Suspended Or Expelled
A.R.S. 15-843 — the governing board's rules must give notice and a hearing for a suspension of more than ten days
The two words. Suspension is the temporary withdrawal of the privilege of attending a school for a specified period. Expulsion is the permanent withdrawal of that privilege, unless the governing board reinstates it.
What the board's rules must include. The governing board, consulting teachers and parents, prescribes rules for discipline, suspension and expulsion that are consistent with pupils' constitutional rights. They include at least:
- A notice and hearing procedure for suspending a pupil for more than ten days.
- Procedures and conditions for readmitting a pupil expelled or suspended for more than ten days.
- Procedures to appeal to the governing board a suspension of more than ten days that the board itself did not decide.
- Procedures to appeal a hearing officer's recommendation when the board considers it.
- Penalties for excessive absenteeism, which do not apply to a pupil who completed the course requirements and was absent solely for a certified illness, disease or accident.
Withdrawing does not end it. If a pupil withdraws after receiving notice of possible action, the governing board may continue with the action and record the result in the pupil's permanent file.
A district's own code of conduct and board rules fill in much of the detail, and they are not on this page. How a particular suspension applies to a particular student is a question for a licensed Arizona attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- A.R.S. 15-840 — Definitions: expulsion and suspension
- A.R.S. 15-843 — Pupil disciplinary proceedings
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Arizona attorney.