MJUSD
DIVISION 5000
STUDENTS
COUNTYWIDE PLAN FOR EXPELLED STUDENTS
Existing Educational Alternatives for Expelled Students:
Muroc Joint Unified School District:
All educational alternatives provided by California's school districts are not available to all expelled students and most are not available to any expelled students. Seriousness of offense, location of offense and grade level of the student all have the potential to restrict the district level educational alternatives available to the student during the period of expulsion. Students expelled for any of the offenses listed in subdivision a or c of Section 48915 of the California Education Code shall not be permitted to enroll in any district operated program during the period of the expulsion unless it is a community day school (E.C. 48915.2). All expelled students shall be referred to an educational placement that is 1) not provided at a comprehensive middle, junior or senior high school or any elementary school, and 2) not housed at the school site attended by the student at the time of the offense (E.C. 48915). If the expelled student is in grades K-6, the educational placement for the student shall not be merged or combined with educational programs offered to students in grades 7-12 (E.C. 48916.1). In addition to the above listed requirements, such factors as district size, district level alternatives, county level alternatives and district philosophy can impact the determination by the Board of Education of what educational alternatives are appropriate for the students who are expelled.
It is the determination of the Muroc Joint Unified School District Board of Education that county operated court, community or charter schools will be the appropriate placement for all expelled students from Muroc Joint Unified School District.
Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office:
The Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office offers educational alternatives to expelled students through its court, community and charter schools. Court schools require the formal placement of students into the program by the juvenile court or its probation/parole department representatives. These programs can be either residential or non-residential and expulsion status of a student has no negative impact on eligibility or placement. Community schools require referral from the school district of residence and provide services to students in accordance with Education Code Sections 1981a and 1981c. Expulsion status of a student has no negative impact on eligibility or placement of a student in community schools, but may be used for E.C. 1981 classification purposes. Community Learning Center, a charter school established under the umbrella of court and community schools by the Kern County Board of Education, will also be an educational alternative that will be available to all students who are expelled from districts in Kern County. These three county level educational alternatives will be available to all Kern County students who have been expelled from district programs when the district board of education determines they are the most appropriate placement.
Educational alternatives offered by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office include the following:
- Court Schools
- Central School*
- Erwin Owen High School
- Court Day School*
- Bakersfield Day School*
- Ridgecrest Learning Center (Day School Services)*
- Jamison Children's Center*
- Memorial Center*
- Community Schools
- Bakersfield Elementary Community School
- Blair Learning Center (Community School Services)
- East Kern Community School
- North Kern Community School
- Ridgecrest Learning Center (Community School Services)
- West Kern Community School
- Charter School
- Community Learning Center**
*placement required
**mandatory placement prohibited
Gaps in Educational Services to Expelled Students and Strategies for Filling Those Gaps:
1. The average district enrollment in Kern County is approximately one third (1/3) the State average. This smaller district size, together with the rural characteristics of the County, make it difficult to offer the range of alternatives often found in the larger urban districts. The strategy for addressing this problem is to maintain a county community school program that is committed to providing educational services to all school districts in the county and that employs a variety of instructional strategies, including those that are capable of overcoming obstacles associated with providing educational services to rural, often isolated, settings.
2. Students who commit an expulsion offense during an expulsion period may have limited alternatives that remain available for secondary placement. The strategy for addressing this problem is to maintain a commitment to providing educational services to students, regardless of repeated offenses. These services may be in locations where the distance factor becomes a serious obstacle, but an educational alternative will exist if the necessary commitment exists with student and parent.
3. Students who are in grades K-6 who are expelled do not have the same educational options available as do their grades 7-12 counterparts. Students in grades K-6 are also expelled at a much lower rate than students in grades 7-12. These two factors, together with the requirement that educational services for students in grades K-6 can not be merged or combined with services to students in grades 7-12 make it very difficult to identify an educational placement for the expelled student who is in grades K-6. The strategy for addressing this problem is to develop a cooperative plan for maintaining a multi-district educational alternative capable of serving this smaller, more isolated student population.
First Reading: 11/13/13
Governing Board Adoption: 12/11/13