Pupils: grounds for suspension and expulsion.

Existing law prohibits the suspension, or recommendation for expulsion, of a pupil from school unless the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts. Existing law also authorizes the assignment of a pupil suspended from a school to a supervised suspension classroom under certain conditions. Under existing law, the acts for which a pupil may be suspended or recommended for expulsion include, but are not limited to, disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties. These acts also include, for a pupil enrolled in any of grades 4 to 12, inclusive, intentionally engaging in harassment, threats, or intimidation, directed against school district personnel or pupils, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to have the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder, and invading the rights of either school personnel or pupils by creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment. This bill would provide that, if the superintendent of the school district or the principal of the school in which a pupil is enrolled determines that a pupil has disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties, the pupil may be subject to other means of correction, community service during nonschool hours, or in-school suspension in a supervised suspension classroom, but not to an extended suspension, recommendation for expulsion, or expulsion. The bill would move the language relating to a pupil enrolled in any of grades 4 to 12, inclusive, intentionally engaging in harassment, threats, or intimidation, directed against school district personnel or pupils, to another code section in place of the language relating to a pupil disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying valid authority. The bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 48900 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1729 that would become operative if this bill and AB 1729 are enacted, and this bill is enacted last. This bill would also incorporate changes to that section proposed by AB 1732, which has been chaptered.