronic communication, or mail and give notice of the suspension, the reasons for the suspension, and the date and time for a conference with the principal (or designee) as a requirement for readmitting the student.5  The parent is required to attend the conference for the student to be readmitted to school, and failure to attend the conference can result in truancy charges against the parent.6  The parent has the right to appeal the suspension to the district superintendent (or designee) who will conduct a hearing on the merits and whose decision is final.7

Importantly, any “student who is suspended for ten days or fewer shall be assigned school work missed while he is suspended and shall receive the same credit originally available for such work if it is completed satisfactorily and timely as determined by the principal or his designee, upon the recommendation of the student's teacher.”8

• 1See La. R.S. 17:416(A)(3)(a).
• 2See La. R.S. 17:416(H) (“[N]o student shall be disciplined in any manner . . . for the use of force upon another person when it can be reasonably concluded that the use of such force more probably than not was committed solely for the purpose of preventing a forcible offense against the student or a forcible offense provided that the force used must be reasonable and apparently necessary to prevent such offense.”).
• 3La. R.S. 17:416(A)(3)(b)(i).
• 4Id. There is an exception where a student can be immediately removed from the school premises with the benefits of these due process protections where the student’s presence at the school poses a continued danger to any person or property or an ongoing threat of disruption to the academic process. However, the necessary procedure must be provided as soon as practicable following the student’s removal. Id.
• 5Id.
• 6Id.
• 7La. R.S. 17:416(A)(3)(c).
• 8La. R.S. 17:416(A)(3)(e).