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School Expulsions: Not all are Equal
What happens to a student facing expulsion depends upon whether the student
is in regular or special education. It also may depend upon whether the
student's lawyer is aware of the interplay between special education law
and a school board's expulsion power.
by Alison Julien & Patricia Enge
 John
is an eighth-grade student in public school. His teacher sends him to
the principal's office after seeing John writing names on a sheet of paper
with the words "kill list" across the top. When questioned by the teacher,
the students on the list verify that there has been some teasing and pushing
between John and these students. During his meeting with the principal,
John admits that he wrote the list in an effort to stop the teasing but
denies any intention of hurting anyone. The principal, however, calls
John's mother, tells her that John is suspended, and asks her to pick
up John from school. When John's mother arrives, the principal informs
her that he plans to begin expulsion proceedings. The next day, John and
his parents receive certified letters stating that John has been suspended
for the next 10 days, and that the expulsion hearing is scheduled for
the following week. After reading the notice, John's mother contacts a
lawyer.
What happens to John will depend upon whether he is in regular education
or special education. It also may depend upon whether his attorney is
aware of the interplay between special education law and the school board's
expulsion power.
The number of expulsions in Wisconsin schools has more than tripled since
the 1991-1992 school year.1
Because of this dramatic increase, more attorneys are likely being called
on to represent students and parents in expulsion proceedings. What many
lawyers may not know, however, is that expulsion law differs dramatically
when dealing with special education students.
Although it is not possible to describe the entire reach of special
education law or school disciplinary procedures within the scope of this
article, this article describes the impact of special education law on
an expulsion proceeding so that practitioners are better prepared to advise
clients. To illustrate the process, the article considers what would happen
to John under three different scenarios.
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2: Expulsion - Regular Education 
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