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Utah Code Title 53G. Public Education System--Local Administration § 53G-8-205. Grounds for suspension or expulsion from a public school

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(1) A student may be suspended or expelled from a public school for the following reasons:

(a) frequent or flagrant willful disobedience, defiance of proper authority, or disruptive behavior, including the use of foul, profane, vulgar, or abusive language;

(b) willful destruction or defacing of school property;

(c) behavior or threatened behavior which poses an immediate and significant threat to the welfare, safety, or morals of other students or school personnel or to the operation of the school;

(d) possession, control, or use of an alcoholic beverage as defined in Section 32B-1-102;

(e) behavior proscribed under Subsection (2) which threatens harm or does harm to the school or school property, to a person associated with the school, or property associated with that person, regardless of where it occurs; or

(f) possession or use of pornographic material on school property.

(2)(a) A student shall be suspended or expelled from a public school for the following reasons:

(i) a serious violation affecting another student or a staff member, or a serious violation occurring in a school building, in or on school property, or in conjunction with a school activity, including:

(A) the possession, control, or actual or threatened use of a real weapon, explosive, or noxious or flammable material;

(B) the actual use of violence or sexual misconduct;

(C) the actual or threatened use of a look alike weapon with intent to intimidate another person or to disrupt normal school activities; or

(D) the sale, control, or distribution of a drug or controlled substance as defined in Section 58-37-2, an imitation controlled substance defined in Section 58-37b-2, or drug paraphernalia as defined in Section 58-37a-3;

(ii) the commission of an act involving the use of force or the threatened use of force which if committed by an adult would be a felony or class A misdemeanor; or

(iii) making a false report of an emergency at a school under Subsection 76-9-202(2)(d).

(b) A student who commits a violation of Subsection (2)(a) involving a real or look alike weapon, explosive, or flammable material shall be expelled from school for a period of not less than one year subject to the following:

(i) within 45 days after the expulsion the student shall appear before the student's superintendent, the superintendent's designee, chief administrative officer of a charter school, or the chief administrative officer's designee, accompanied by a parent; and

(ii) the superintendent, chief administrator, or designee shall determine:

(A) what conditions must be met by the student and the student's parent for the student to return to school, including any provided for in the policies described in Section 53G-8-203;

(B) if the student should be placed on probation in a regular or alternative school setting consistent with Section 53G-8-208, and what conditions must be met by the student in order to ensure the safety of students and faculty at the school the student is placed in; and

(C) if it would be in the best interest of both the LEA, and the student, to modify the expulsion term to less than a year, conditioned on approval by the local governing board and giving highest priority to providing a safe school environment for all students.

(3) A student may be denied admission to a public school on the basis of having been expelled from that or any other school during the preceding 12 months.

(4) A suspension or expulsion under this section is not subject to the age limitations under Subsection 53G-6-204(1).

(5) A local governing board shall prepare an annual report for the state board on:

(a) each violation committed under this section; and

(b) each action taken by the LEA against a student who committed the violation.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Utah Code Title 53G. Public Education System--Local Administration § 53G-8-205. Grounds for suspension or expulsion from a public school - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ut/title-53g-public-education-system-local-administration/ut-code-sect-53g-8-205/

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