Suspension

[Bookworm88]

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

My child was sent home from school today with a suspension for the rest of the day, and I am not going to argue with the school's reasons. The thing that is confusing me is a subdivision in Minnesota's "Pupil Fair Dismissal Act." Section 121A.41 Subd. 10 says:
"Suspension" means an action by the school administration, under rules promulgated by the school board, prohibiting a pupil from attending school for a period of no more than ten school days. If a suspension is longer than five days, the suspending administrator must provide the superintendent with a reason for the longer suspension. This definition does not apply to dismissal from school for one school day or less, except as provided in federal law for a student with a disability."
After reading that, I wondered if my child's dismissal can actually be called a suspension since it is only this one day. I called the school and was told that this law gives adminstrators authority to use either dismissal or suspension for a one day time frame. Dismissal is defined in Subd. 2 like this:
"Dismissal" means the denial of the current educational program to any pupil, including exclusion, expulsion, and suspension. It does not include removal from class.
Since dismissal does not include removal from just one class, then I am seeing suspension as not including a one day dismissal. Am I just reading something wrong?

 

[Silverplum]

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

My child was sent home from school today with a suspension for the rest of the day, and I am not going to argue with the school's reasons. The thing that is confusing me is a subdivision in Minnesota's "Pupil Fair Dismissal Act." Section 121A.41 Subd. 10 says:
"Suspension" means an action by the school administration, under rules promulgated by the school board, prohibiting a pupil from attending school for a period of no more than ten school days. If a suspension is longer than five days, the suspending administrator must provide the superintendent with a reason for the longer suspension. This definition does not apply to dismissal from school for one school day or less, except as provided in federal law for a student with a disability."
After reading that, I wondered if my child's dismissal can actually be called a suspension since it is only this one day. I called the school and was told that this law gives adminstrators authority to use either dismissal or suspension for a one day time frame. Dismissal is defined in Subd. 2 like this:
"Dismissal" means the denial of the current educational program to any pupil, including exclusion, expulsion, and suspension. It does not include removal from class.
Since dismissal does not include removal from just one class, then I am seeing suspension as not including a one day dismissal. Am I just reading something wrong?

I wonder why it matters??

 

[Bookworm88]

I wonder why it matters??

Because a suspension goes in her permanent record and future disciplinary action would take note of a previous suspension. However, if what she received is not legally a suspension, then I would want to know that. (Now I can hear you asking "Why would you want to know that?) Mainly though, I am simply curious if I am misreading the law as it is written or if the school is misuderstanding the law as it is written.

 

[Zigner]

Because a suspension goes in her permanent record and future disciplinary action would take note of a previous suspension.

Either way, it should stay in her records.

 

[quincy]

I just deleted an earlier post after re-reading the "Pupil Fair Dismissal Act".

I do not believe you are interpreting the Act wrong. If you can imagine "dismissal" as a large circle, "suspension" is a smaller circle inside it, along with the smaller circles "expulsion" and "exclusion". "Removal from class" for a day or less falls outside the big dismissal circle entirely, and is a circle of its own.

In order to be suspended, under the Act's definition, your daughter must be sent home from the school for more than one day. Being sent home from school for one day falls outside both the suspension circle and the larger dismissal circle.

It is very possible that the school is not familiar with the exact wording of the Act, and is calling the students' one-day-at-home punishments "suspensions", when, technically, they are not.

You could contact the school and tell them this. However, you face the risk of having the school keep your daughter out of school for another day, then, so that they can report this suspension on her school record. Or, perhaps, the school had no intention of reporting this school infraction on your daughter's permanent records anyway, and they could reassure you of that.